Accrual management as an indication of money laundering through legally registered Mafia firms in Italy

Abstract

This paper investigates how accounting is used to disguise and realize money laundering activities in specific socio-economic and political contexts and whether discretionary accruals can provide evidence of such illicit practices realized through legally registered Mafia firms (LMFs). The study is based on a sample of 224 Italian firms identified as LMFs, due to having been confiscated by judicial authorities because of their owners being accused of Mafia-type association. Using a multivariate regression model, specifically developed discretionary accrual proxies for LMFs are compared with those of a population of lawful firms (LWFs). ...