Hile riski yönetiminde iç kontrol sistemi: inşaat sektöründe örnek bir uygulama
Internal control system in fraud risk management: A case study in the construction sector
Yazar: ÖZGÜN ALBAYRAK
Danışman: PROF. DR. ELÇİN FİLİZ TAŞ
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü / Mimarlık Ana Bilim Dalı / Proje ve Yapım Yönetimi Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2019
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture ; İnşaat Mühendisliği = Civil Engineering ; İşletme = Business Administration

Özet:
Dünya çapında, hile nedeniyle milyarlarca dolar kaybedilmektedir. Hile, parasal kazanç amacıyla yapılan aldatma eylemidir ve günümüz dünyasında tüm sektörler açısından önemli bir sorun halini almıştır.
Bu çalışma kapsamında, hile riski yönetimi ve hile riski yönetiminde iç kontrol sisteminin kullanılması üzerinde durulmaktadır. Çalışmada öncelikle hile kavramı literatüre dayalı olarak açıklanmıştır. Hilenin tüm endüstriler için önemli bir sorun olduğu, uluslararası raporlara ve araştırmalara dayalı olarak anlatılmıştır. Daha sonra hile riskinin yönetilmesinde faydalı bir araç olan iç kontrol sisteminden, uluslararası alanda kabul görmüş iç kontrol modellerinden, iç kontrol ile ilgili standart, yasa ve yönetmeliklerden bahsedilmiştir. Ardından, inşaat sektöründeki hile sorunu üzerinde durulmuştur.
Çalışmada, inşaat sektöründe faaliyet gösteren bir çelik konstrüksiyon firmasında örnek uygulama yapılmıştır. Firmanın Satın Alma Süreci, kontrol prosedürlerine göre değerlendirilmiştir. Süreç içindeki hata ve hile riski taşıyan noktalar tespit edilmiş, sürece ait riskler belirlenmiş ve belirlenen riskler etki - olasılık değerlendirmesine tabi tutulmuştur. Son olarak, risklerin etki - olasılık derecelerinin düşürülmesi için önerilerde bulunulmuştur. Uygulama çalışmasının her aşamasında, firma bünyesinde çalışan personel ile bire bir görüşmeler yapılmıştır.
Çalışma, hile riski yönetiminin önemi konusunda bir öngörü sağlamaktadır. Seçilen firmanın yalnızca Satın Alma Süreci'nde yapılan değerlendirmeler sonucunda 21 yüksek dereceli risk tespit edilmiştir. Risklerle ilgili gözlemler ise, firmanın iş süreçlerindeki iç kontrol eksikliklerine ve zayıflıklarına işaret etmektedir. Risklere karşı önerilen kontrol faaliyetlerinin, hata ve hile risklerini önlemedeki faydası, çalışma kapsamında net olarak görülmektedir.
İç kontrol sistemindeki eksiklikler ve zayıflıklar, firmaları çok sayıda hile ve hata riskiyle karşı karşıya getirmektedir. Süreç içinde ve süreçle entegre bir şekilde çalışan etkin ve etkili bir iç kontrol sistemi, bu risklere karşı kuvvetli bir savunma hattı oluşturmaktadır. Yapılan uygulama çalışması, bu savunma hattının önemini açık bir şekilde ortaya koymaktadır.
Tez çalışması, inşaat sektöründe geri planda kalmış olan hile ve iç kontrol konularında literatüre bir katkı yapmakta ve inşaat sektörüne, hile riski yönetiminde iç kontrol sisteminin kullanılması konusunda bir öngörü sağlamaktadır.

Abstract:
It is known that fraud has existed since the early periods of human history. Theft as a form of fraud has a history as deep as human history. Simple types of fraud, such as theft, have diversified throughout the history of humanity, from primitive to capitalist society, and continue to diversify with the development of information systems. In today's world, fraud causes significant material losses and loss of reputation in firms.
There are two types of risks that firms face. These are internal and external risks. External risks are those arising from the environment of the firm. Internal risks arise in the company's activities and processes. The risk of fraud is an important internal risk for companies. Research shows that there is a risk of fraud in companies that can cause 5-7% loss of resources. In addition, fraud may not only result in loss of resources, but also loss of reputation in firms. Therefore, fraud risk management ensures that both resources and reputation are protected. However, fraud is a difficult risk to detect and manage. Because fraud is carried out in a confidential manner by nature, it is difficult to detect. However, it is known that fraud occurs due to system gaps and lack of control in business processes. The elimination of these deficiencies makes it possible to manage the risk of fraud.
The phenomenon of fraud has been an important problem for companies in recent years. The report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) states that the financial loss of firms is an average of $ 130,000 per fraud. The report covers 2690 frauds that occurred between 2016 and 2018. 86 of the frauds occurred in Eastern Europe and West / Central Asia. Turkey is located in this region. According to the research, it is found that every fraud in this region causes financial loss of 150.000 dollars on average. According to the results of the same research, it is estimated that the financial loss caused by the frauds in the firms is over 7 billion dollars considering the undetected ones. In the study, the cost of 90 frauds in the construction sector to construction firms was determined as 227,000 dollars per fraud.
One of the methods used to prevent fraud is to create dissuasive penalties through legal regulations on fraud. Laws and regulations ensure that the person performing the fraud knows that they will face penalties and sanctions if they are caught. This ensures that the person planning to fraud is discouraged and the fraud is prevented. Making legal arrangements, strengthening state controls and increasing penalties are the methods used to prevent fraud. However, it is not enough to take only legal measures to prevent fraud. Although legal measures have been taken against fraud in almost all countries of the world, research shows that fraud is still an important problem. It is also known that this problem grows day by day.
Another method that can be used to prevent fraud is to establish effective internal control systems within the companies. The idea in this method is based on the fraud triangle theory. The theory of fraud triangle, which emerged as a result of the research conducted by Cressey in the 1940s, speaks of the three elements necessary for the fraud to be realized. Cressey, one-on-one interviews with more than 200 convicts committed the crime of fraud. It has found common features that motivate these convicts in fraud. The fraud triangle that emerged as a result of the research conducted in the following years; pressure, opportunity and rationalization. According to the theory; In the event that these 3 elements cannot be provided, fraud cannot take place. Therefore, in order to minimize the risk of fraud that firms face, it can be said that the fraud triangle must be broken. This is an important proposition for fraud risk management. This proposition provides a useful approach to fraud prevention. The thesis study is based on this approach. The thesis focuses on neutralizing the 'opportunity' element to prevent fraud.
The opportunity element arises from the existence of fraudulent points in the business processes of the firm. In general, it is due to weaknesses and deficiencies in the internal control system. Neglecting the control procedures that should be considered during the design of business processes leads to system gaps and control deficiencies in business processes.
These system gaps and lack of control increase the likelihood of error and fraud during the realization of business processes. The person who performs the fraud acts uses these gaps.
Error and fraud contain conceptually significant differences. However, both the error and the fraud are due to system gaps and lack of control. Therefore, it can be said that business processes that are vulnerable to error risk are also vulnerable to fraud. Failure to apply the principles that prevent error and fraud during the construction of business processes reveals the element of opportunity. This situation increases the risk of error and fraud in companies. Consideration of control procedures and the design of an effective internal control system should be considered as an important consideration in order to combat the risk of error and fraud during the creation of business processes. In this sense, an effective internal control system to be established in the firms neutralizes the 'opportunity' element necessary for the realization of fraud acts and ensures the fraud triangle is broken.
In the Introduction part of the thesis, it is mentioned that fraud is a risk for all sectors based on some statistical data. The main idea and research method of the study are explained. In Chapter 2, the concept of fraud is examined based on the literature and information about fraud categories is given. In Chapter 3, the results of international research and reports on fraud are shared and interpreted. Chapter 4 is devoted to fraud risk management and internal control. The definition of fraud risk and internal control is based on the literature and internationally accepted internal control models and standards are explained. The standards, laws and regulations which were created in Turkey are mentioned. Chapter 5, discusses the phenomenon of fraud in the construction sector and its consequences. Section 6 is devoted to the implementation of the Procurement Process of a construction company.
Within the scope of the application of the thesis, the fraud risks of a steel construction company operating in the construction sector were evaluated. At each stage of the implementation work, one to-one interviews were conducted with the personnel of the company. Interviews were conducted in 3 stages. These steps were performed with reference to the COSO Internal Control Model.
COSO was established in 1985 to sponsor the Fraudulent Financial Reporting National Commission, which examines the factors that could lead to fraudulent financial reporting. In 1992, COSO published the Internal Control - Integrated Framework for internal control. This framework was revised in May 2013 and reorganized according to the needs of the day. Many standards and regulations that were created afterwards were based on this framework, which was updated in 2013.
COSO has identified five elements that make up internal control. These elements; control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information & communication and monitoring. The interviews conducted within the scope of the thesis were conducted according to these elements. The first 3 of the 5 elements were included in the scope of the application. The first three elements, with the design of internal control system; the other two elements are related to the operation of the internal control system established. In practice, it is aimed to evaluate the Procurement Process in a construction company according to control procedures and to eliminate deficiencies in internal control. For this reason, the application covered 3 elements of the COSO Internal Control Model.
Initially, the Purchasing Process workflow chart of the firm was created. In this context, responsible personnel and method of performing the work step have been determined for each work step. Subsequently, the fraud and error risks of the Firm's Procurement Process were assessed according to the control procedures. The literature was used for the control procedures used in this evaluation. As a result of the evaluation of the process and one-to-one interviews with the personnel of the company, the fraud risks of the firm in the Procurement Process were determined. The identified risks were evaluated and scored with the company personnel in terms of impact - probability. Finally, findings related to fraud risks within the high risk group have been explained and control activities have been proposed in order to reduce the impact - probability values of these risks.
During the risk assessment phase, 21 high-level risks were identified for the Procurement Process. 3 of these are general risks related to the Purchasing Process, 3 of them are related to the determination of the purchase request, 6 of them are related to the ordering, 2 of them are related to the purchase and 2 of them are related to the stocking risks, 5 of them are risks related to accounting records.
Findings related to risks are grouped under 3 headings. These; system failure and excessive manual processes, lack of standards in processes, failure to implement the principle of separation of tasks. In the Company's Procurement Process, 29% system deficiency and excessive manual transactions, 33% failure to implement the principle of separation of duties, 38% lack of standards in processes were found to be present.
Within the scope of the application, control activities have been proposed to eliminate these deficiencies. The proposed control activities aim to prevent the risk of error and fraud in the Procurement Process of the company. 
Deficiencies and weaknesses in the internal control system put companies at risk of fraud and error. An effective internal control system that works in integration with the process forms a strong line of defense against these risks. The implementation study clearly demonstrates the importance of this line of defense.
In the thesis, it is argued that fraud is a systemic and managerial problem. Failure to take control procedures into consideration during the design and creation of business processes raises system gaps and control deficiencies. These gaps and deficiencies create the possibility of mistakes for a well-intentioned staff, and create opportunities for fraud for a malicious staff. The internal control system reduces the likelihood of errors and the risk of fraud to acceptable levels.
The thesis contributes to the literature on fraud and internal control issues that are lagging behind in the construction sector and provides the construction sector with an insight into the use of an internal control system in fraud risk management.