Analysis of Accounting Errors and Case Studies
Chapter from the book:
Doğan,
Z.
(ed.)
2026.
Current Issues in Accounting.
Synopsis
Globalization, industrialization, technology, urbanization, communication, transportation, and intense competition have brought about economic developments at both macro and micro levels. All these developments have rapidly increased both production and consumption worldwide. Due to these developments, the need for accurate, understandable, comparable, and up-to-date information of national and international quality, as provided by accounting science, has also increased. One of the incorrect accounting practices that negatively affects the quality and reliability of this information is inadvertent accounting errors. Although these errors are not intentional, they often negatively impact internal and external stakeholders and lead to erroneous decisions due to the incorrect information.
Accounting errors, generally committed by lower-level personnel in businesses due to reasons such as carelessness, lack of knowledge, inexperience, fatigue, workload, negligence, disregard, lack of planning, forgetfulness, unconsciousness, disorganization, pressure, and opportunity, and which generally do not lead to significant consequences (as in fraud), have been chosen as the subject of this study due to their importance. Therefore, firstly, contact was made with numerous professionals working both independently and as employees through the "One-on-One Interview Method," and then a comprehensive literature review was conducted to gather data, particularly regarding the causes of errors, their prevention, and exemplary practices. As a result of all these studies, it was determined that the main reasons for errors include: excessively high workload, frequent changes in relevant legislation, insufficient understanding, flexibility, inadequate practical application of education, especially in universities, problems in supplying experienced or learnable workforce, insufficient awareness of the importance of the job and work ethics, insufficient emphasis on personal development, and inadequate employee rights. It was concluded that significant responsibilities fall on the state, professional chambers, professionals, managers, partners, taxpayers, educational institutions, and the entire public in solving these problems.
