Maria Krambia Kapardis
@cut.ac.cy
Professor
Cyprus University of Technology
Maria is a Professor of Accounting with a specialisation in Forensic Accounting, at the Cyprus University of Technology and has served as Chair of the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management as well as Associate Dean of the School of Management and Economics at the same University. For a number of years, she was a university academic in Australia. Maria has been a visiting Scholar at Girona University, Spain March 2012; Visiting Professor at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia December 2016; and was elected Visiting Scholar, Cambridge University 09/2017-12/2017. She is the founder and first Chair of Transparency International-Cyprus ( 2010-2017) as well as the founder and first president of the Economic Crime and Forensic Accounting Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (2010-2014). She is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
EDUCATION
PhD (Edith Cowan University), M. Bus (RMIT), B.Ec. La Trobe University, ACFE, FCA
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Ethics, gender, governance, fraud prevention, corruption and anti-corruption, modern slavery, ESG
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Maria Krambia Kapardis and George Spanoudis
MDPI AG
The European Commission (EC) and the United Nations advocate the importance of gender equality in their agendas and goals. More specifically, the EC has highlighted the importance of increasing women’s representation in leadership positions, yet in a minority of universities around the globe, there is a gender imbalance. By excluding women from key academic leadership roles, a culture that superficially accepts women into roles that do not challenge the hierarchy is normalized, and a rubber stamp to hegemonic masculinity is established as typical conduct. This study utilizes data from a national survey distributed across all full-time academic and administrative staff in Cyprus’s 13 universities to examine the presence of gender disparities in leadership. The survey was designed based on a comprehensive review of the literature and pilot tested by experts in the field. It was then distributed by university rectors, reaching a total of 337 respondents. The data were analyzed to confirm that the characteristics of an extremely gendered environment, as established by researchers, are found in higher tertiary institutions (HTIs). Secondly, the authors found that the disparities between the leadership skills and traits held most prominently by women in HTIs, as opposed to their male counterparts, enhance the arguments put forward toward gender balance in leadership. Thirdly, the barriers holding women back from voicing their wishes to seek leadership roles in HTIs were identified. Finally, recommendations are made on how to overcome the androgenic environment, to move the needle and have more women seek leadership positions in a culture which preserves hegemonic masculinity. Changing this culture will navigate towards a more balanced working environment for staff and students, and can thus address ethical issues in a more inclusive and gender-balanced environment.
Maria Krambia Kapardis
Emerald
Maria Krambia-Kapardis, Christos S. Savva, and Ioanna Stylianou
MDPI AG
The ESG ecosystem has evolved over the years, and macro decisions have had an impact on the implementation and reporting of the ESG Index. This paper aims to first investigate if all the components of the ESG index are equally reported and secondly to identify the impact of socio-economic and political variables on the composite ESG index. To achieve this aim, the authors have utilized macroeconomic variables over the period 1984–2020 for 139 countries from the Refinitiv database and have constructed composite indices based on principal component analysis for the ESG components using a panel fixed effects model with structural breaks. The findings have significant policy implications, emphasizing the importance of globally accepted standards. Finally, by addressing the ESG at a macro level, it provides the context within which to consider the adoption of the ESG ecosystem diachronically, thus providing the backdrop for considering the implementation of the ESG at the micro level.
Maria Krambia Kapardis and Michael Levi
Emerald
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify if fraud theory models suggested over the years are applicable to match-fixing and if so, whether the Krambia-Kapardis’ (2016) holistic fraud and corruption prevention model can be used to reduce significantly match-fixing in football. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was developed by the authors and was administered to football stakeholders in Cyprus, namely, players, referees, coaches and team management. Findings The research questions, who are the initiators of match-fixing, why is match-fixing taking place and what is the best way to prevent or reduce match-fixing, have been answered, and these findings have enabled the authors to make policy recommendations. Research limitations/implications The survey considered match-fixing in only one sport (football) while the number of respondent categories and the 335 usable questionnaires returned did not allow advanced statistical analysis of the data obtained. Practical implications The findings point to the need both for ethics and moral values to be installed in all the stakeholders through training and continuing education. It is also suggested that teams/clubs and related associations acting as regulators ought to implement governance principles and ethical programs, including whistleblowing lines and appoint integrity officers to minimize the match-fixing phenomenon. Furthermore, society, as well as government, sport regulators and sponsors, ought to encourage and demand fair play and integrity in sport through improved measures of governance and accountability and the implementation of ethical audits and public disclosure of audited financial statements of teams. Finally, sports integrity ought to be embedded in school curriculum from a very young age. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is an original contribution to knowledge that has impact on the future of sporting fairness and social legitimacy.
Maria Krambia Kapardis
Emerald
Maria Krambia Kapardis and George Spanoudis
Emerald
Purpose The researchers aim to investigate how students can be deterred from cheating, whether legal or ethical policies and procedures are effective and whether there are gender differences. Design/methodology/approach Using data on students undertaking midterm and final e-examinations, as well as a control group of students who were caught cheating in an online mid-semester examination, the authors attempt to answer the research questions. Findings No differences were found in cheating in terms of students’ gender or whether they were repeating a course or not. However, the study revealed that if there are more internal controls imposed and if before the examination students are made to reinforce their academic integrity, e-examination cheating is reduced. Originality/value No other published study was carried out with students who were involved in cheating.
Maria Krambia-Kapardis
Springer International Publishing
Maria Krambia-Kapardis
Emerald
Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a profile of whistleblowers and to determine whether whistleblowing legislation would encourage those individuals to bring to light some illegal or unethical behaviour that otherwise would remain in the shadows. Design/methodology/approach Having identified whistleblowing correlation, a survey was carried out in Cyprus of actual whistleblowers and could-have-been whistleblowers. Findings Males between 46 and55 years of age, regardless of whether they have dependents or hold senior positions in organizations are significantly more likely to blow the whistle. However, could-have-been whistleblowers did not go ahead because they felt that the authorities would not act on their information. Research limitations/implications Because of the sensitive nature of the research topic and the fact that only whistleblowers or intended whistleblowers could participate in the study, the sample size is limited as a result. This, in turn, limits both the number of respondents in each category (actual and intended) as well as constrains the statistical analysis that could be carried out on the data. Practical implications It remains to be seen whether EU Member States shall implement the European Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union Law, in its entirety by the due date, namely December 2021. Originality/value This study provides a literature review of whistleblowing and reports an original survey against the backdrop of the European Directive.
Maria Krambia‐Kapardis, Ioanna Stylianou, and Salomi Demetriou
Wiley
The compliance officers’ profession has been evolving over the last few decades. The expectations placed upon the individuals holding such a position vary across jurisdictions but they are all expected to ensure employees and management of the business entity comply with the law. Given the limited research on compliance officers in Europe, and the increasing public interest in this profession, the current authors have carried out a survey in Cyprus in an effort to map out and contextualize the compliance officers’ profession. The findings illustrate compliance officers’ academic and professional qualifications, their awareness of their legal liability and the level of knowledge and job performance of their duties as prescribed by law, as well as gaps in the performance of duties as expected by management, boards and regulators. The policy implications derived from the study suggest coherence and synergies to be found through common exam and postgraduate qualification in the field of financial compliance.
Maria Krambia-Kapardis
Emerald
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an adequate account of anti-corruption agency (ACA) ineffectiveness and propose the kind of ACA that would hold the promise of success. The paper draws on legitimacy theory, legal process and the notion of integrity of purpose. Design/methodology/approach This paper contextualizes the establishment and proliferation of ACAs; explores different ways of conceptualizing them; examines the broad range of factors that have underpinned ACA ineffectiveness and utilizes both legitimacy theory and the notion of the integrity of purpose. Findings The one-ACA-model-fits-all approach in corruption-control has been an abysmal failure. Disentangling the reasons for ACA ineffectiveness reveals various endogenous and exogenous factors. It also emphasizes the crucial importance of integrating both legitimacy theory and integrity of purpose in a revamped ACA concept that meets the corruption-control challenge. Practical implications It is possible to design and implement an effective ACA by avoiding various factors that have been shown to seriously undermine corruption control efforts by also drawing on legitimacy theory, legal process and integrity of purpose. Social implications Corruption in both the public and private sectors cannot be controlled in isolation from other socio-economic problems. An effective ACA is one that fosters integrity and is considered legitimate by its stakeholders. Originality/value While there have been some articles the past two decades discussing the effectiveness of ACAs in particular countries, this is the first paper to account for the overall ACA ineffectiveness also using legitimacy theory, legal process and integrity of purpose to revamp the ACA concept.
Maria Krambia-Kapardis and Christina Neophytidou
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Maria Krambia-Kapardis, Colin Clark, and Anastasios Zopiatis
Emerald
Purpose – Public information disclosure is a manifestation of transparency and contributes to governance-by-disclosure. Also, better financial reporting can improve the credibility and integrity of public finances and contribute to a better management of public resources. A survey was carried out in Cyprus of users’ of public financial reports concerning an expectation gap about the types of information included in such reports (information needs expectation gap) as well as the quality of such information (information quality satisfaction gap). The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Two focus groups of users and preparers of public financial reports were used to construct the questionnaire. Users of such reports, who belonged to all three categories of public sector financial reporting identified by IPSASB, were surveyed. The quantitative data obtained was analysed using SPSS and quadrant analysis to answer the research questions posed. Findings – Data from 101 respondents confirmed that each of the information needs identified in the IPSASB Consultation Paper (2008) was rated as being a significant information need. Data analysis also showed that both types of expectation gap exist, especially as far as local authority and semi-public organisations are concerned. Research limitations/implications – The response rate in the self-administered survey was admittedly rather low but it was not unexpected mainly due to the survey’s very specialised nature and the tendency by people in Cyprus not to critique public bodies. Practical implications – Deficient financial public sector reporting means the auditor general is not able to adequately express an opinion on public spending at the local government level. This, in turn, means taxpayers do not get the quality of services they pay for. At the same time, the lack of information transparency means corrupt practices are not eradicated. One answer to the problem would be legislating the content of public financial reports. Social implications – The lack of governance-by-public exposure means that services to the local community cost a lot more, due to corruption and inefficiency. In addition, it contributes to lowering market confidence and eventually contributes to financial crisis at the national level. Originality/value – The survey conducted was the first of its kind in Cyprus to investigate financial public sector reporting and document both manifestations of the expectation gap. In addition, information needs identified in the IPSASB Consultation Paper (2008) was rated as significantly needed and this is the first time it has been done in Eurozone member state and in a country facing a financial crisis.
Maria Krambia Kapardis and Konstantinos Papastergiou
Emerald
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate fraud victimisation of Greek companies during the financial crisis years. Moreover, the paper seeks to encourage the implementation of proactive and reactive measures in an effort to minimize fraud victimisation. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on an extensive literature review and utilising a questionnaire administered by Krambia-Kapardis and Zopiatis (2010), auditors and management of companies who had fallen victim to fraud provided information on the typology of fraud and on proactive and reactive measures taken after a fraud incident had been reported to them. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the collected data and address the postulated research questions. Findings The survey has found that no industry or size of company is immune from fraud, with bigger companies and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) falling victim to industrial espionage and theft of cash and counterfeit, respectively. The banking and insurance sector appeared to be affected mainly by money laundering. Management fraud was mainly in the form of window dressing, whilst employee fraud involved predominately theft of cash and assets. Loss of reputation emerged as the main concern for the victim, and it had a determining impact on deciding not to report cases to the police. Research limitations/implications Because of the sensitive topic being investigated and despite having assured the respondents that their anonymity would be guaranteed, the respondents were hesitant in responding. Thus, the response rate was 16.4 per cent, slightly lower than a similar study carried out in Cyprus (Krambia-Kapardis and Zopiatis 2010). The findings, however, are considered to be reliable, given the fact that the respondents were individuals well versed with the topic under investigation and in a position to know if their company had fallen victim to fraud. Practical implications The findings have practical relevance to both industry stakeholders and academics who wish to further explore fraud victimization in the Greek business environment. Given that the financial crisis in Greece is continuing, fraud risk assessment ought to concentrate in the area of cash, and preventative measures need to be considered by the regulators and the victims. Originality/value Whilst fraud victimisation studies are becoming popular by the Big 4 accounting firms, there is no fraud victimisation study concentrating on the typology of fraud in Greece. With this survey, it will be possible to draw conclusions and make suggestions to the accounting profession on how to combat fraud, at a time, when the economic crisis is persisting and fraud is expected to escalate.
Andreas Assiotis and Maria Krambia-Kapardis
Emerald
Purpose – This paper aims to verify the perceptions of Cypriot society in relation to corruption. In an attempt to do so, 1,521 Cypriots participated between the months of September 2011 and October 2011 in the survey on the level of corruption in Cyprus. The survey was conducted by the organization “Transparency Cyprus”. Participants were 52 per cent female and 48 per cent male, age groups covered by 18 years until retirement, of whom 51 per cent work in the private sector, 16 per cent in the public sector, 24 per cent do not work, while 9 per cent work in semi-governmental organizations. Finally, 34 per cent are high school graduates, 37 per cent had higher education and 29 per cent hold a postgraduate university degree. The survey results show that corruption in Cyprus is considered by the vast majority of participants (86 per cent) as a serious problem and will also increase due to the economic crisis (79 per cent). The majority (93 per cent) of respondents believes that corruption and/or abuse of power for personal benefit exists and is widespread in most national politicians, in government officials in awarding public tenders (92 per cent) and in the police (90 per cent). Design/methodology/approach – In an attempt to verify the perceptions of Cypriot society in relation to corruption, 1,521 Cypriots participated between the months of September 2011 and October 2011 in the survey on the level of corruption in Cyprus. To analyze the results of the survey, the statistical package SPSS has been utilized. Findings – Seventy per cent consider corruption a major issue in Cyprus, while 60 per cent are being or have been affected by corruption directly. Almost all interviewees (92 per cent) believe that the police are also corrupted. Sixty-one per cent believe that not enough is being done to fight corruption, and in the cases that something was done, it was not enough. Seventy-five per cent blame the government, 67 per cent blame the police and 58 per cent blame the prosecutors and judges. Research limitations/implications – On the completion of the upcoming survey (for the year 2013), one can compare these results and identify the associations between the two surveys. Another limitation of this survey is that people could have answered based on their perceptions; therefore, the results should be treated with extra care. Originality/value – This research manuscript takes a step further to deepen our understanding of corruption in Cyprus. The findings of the survey performed could serve as policy prescription for the policy-makers who aim to strengthen the institutional environment in Cyprus. To do so, one should examine the current stage of the environment in Cyprus, something that this research paper explores through the survey conducted.
Maria Krambia-Kapardis
Emerald
Purpose – The main aim of the paper is to determine whether countries with enacted legislation on electoral accountability issues (such as conflict of interest, revolving doors, asset disclosure, lobbying, immunity, political party funding and a code of conduct for politicians) have lower corruption perception than countries that do not have legislation on those variables. Design/methodology/approach – The author utilised the corruption reports developed by the corruption country experts appointed by the EU DG Home and carried a correlation analysis between the above variables and the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) developed by Transparency International. Findings – A correlation was only found for the asset disclosure variable and CPI. Alternative factors borne out of the literature are briefly discussed and suggestions for future research are made. Research limitations/implications – Due to the small sample size (n=26), the statistical analysis that could be carried out was limited. Practical implications – One policy implication of the negative finding obtained is that politicians are well advised to invest in measures that will enhance the electorate's trust in them. Passing anti-corruption legislation alone does not yield low corruption perception. Originality/value – This is the first study of its kind addressing corruption correlates by looking at electorate accountability.
Anastasios Zopiatis, Maria Krambia-Kapardis, and Andreas Varnavas
SAGE Publications
Today’s hospitality workforce is more diverse than ever with the symbiotic co-existence of three different generations; Generation Y, Generation X and Baby Boomers. This co-existence poses numerous challenges for an industry that strives to achieve inter-generational comfort, thus avoiding conflict, an impediment to the effectiveness of even its most sophisticated organizations. Adopting a quantitative methodology, this article explores the occupational similarities and differences of the three prevailing generations, currently active in the diverse hospitality workplace, as well as investigating how each generation cohort is perceived by its own members in comparison to members of other generations. Findings, which provide invaluable insights of interest to hospitality stakeholders, confirm the vast perceptual inter-generational differences within a plethora of work-related issues.
Maria Krambia-Kapardis and Anastasios Zopiatis
Wiley
Accountants are neither devoid of ethical dilemmas nor are they immune from financial scandals. In order to improve the credibility of the profession, it is important to study the personal values that qualified and trainee accountants consider important. Using Maccoby's instrument, which measures head and heart values, qualified accountants (chartered and certified) and trainee accountants were surveyed for the first time in a European Union member country (Cyprus) to ascertain their character ethical traits/personal values. Accountants were found to value head more than heart traits and there were no gender differences. For male respondents, age and years of professional experience were significant correlates of the importance attributed to head traits, while having religious beliefs was associated with valuing heart traits more. Finally, the implications for accounting education and the professional bodies are considered.
Maria Krambia Kapardis
Emerald
Maria Krambia‐Kapardis, Chris Christodoulou, and Michalis Agathocleous
Emerald
PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to test the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) as a tool in fraud detection.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a review of the relevant literature on fraud detection by auditors, the authors developed a questionnaire which they distributed to auditors attending a fraud detection seminar. The questionnaire was then used to develop seven ANNs to test the usage of these models in fraud detection.FindingsUtilizing exogenous and endogenous factors as input variables to ANNs and in developing seven different models, an average of 90 per cent accuracy was found in the fraud detection prediction model. It has, therefore, been demonstrated that ANNs can be used by auditors to identify fraud‐prone companies.Originality/valueWhilst previous researchers have looked at empirical predictors of fraud, fraud risk assessment methods and mechanically fraud risk assessment methods, no other research has combined both exogenous and endogenous factors in developing ANNs to be used in fraud detection. Thus, auditors can use ANNs as complementary to other techniques at the planning stage of their audit to predict if a particular audit client is likely to have been victimized by a fraudster.
Maria Krambia‐Kapardis and Anastasios Zopiatis
Emerald
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and types of fraud victimization in small economies or specific industries in such economies. In addition, the paper identifies the state of the art in a small economy and considers policy implications.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on an extensive literature review, a questionnaire was developed, pilot tested and administered to individuals working in 600 randomly selected organizations in Cyprus. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the collected data and address the postulated research questions.FindingsIt is found that no industry or size of company is immune from fraud. Whilst executives are well aware of fraud, they do not seem to be able to prevent it in their organizations since 85.8 percent are victimized in the last five years. The deterrent impact/effect of both the code of conduct and the audit committee has been investigated. In addition, findings revealed the types of fraud least tolerated as well as those who pose the greatest risk to the local economic environment. Finally, the paper explores the actions taken by local companies when fraud is identified.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to the very sensitive nature of the research topic, many respondents felt reluctant to participate, resulting in an 18.83 percent response rate.Practical implicationsThe findings have a practical relevance to both industry stakeholders and academic scholars who wish to further explore fraud victimization in small economies. Numerous practical implications for the local industry and regulatory authorities are raised regarding fraud precaution and the need for a specialized fraud investigation team as well as forensic accountants is emphasized.Originality/valueFraud victimization studies have been carried out in bigger economies (G7 or E7) but not in smaller economies. This is the first in‐depth attempt to investigate fraud in a small economy in such detail, thus the paper adds to existing knowledge of interest to stakeholders.