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  • June 2019
  • Article
  • Journal of Accounting Research

Fraud Allegations and Government Contracting

By: Jonas Heese and Gerardo Pérez Cavazos
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Abstract

This paper examines whether fraud allegations affect firms’ contracting with the government. Using a dataset of whistleblower allegations brought under the False Claims Act against firms accused of defrauding the government, we find that federal agencies do not reduce the total dollar volume of contracts with accused firms; however, they substitute approximately 14% of the harder-to-monitor cost-plus contracts for fixed-price contracts. This effect is concentrated in the procurement of services and explained by contract and service substitution. Lastly, we find that after the conclusion of the investigation, the government reduces the contract dollar volume by approximately 15% for cases that resulted in a settlement. Our findings indicate that contract-design changes are used to mitigate uncertainty in suppliers’ reputation.

Keywords

Whistleblower; Fraud Allegations; False Claims Act; Government Contracting; Risk Allocation; Government and Politics; Contracts; Crime and Corruption; Risk and Uncertainty; Business and Government Relations

Citation

Heese, Jonas, and Gerardo Pérez Cavazos. "Fraud Allegations and Government Contracting." Journal of Accounting Research 57, no. 3 (June 2019): 675–719.
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About The Author

Jonas Heese

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System Implementations and Corporate Misconduct By: Jonas Heese and Joseph Pacelli
  • Human Bias in the Oversight of Firms: Evidence from Workplace Safety Violations By: Jonas Heese, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Andreya Pérez Silva
  • Non-Financial Violations By: Jonas Heese
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