Amid the massive digitization of financial flows, forensic accounting is emerging as a strategic lever to strengthen the prevention, detection, and control of financial irregularities. This study aims to examine the associations between forensic accounting practices and perceived financial fraud control, and to analyze the mediating roles of corporate governance quality, transparency, and disclosure. A quantitative survey was conducted with 325 audit, control, and accounting professionals. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to assess the direct and indirect relationships. Fraud prevention mechanisms have the strongest correlation with financial fraud control (β = 0.310; p < 0.001), followed by forensic data analysis (β = 0.270; p < 0.001), litigation support (β = 0.084), and fraud detection techniques. Forensic data analysis is associated with the quality of corporate governance (β = 0.480; p < 0.001), while transparency and disclosure practices are the most important determinants of perceived financial fraud control (β = 0.463; p < 0.001), followed by governance quality (β = 0.165). Mediation analyses show that corporate governance and transparency primarily amplify the relationship between prevention mechanisms and forensic data analysis, whereas the mediating effects of detection techniques are not significant. Financial fraud control is strongly associated with an integrated approach that combines prevention, analytical capabilities, quality governance, and transparency, rather than with detection activities alone. The findings provide an explanatory model that highlights the organizational mechanisms by which forensic accounting practices strengthen governance and control over financial fraud.

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractLebanon is characterized by a fragile economy, rising deficit, and low compliance. Tax deviance poses a major drain to public finances and undermines fiscal sustainability, particularly in the Lebanese context, where the quality of the tax framework directly influences taxpayer behavior. Hence, understanding the mechanisms by which tax legislation and administration shape the intent to defraud is crucial for strengthening tax compliance. This paper examines the influence of the tax framework, namely tax legislation and administration, on tax evasion intentions, with a focus on the mediating role of taxpayer preparedness. The analysis adopts a quantitative approach, using a questionnaire administered to 318 SMEs registered as taxpayers in the Akkar area, employing simple random sampling. The data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, followed by structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. The results reveal that tax legislation has a direct effect on evasion intention (β = 0.466; p < 0.001), while tax administration exerts a moderate direct influence (β = 0.148). Taxpayer preparedness emerged as a primary determinant with a strong direct impact (β = 0.744) and a proven mediating role between tax legislation (β = 0.098), tax administration (β = 0.012), and tax evasion. These findings corroborated that evasion is a causal process in which individual preparedness is key to enhancing compliance. Effective tax policies must incorporate targeted actions on tax education and procedural simplification. Consequently, the study advocates for a transition from coercive to educational tax policies, emphasizing that a comprehensive institutional overhaul is required to rebuild trust in Lebanon’s fiscal system.