The Role of Entrepreneurs and Accountants in Fighting against Corruption

The role of accountants is crucial for the development of the small and medium-sized businesses. Most entrepreneurs are interested in working with a professional accountant in order to avoid fraud, corruption and money laundering. Very often, starting a business requires entrepreneurs to understand the national or international laws and regulations. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) collectively are a big business and they generate worldwide nearly two-thirds of the jobs. The entrepreneurs and professional accountants could have an important role in combating corruption. This paper presents the way in which entrepreneurs are fighting against private sector corruption using the financial information, documents and the accounting system. The objective of this research is to present an analysis of the entrepreneurs' and accountants' activity in combating corruption, based on the questionnaires filled out by managers from medium-sized enterprises in Romania. The final part of the research reveals the results of the questionnaires, which indicate the importance of the partnerships around the world between the accountancy profession, business associations and public institutions, in order to reduce corruption and encourage regional development.