Personality traits common to fraud investigators

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the personality traits common to fraud investigators utilizing the ten-item personality inventory (TIPI) instrument. Moreover, the paper seeks to encourage employers and academics to consider identifying the personality traits common to fraud investigators in hiring and educating potential future investigators. Design/methodology/approach A survey was administered to 183 professionals using the TIPI instrument Findings The professionals surveyed self-reported a high level of conscientiousness, measured as a mean of > 12 on a scale of 14. A secondary finding is that the professionals surveyed who are “more experienced” at fraud investigation exhibit more openness and less neuroticism than those with less investigation experience. Research limitations/implications The first limitation is the small number of usable responses (183). A second limitation is that surveys were administered in only two states, and the results may not reflect the general population of professionals who search for fraud. A third limitation is that the survey respondents had a wide variety of careers, and the results may have differed if the survey had been administered to only one type of investigator. Practical implications The results have implications for employers, fraud investigators and academics. Given that fraud is prevalent in all industries around the world, employers may wish to pinpoint current or potential employees who have the personality type(s) that are best suited to detect fraud. Also, academics may identify students who have the personality type(s) that are best suited for a career in fraud detection. Originality/value This the first study to explore the personality types that may identify persons who are well suited for fraud detection.