ACCESSING THE EFFICIENCY OF BENEISH M-SCORE IN DETECTING EARNINGS MANIPULATION

Abstract: Businesses are expected to reveal accurate and trustworthy financial information in the business world. The deliberate manipulation of a company's reported financial performance is known as financial statement fraud. Key financial statement for the company In the name of creative accounting, frauds are allowed to go unpunished. However, they must be examined for lessons learned and methods to prevent or lessen the occurrence of similar scams in the future. For shareholders, especially the average person who only has access to the company's reported financial figures, it is crucial. Using the Earnings Quality, Beneish models of fraud detection, this study aims to identify financial statement fraud practices in the Indian pharmaceutical industry for the benefit of investors. The outcome demonstrates that financial statement fraud exists in the investigated companies. Therefore, it is anticipated that the study will contribute to enhancing investors' perceptions of a company's performance as indicated by its financial figures.

Keywords: "Financial Statement Fraud", "Earnings Quality", "De-Angelo Model"," Beneish Model"