Page 181 - SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES & COVID-19

The focus of this research is business barriers. A company has a goal of looking for profit and the survival of the company
is longer. In the business process, they will encounter obstacles that can reduce the smooth running of the business
cycle and even reduce profits. When the company realizes that there are obstacles, solutions must be found so that
business processes run well so that the company’s goals are achieved. Sometimes these obstacles require alternatives
because there is no other solution.

This is where business obstacles are felt to emerge as pressure. Albrecht’s (2014) explanation of the perceived pressure
is because according to him the pressure and opportunities are not real. But it can be felt. That is why the fraud triangle
has been updated as shown in Figure 1. Previously, fraud could occur even if only one element was fulfilled. He did not
realize that other elements must be fulfilled as well. This also answers the reason why someone chooses to commit
fraud or not when faced with the same situation. Maybe he didn’t see this as pressure. For those who feel business
constraints as pressure, there may be additional situations such as directing the company to achieve unrealistic
performance (Albrecht, 2014).

Furthermore, management as policy makers and business strategies have the opportunity to commit fraud. Apart from
policy, opportunities can also come from external factors, for example tax matters, management has meetings with tax
office officials. So that it creates closeness that can provide opportunities for fraud. This causes management to dare
to commit fraud because they feel that the actions taken are right and this action is aimed at the company. This is even
more so if fraud is committed in a corrupt environment. Management tends to be brave enough to commit fraud when
it feels others might be doing the same thing. Their perceptions of the judiciary are used to rationalize their actions.
Referring to Sutherland’s concept that crime can be learned through intense interaction.

2.3 Bureaucratics and Business Obstacles
Bureaucracy as a public servant also plays a role in economic growth. Ghosh & Mandal (2019) in their research argue
that the low salary of bureaucrats allows them to commit corruption. This can cause inefficiency and hinder the rate of
economic growth.

Previous research has also examined the role of corrupt officials and bribes. Abbink (2018) conducted experiments with
students in Argentina regarding corrupt officials and the level of bribery. Maulidi (2020) interviewed bureaucrats and
asked for their opinion regarding bribes, to the reason why they made it difficult for services. For this reason, this study
takes the company’s point of view regarding the payment of bribes. Is this difficult bureaucracy a business obstacle for
the company.

2.4 Other factor related bribery
The following are some of the factors related to bribery, such as manager experience, external auditors, judicial
perceptions, company size and age, barriers from competitors.

Top managers have responsibility for the overall performance of the company’s management. They are role models
for employees, so if top managers act unethically, employees below them will follow. So it is necessary to consider the
existence of top managers as decision makers of bribery by the company. With the power possessed by managers, they
tend to reduce the number of independent commissioners in order to manipulate financial reports (Fitri et al., 2019).

An experienced manager will maintain his old way of working (Hambrick, 2007). The majority of respondents from
Maulidi (2020) stated that the fraud they had committed since they were at the lower level followed suit from their
superiors who are now in upper management.

Companies that use the services of external auditors aim to make the financial statements presented can be trusted
with an opinion on the fairness of financial reporting from the external auditor. If the company chooses a bribe and is
detected by external auditors, the reliability level of its financial statements decreases. The external auditor should be
independent. They work under a regulated contract and comply with statutory provisions and professional standards
for external auditors. The external auditor should ideally be able to assess the risk of errors and irregularities (Khalil,
Saffar, & Trabelsi, 2015).

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