Accounting Horizons American Accounting Association Vol. 26, No. 3 DOI: 10.2308/acch-50175 2012 pp. 513–531 COMMENTARY Commentary from the American Accounting Association’s 2011 Annual Meeting Panel on Emerging Issues in Fraud Research Richard G. Brody, Sara R. Melendy, and Frank S. Perri INTRODUCTION A t one of the forensic and investigative accounting panels at the American Accounting Association’s 2011 Annual meeting, panelists discussed some of the common misconceptions about fraud, the dearth of articles related to fraud examination and forensic accounting published in the mainstream accounting journals, and the many opportunities for future research in these areas. They also discussed the publication process as it relates to articles on fraud examination and forensic accounting topics. This article summarizes their discussion, and also draws upon some of the relevant published literature to highlight some of the fraud topics that are still largely unexplored and thus ripe for academic research. An emerging area of research is in the fraud and forensic accounting area. As a result of increased interest in fraud and forensic topics, journals (both new and old) are interested in manuscripts. The purpose of this paper is to (1) critically evaluate the state of current fraud research and provide guidance for future researchers, and (2) examine the publication process for both practitioner and scholarly journals from both an editorial and topical perspective. For readers who may be unfamiliar with the difference between forensic accounting and fraud examination, forensic accounting is a broader term that involves using accounting for investigative or other legal applications, such as corporate acquisition, divorce proceedings, insurance settlement, or other legal purposes. Joe Wells (2003) defines forensic accounting as work done by accountants Richard G. Brody is a Professor at The University of New Mexico, Sara R. Melendy is an Associate Professor at Gonzaga University, and Frank S. Perri is an Attorney in Winnebago County, IL. The authors thank participants at the American Accounting Association’s 2011 Annual Meeting in Denver, CO on August 10, 2011 for their insightful comments and discussion that contributed to the content of this paper. The American Accounting Association hosted a panel discussion at the 2011 Annual Meeting on research related to the fields of fraud examination and forensic accounting. Panelists included Rich Brody, a Professor at The University of New Mexico and a member of the Board of Advisors of Fraud Magazine, Vicky Arnold, a Professor at the University of Central Florida and the editor of Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research, Donald Kent, an Associate Professor at The College at Brockport, SUNY, and Jeffrey Goodwin, a partner from the Denver office of Deloitte & Touche, LLP. The co-editor, Terry Shevlin, invited the presenters on the panel to prepare a write-up of the panel presentation and discussion. Submitted: January 2012 Accepted: February 2012 Published Online: September 2012 Corresponding author: Sara Melendy Email: melendy@jepson.gonzaga.edu 513