Use of Beneish M-Score: Case Study in the Spanish Fishing Sector

The manipulation of financial statements is a practice used by companies to obtain illicit benefits or advantages over competitors. One of the world's largest bluefin tuna exporters is implicated in an alleged fraud case and accused of committing multiple crimes, including offenses against public safety and money laundering. This study analyzes the company's likelihood of fraud using the Beneish method, which detected potential accounting irregularities in five of the eight years examined (2015–2022). The findings appear to corroborate the fraud allegations against the company.