This dissertation is dedicated to the development of theoretical and methodological foundations, as well as the substantiation of scientific-methodological and practical recommendations for the application of economic forensics as a security innovation for enterprises in the context of economic digitalization. The research aims to substantiate a comprehensive set of theoretical provisions and scientific-methodological approaches to utilizing economic forensics as a security innovation for enterprises amid digital transformation. The object of the study is the processes of ensuring enterprise economic security. The subject encompasses the theoretical, scientific-methodological, and practical foundations of economic forensics as a security innovation in the digital economy.
To achieve the stated objective, the following tasks were addressed: analyzing the genesis of economic forensics from a security perspective; identifying its distinctive features within contemporary economic theory schools; elucidating the essence of digital forensics as an enterprise security innovation; assessing risks and opportunities of economic forensics in the context of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies; evaluating the state of enterprise economic security in Ukraine regarding digital forensics; substantiating a forensic system for enhancing economic security in Ukraine; defining conceptual provisions for an institutional mechanism for economic forensics in Ukraine; justifying the economic impact of implementing this mechanism; and outlining strategic directions for its adoption in Ukrainian enterprises.
The logical-structural framework of the study involves a simultaneous progression from the general to the specific and from the abstract to the concrete. Economic security is considered at international and national levels within the comprehensive (abstract) concept of economic security. At the specific and concrete level, economic forensics is examined in enterprises under conditions of economic digitalization.
As enterprise economic security can be analyzed through the categories of "state" and "process," two approaches—systemic and comprehensive—were developed. Similarly, economic forensics is viewed as a security innovation formed at the intersection of economics and law, grounded in institutional and neo-institutional economic theories.
It is demonstrated that forensics serves as an anti-corruption tool, minimizing risks at the enterprise level and their interactions, which is particularly significant in the context of Ukraine’s European integration, where high corruption levels pose a substantial barrier.
It is substantiated that the maximum effect of implementing economic forensics tools for enterprise economic security can be achieved through a unified institutional mechanism—a system integrating processes, procedures, and their methodological, organizational, informational, legal, and resource support, aimed at enhancing the economic security of enterprises and the state. This mechanism operates at both enterprise and state levels. At the enterprise level, it involves data collection and analysis, risk and suspicious activity detection, internal response, follow-up monitoring, and, if necessary, engagement with law enforcement. At the state level, it supports informational infrastructure, aggregates and analyzes enterprise data, prepares analytical reports, proposes legislative amendments, and responds to crises. The mechanism includes an informational infrastructure with a user-friendly interface, database, and processing tools utilizing machine learning, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. Systematic data collection and analysis of business operations that pose risks to economic security enhance the likelihood of accurate risk identification and expedite enterprise responses. Comprehensive adoption of the economic forensics system, optimization of information analysis, risk detection, and accessible data improves the efficiency of state decision-making in forensics, refines the regulatory environment, reduces the burden on law enforcement and judicial systems, enhances enterprise economic performance, and prevents crises, ultimately strengthening the economic security of both enterprises and the state.
