Unearthing Hidden Losses: A Systematic Review of Revenue Leakage

Purpose: This study investigates the issue of revenue leakage, in order to derive an accurate definition, and identify the key drivers, and prevention strategies across public and private sector organisations. The objective of this research is to synthesise fragmented insights, address conceptual ambiguities, and establish a foundation for advancing revenue leakage research. Design/methodology/approach : The study used a systematic literature review, to analyse n=1784 academic articles related to revenue leakage, sourced from n=7 academic databases. Using descriptive and thematic analyses, it consolidates existing knowledge, categorises research contributions, and highlights clear gaps in the existing literature. Findings : This study identifies revenue leakage as a critical issue across industries, with research concentrated in government administration, telecommunications, healthcare, and financial services. Africa and Asia lead revenue leakage studies, focusing on fiscal inefficiencies and governance, while Northern America and Oceania examine regulatory compliance and corporate taxation. Europe and Latin America remain underrepresented, highlighting research gaps. Quantitative research dominates, with archival research, case studies, and surveys being the most common methods. Key sources of RL include fraudulent practices, system and operational inefficiencies, data management issues, tax avoidance, billing errors, and contractual breaches. Detection strategies primarily involve audits, financial performance analytics, technology-enabled monitoring, client billing assessment, and contract performance evaluation, while prevention measures emphasise governance improvements, legislative reforms, employee training, process automation, and technology adoption. The findings highlight gaps in empirical validation and theoretical development, reinforcing the need for interdisciplinary research and structured prevention frameworks. Research limitations/implications : The review was limited to English-language articles indexed in major scholarly databases, potentially overlooking non-indexed or non-English contributions. Further research is recommended to validate findings across diverse sectors and geographies to enhance their applicability. Practical implications : This study offers actionable insights for organisations to address revenue leakage by improving data accuracy, strengthening compliance with contractual terms, and refining operational practices. It advocates embedding revenue leakage prevention within broader governance frameworks to achieve sustainable revenue recovery. Originality/value : This study provides the first comprehensive review of the academic literature on revenue leakage, it advances current scholarly understanding of the topic by consolidating definitions, identifying key drivers, and proposing a robust agenda for future research. Paper type : Systematic Literature Review.