Employee fraud on the rise: 4 ways to safeguard
March 5, 2009 by Jared BilskiPosted in: Communication tips, Fraud prevention, In this week's e-newsletter, Internal controls, Latest news & views, Management issues
Like a see-saw, as the economy plunges downward, employee fraud skyrockets — especially in small, private firms.
The reasons for employee fraud are many and varied, but there are certain safeguards that can help keep your company safe:
- Double-check finances. Even if you have a trusted bookkeeper, it doesn’t hurt to take another look yourself. From bank statements to signed checks, making sure nothing is amiss can help save a lot of anguish down the road.
- Beef-up security. People steal less when they feel as though others are watching. Installing security cameras around cash-heavy areas in the office is a great way to keep employee theft down.
- Random audits. Enlisting an outside accountant to come in and periodically perform surprise audits of your books will decrease the chance fraudulent employees have to cover up their tracks.
- Get staffers involved. Often, employees have a good notion when something is going on in the office but keep silent for fear of retaliation. The more comfortable and safe staffers feel about the reporting process, the more likely they’ll be to help out. One option: Create a system (hot line, e-mail program, etc.) where employees can report suspicious activity anonymously.
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Tags: Employee fraud protection, Random audits, Security cameras
July 17th, 2009 at 8:28 am
[...] economic uncertainty, employee theft tends to increase — especially for smaller businesses. Here are four safeguards to keep your company [...]