Fraud is a potential threat to every company, including small and medium sized businesses. The good news is that the risk of fraud can be managed. The following is a checklist of simple and affordable measures for small and medium sized business owners and managers on managing the risk of employee fraud.
- Accept the idea that fraud is commonplace and can happen in any business. If something seems odd, whether it is a disbursement to an unfamiliar supplier or unexpected costs, consider the possibility of fraud.
- Set an appropriate ethical example for employees to follow, and treat them with respect and fairness, including fair pay.
- Ask your employees to identify ways in which someone could commit fraud at your company and the ways to avoid it.
- Develop a code of conduct that explicitly prohibits employees from committing fraud, conflict of interest and illegal acts and ensure all employees get copies of it. Consider having key employees provide annual confirmations of their compliance and have a clear company policy on time and expense reporting.
- Adopt a “trust, but verify” code. If you need only one bookkeeper, conduct a careful background check before hiring. Take note of employees who appear to live substantially beyond their means.
- Verify the credentials of all new suppliers before they are authorised to supply the company. Periodically review suppliers to identify possible improprieties.
- Make sure all disbursements are properly approved.
- Protect yourself against cheque alterations by adopting electronic transfers for large payments, using standing order for payroll, placing a euro limit on cheques and implementing up-to-date cheque security measures.
- Review original bank statements before your bookkeeper does. Keep an eye out for unexpected overdrafts or declines in the cash balance.
- Make sure bank statements are reconciled each month and that an expert adviser, such as the company auditor reviews the bookkeeper’s work periodically.
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