The Fight Against Business Fraud - Who is a Target?

10/08/2018

by Dawn W. Brolin, CPA CFE

Do you own a business?  Do you think your business is too small to worry about fraud?  If you answered yes to either or both of those questions, you are a target.  According to the 2018 Report To The Nations published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners states that over $7 Billion stolen in 2017 from businesses.  That includes both large business and small business.  Here are a few simple internal controls that you can implement at a reasonable price and implementation cost:

Receipts:  One simple misconception by owners is that a credit card statement will stand up in the event of an IRS audit.  That is simply not true.  Investing in a receipt tracking app will assist you with this required information.  I recommend Receipt Bank for this internal control.  If you can take a picture, you will be able to use this app.

Time Stealing:  Employees cheating on manual time sheets cost employers thousands of dollars every year.  The cost to implement a time tracking solution is minimal and will assist in the prevention of this crime.  GPS tracking is a must have.  I recommend TSheets by QuickBooks to help minimize the risk of time stealing.

Document Retention:  Documents such as employee & subcontractor agreements, contracts, and other important business related documents should be stored securely and have permission level controls.  Your processes, procedures, templates and other business related documents are part of your intellectual property.  Don't allow that information to walk out the door.  I recommend SmartVault for this internal control.

Simple internal controls can assist business owners from minimizing the risk of being a part of that statistic.  The return on investment in Internal Controls will pay for itself quickly.  Not only will the controls assist you in the minimizing the risk of fraud, but also help the business prevent tax fraud.  More to come on tax fraud.