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Preventing Embezzlement in Your Business
Many businesses are faced with the challenge of preventing employees from embezzling money. This problem persists even though harsh criminal penalties are in place to prevent this kind of practice from occurring.
If you think someone in your workforce is embezzling money, take action and speak to a qualified attorney so that you can resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Your business’s productivity is at stake, and consulting an attorney about the specific legal recourse of such actions can be very beneficial.
By taking several steps, you can prevent your business from falling prey to embezzlers. These steps can be applied to any type of business.
1) Apply Layers of Approval throughout the Business
Any employee handling money should have direct authorization, and there should be double signatures that indicate that the money was counted and verified by two people when it is turned in to the accounting department. Even in small businesses, it is important to implement this measure. This may mean that you need to find someone to volunteer to sign on exchanges of money.
You should also require back up documentation to ensure that the records are kept properly. If your business has credit cards or checks, take proper precautions as well. Credit card transactions should require prior written authorization, and checks should not be left signed.
2) Separate Duties
It is important to make sure that you have more than one person accounting for all of the money in the business. This means that a person should be responsible for transactions, authorizing payments, and appropriating bank deposits/creating statements. All statements should also be delivered sealed and unopened by the person responsible for the exchange.
3)Perform an Inventory of Fixed Assets Periodically and without Notice
One of the most effective ways to prevent embezzlement from occurring in your business is to perform a fixed asset inventory regularly and without notice. These checks should reveal that all of the fixed assets, e.g., equipment, other goods needed to run the business, are as expected.
4) Perform Necessary Criminal and Background Checks on All Employees Handling Money
Background checks can be an asset in revealing people with tendencies to commit crimes. Performing background checks on every person on your staff can be extremely beneficial; however, if this is not particularly cost or time effective, you can perform the checks on all of those people responsible for handling money.
If you suspect that someone is committing embezzlement in your office, it is important to seek legal counsel and bring all of the appropriate documentation with you. This will help the attorney to map out problem areas and help you find out whether or not you need to press charges to resolve the issue.
An attorney can also help those that have been charged with embezzlement to understand the legal ramifications of the crime and to discuss appropriate ways to defend against these allegations. Embezzlement is a very serious crime, and consulting an attorney is the best way to fully understand how the law will handle your case.