No matter the size of your business, employee fraud can lead to major financial losses that are difficult to recover. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (AFCE), small businesses with less than 100 employees lose an average of $200,000 per scheme.
It’s critical to make sure your business is protected against fraud. Follow these three proven strategies to lower your fraud risk and improve detection.
Choose the Experienced Fraud Prevention Accountants – Call us at 478-746-6277
1. Vet and Train Your Team
Implement a formal process of background checks and interviews to vet employees who handle your company’s finances. As an employee’s responsibilities increase, so should your scrutiny. Be sure to thoroughly check your employees’ past and present situations to minimize the chance of fraud.
Train every employee on the types of fraud and the serious consequences of each, no matter how large the losses. Educating your team on typical signs and behaviors of someone committing fraud can also help honest employees report suspicious activity.
2. Regularly Audit Your Books
There are several benefits to regularly auditing your finances, including detecting fraud. Be sure to check areas of your business that deal with inventory, refunds, and accounting. In addition to regularly scheduled audits, conduct non-scheduled audits to catch fraud in high-risk areas of your business. The accountants at McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks & Co. can perform detailed audits for your business and offer skilled insight into ways you can guard against fraud.
3. Establish a Healthy Workplace Culture
A healthy workplace culture is one of honesty and openness. You can demonstrate these values to your employees by establishing an open-door policy, encouraging tips to suspicious activity. Many businesses set up an anonymous tip line or create online forms for honest employees to easily report fraudulent activity.
Choose the Experienced Fraud Prevention Accountants – Call us at 478-746-6277
How We Can Help
McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks & Co. can create a personalized strategy to prevent fraud in your business. We examine internal controls to find weaknesses and offer fraud education courses to your staff. Fraud losses can be devastating to an organization, but these can be prevented through periodic fraud reviews by our experienced professionals.