With the current pressures we are now facing from the recession the risk of fraud for all sizes of businesses has increased significantly.
Consider our top ten tips for detecting and preventing fraud.
1. Begin by recruiting the right people to work in your organization.
2. Ensure that you have a clear policy that fraud will not be tolerated within the organization.
3. Consider which areas of your organization could be at risk, then plan and implement appropriate defences.
4. Wherever possible don’t have only one person who is responsible for controlling an entire area of the business.
5. Don’t pre-sign blank cheques other than in exceptional circumstances.
6. Be on the lookout for unusual requests from staff involved in the accounting function.
7. Watch out for employees who are overly protective of their role - they may have something to hide.
8. Watch out for notable changes in cashflow when an employee is away from the office.
9. Prepare budgets and monthly management accounts and compare these against your actual results so that you are aware of variances.
10. Where a fraudster is caught, make sure that appropriate action is taken and learn from the experience.
If you need any advice give me, Simon Shaw, a call at Duncan Toplis in Newark, Nottinghamshire 01636 640321
