Deciding To Live On A Budget

Employee theft and fraud are not new issues in the retail and business world, but they are becoming more common ones. Business owners of all types are often victimized by dishonest employees who physically steal cash, merchandise, tools, and supplies or manipulate financial data or access to bank accounts and lines of credit to steal funds or commit fraud. If you are a business owner concerned about employee theft, the following information will help you limit your risks and safeguard your business's assets.

Provide Oversight

Although it is a disappointing fact, theft is often committed by the business owner's most trusted employees, or even close family members who work in roles where they have access to money or valuable items and little oversight.

Employers can help reduce instances of this type of employee theft by ensuring that the duties of handling incoming and outgoing monies are kept separate and that the employees who perform the duties are held accountable to upper-level management scrutiny. This is important, even in situations where the employee has always been trustworthy in the past or is a friend or relative of the business owner.

Outsource Financial Tasks

In many cases, the most efficient way to ensure that no employee has an opportunity to embezzle money from the company or access company funds or accounts illegally is to outsource to financial accounting services. Choose a reputable accounting services provider who is willing to provide timely attention to your financial needs, as well as itemized reports for all financial records. Contact an accounting service like James Gioia & Company PC for more information.

Controlling Entry and Exit

Small thefts of supplies, tools, or products add up over time. This type of theft often occurs when

• an employee carries out items or cash on their person or in purses, briefcases, toolboxes, and other baggage when leaving for the day.
• an employee has unsupervised access to the business before or after normal hours of operation.
• an employee has authority to ship or deliver packages during business hours.

To avoid this type of theft, business owners can install security cameras on all entry and exit points, utilize live security guards and take steps to both limit access and track each employee who enters and exits by requiring them to swipe a key card, sign a log, or punch in an entry code to gain access or leave the property. This type of accountability and tracking will make employees reluctant to risk being caught with stolen goods, thereby reducing some instances of employee theft.