As the economic realities continue to bite all
businesses and organisations must remain alert to the potential for fraud.
Companies blamed insider fraud perpetrated by either management or employees
for 80% of fraud-related financial losses last year.
Entrepreneurial owners of SME’s are a prime
target for fraud as overseeing finances doesn’t always come naturally to them.
If a founder is focusing mainly on the product or service being sold, and only
minimally on administration, it leaves a business vulnerable to fraud.
A recent report By KPMG has identified areas
where companies are potentially exposed these include back-office fraud,
procurement fraud and essentially plain old-fashioned con tricks.
Counterfeit fraud in 2012 was three times higher than the five-year
average, at £22.9m; Ponzi schemes worth £72m came to court last year - three
times higher than the level in 2011; and the value of fraud committed by
employees almost doubled to £25.1m over the last 12 months.
It is vital to have systems in place to monitor all the company’s
finances in a clear and concise format. After all it is never comfortable
experience to find that someone has their hands on your wallet.
This problem will not go away so vigilance is the order of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment