One of the lessons of the recent economic downturn was the need for all
businesses and organisations to remain alert to the potential for fraud.
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.
In smaller organisations fraud can take many
forms e.g. invoice scams, to suppliers providing kickbacks for inflated
purchases, theft of stock, fictitious expenses etc.
For larger organisations the potential for
various fraud activities exists but the numbers involved
are far greater.
It is vital that all organisations have
systems in place to monitor all of the company’s finances and commitments in a
clear and concise format.
Simple but effective systems of checks and
balances can go a long way to limiting if not removing the risks.
It is all but impossible to ensure that any
organisation is “fraud proof” but by establishing robust and efficient systems
some measures of comfort can be introduced.
After all it is never comfortable experience
to discover that someone else is holding your wallet.
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