EXPENSE REPORTS - IT ALL STARTS SMALL AND SETTING A STANDARD
Expense reports, we love them and we hate them. They are a
necessary evil, annoying everyone involved. The employee searching for those
receipts, and those involved in the verification and authorization for payment,
I think we all agree that can be time consuming and tedious part of the
business. You may wonder what this has to do with fraud; even if there is a bit
of beefing up going on the amounts lost are very small?
That may indeed be true for most companies but at the same
time the actual financial loss is not the main consideration here. What does
expense report fraud tell us about the employee? If an employee is willing to
beef up his expense report could that same employee not maybe be inclined to
commit theft or fraud otherwise as well? Some common form of false or
fraudulent expense claims include:
·Claiming items for which not entitlement for
reimbursement is available
·Exceeding the limits for allowable expenses
·Splitting expenses in smaller chunks to cover up
for the fact that limits were exceeded
·Inflating legitimate expenses (lunch or diner
allowances deliberately inflated to the max)
·Claiming "cash" expenses to avoid
producing receipts (parking meters)
·Taking advantage of a maximum reimbursement
allowed without documentation: “sorry I lost my receipt or oops forgot to ask
for a receipt”
·Double billing expenses
·Expensing personal items
Expense report fraud tells you a lot about your employee. More
than once this type of theft can be indicative of other fraud problems. It wouldn't
be unthinkable for that employee to be stealing in other areas of the business.
The expense report theft is reflecting the employee's attitude toward the
business assets. Theft via expense reports remains a relatively insignificant
part of the financial picture of the business. For this reason, it's easy for businesses
to ignore the problem and not make too much fuss about it. Most likely it costs
more to investigate the problem than the actual cost of the theft.
Yet business owners and executives should not lose sight of
the fact that the expense report theft can have larger indirect consequences.
What is it you are actually telling your employees if an expense report fraud
is occurring but willing to overlooked? Employees may be tempted to see how far
they can go: how much dishonesty is allowed. Is this really what you as a
business owner or manager want? I didn’t think so. By allowing expense report
fraud, the business is sending out an inconsistent message. There are to be
clear expectations that are actually enforced. By allowing expense report fraud
to go by without consequences you are actually conveying the message that theft
and fraud not allowed UNLESS you leave it to small amounts only. But who will
be decising when the limit is exceeded? Instances of expense report fraud must
be investigated, and action must be taken against the employee. Management must
also consider what other fraud schemes the employee could be involved in.
Fostering ethical behaviour in a company starts with clear
rules and no exceptions for the seemingly insignificant issues. When businesses
enforce a zero tolerance policy with predictable regularity, employees are more
likely to behave more ethically in general. Demanding honesty in the expense
reporting process is one small part of setting the right tone for employees and
creating a culture of honesty.
Occupational fraud and abuse is on the rise, which should
not come as a surprise in the current economic climate. Financial pressures are
up and worldwide people are being laid off. In these circumstances more people,
and your employees are certainly no exception, are looking at alternatives.
Occupational fraud and abuse directly affects your bottom line and could very
well cost you your business. This is hardly a time to sit back and wait for it
to happen. A pro—active approach is required! See for yourself how you will be
able to learn from the experiences of a professional, an ex-fraudster and a
victim how to better protect your business and how to recognize the signs that
something may be wrong. Find out more here http://www.arcisfdec.com/documents/Occupational%20Fraud%20Abuse%20light.pdf
Workshop Safe Computer Use in the Workplace
In nowadays workplace the use of computers, internet
facilities and all kinds of mobile data carriers is standard. The world is
taken by the social web.Using real life
cases and case scenarios, facts and questions will provide participants a peek
into the world of digital crime and abuse as well as the inherent risks
associated with careless use of modern day facilities. Time and time again it
is proven that your weakest link in information security is the human and not
the technology. This workshop aims to enhance the awareness of you or your
employees about the risks and downright dangers associated with the use of
computers, internet facilities, mobile and portable devices for your business.
More importantly we will address how to deal with and manage these risks in a
not overtly technical sense but more from a human, policy and measures
perspective.
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I get a lot of leads about different stories and articles
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