No business owner likes to think that they could become a victim of embezzlement, but it can happen. Embezzlement is a type of financial fraud, or stealing assets and money from a business or organization. Although there is no guarantee that it will not happen to your business or organization, there are some ways that you might be able to prevent it from happening.
One thing that you can do is make sure that you hire trustworthy employees. Most of the time during the interview an employer can analyze the integrity and honesty of a prospective employee. When you are interviewing and hiring a person to work in the department that handles your assets and money, make sure that the person doing the interview has the expertise and experience to pick the right employee. You should also do a reference check by talking to their previous employers. You could also do a police background check.
No matter how big or small the company is, make sure that you have at least two people keeping the books. This way if there is an error, then the other bookkeeper can catch the mistake before it becomes a high financial loss. In addition, with more than one bookkeeper neither of them would have the courage to play with the money or assets of the business or organization. Have all checks being used to pay bills signed by two people who have been given the right and neither of them should be the one writing the check.
