Employee Theft: It Happens

Hoping to catch an employee red-handed, in-the-act? Well, look harder. The workplace thief  may not be who you think it is. In fact, worker theft commonly is committed by more senior, more trusted workers rather than recent hires (newbies)… in other words, those you might least suspect. “Generally, it takes someone with a high level of access to the various accounting systems and a high level of trust from management to be able to perpetrate the fraud,” according to one employment attorney. A frequent means of perpetrating the crime? Billing activity associated with fictitious or fraudulent-minded vendors. How to prevent employee theft? For starters, limit the amount of control any one person has over important accounting and bookkeeping functions. Read more here and here.