Employee theft is one of the largest and most costly problems the U.S. faces. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), 33% of all business bankruptcies are caused by employee theft.
In fact, 75% of all employees have stolen at least once from their employer, whether it is accidental or not, this number is staggering. 37.1% of thefts are committed by a manager, and another 29% by employees who have had ideas stolen from them at work.
In total, employee theft costs businesses between $20 to $50 billion dollars every year. There are many forms of theft. Some of them include:
- Larceny. Taking cash or property from the business
- Embezzlement. Someone in a position of trust (like a bookkeeper or senior manager) who steals cash or property from the business.
- Payroll Schemes. Fabricating time cards to receive pay for more hours than actually worked, or using writing checks for “phantom employees”.
- Billing Schemes. Falsifying vendor accounts and paying said fake vendor for nonexistent goods or services.
- Expense Reimbursement Fees. Adding items never incurred or not work related to expense reports.
- Information Theft. Supplying proprietary information to competitors (like trade secrets or customer lists).
- Time Theft. Employee using company time to conduct personal business.
There are a number or ways to reduce the chances of having employee theft happen to your business. Completing background checks and following through with candidate references is a good first step. Create a strong management environment to deter theft, and control cash intake. Always have a “check and balance” system in place, as well as being knowledgeable on what inventory is received and accounted for. Even with all of these precautions there is always a chance that employee theft can occur, and having a high definition security camera system in place is necessary in order to keep your business running smoothly.
Being able to monitor your business with an NVR (Network Video Recorder) will bring great relief to know that all is going smoothly, and in the event that it isn’t, will give you the footage you need to press charges against those who would try to steal from your business.
