The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) published a recent report in which they found that the average fraud loss to medium and small businesses was over $55,000. If your business generates pretax profits of less than $1,000, 000, can you afford to write off business fraud?
How to reduce business fraud
Require every employee to complete an employment application. Ask if they have any criminal history and complete a background check.
Only use pre-approved vendors.
Include a code of ethics in your employee handbook.
Provide annual training.
Sign off on all expenses over $50; this includes expense accounts.
Require all employees to take their scheduled vacations.
Have separation of services between check writing, approval and deposits.
Use an outside CPA to audit books and complete tax returns.
Purchase employee dishonesty coverage.
Employee dishonesty is the most common fidelity threat; including losses due to employee dishonesty, credit card forgery, computer fraud and theft, and disappearance and destruction of property.
An Employee Dishonesty bond provides coverage when an employee steals money, equipment or other assets from you or one of your clients. Employee dishonesty coverage is one of the key coverages provided in a commercial crime policy.
At Belltown Insurance Group, we provide comprehensive Business Owners Policy (BOP) insurance to many businesses in San Diego and throughout the state of California. A BOP combines all different coverages into one policy to protect your small to medium-size business assets.