Embezzlement in Government Agencies
Even government agencies have theft and embezzlement in their ranks. A Washington state employee stole $900,000 from the division they work for. They work for the Office of Administrative Hearings, and they stole through fraudulent credit card purchases and other types of schemes. So if you’re a private company, don’t think that you’re the only type of firm that’s at risk for embezzlement; government agencies have embezzlement and theft from their ranks every single day. This is a pretty big one; according to the article, it says it’s the largest theft in 15 years from the state of Washington.
Prevention Measures
How does this happen? Well, it’s easy to put controls on this. Have somebody else open credit card bills. Have somebody else check the mail. Have cross-references to all financial statements. Usually, the person that’s stealing does it because they know they’re the only ones that are auditing statements. There are a lot of very common best practices you can put in place in your company or your agency. You can check out our website active intel.com, which will tell you more about things you can put in place that are very easy to do.
Implementing Best Practices
It doesn’t take any more labor. It doesn’t take any more cost or expense. It’s something that can be done within the current workforce you have, and it also doesn’t create any mistrust. You’re not telling somebody, “I don’t trust you; I have to check you out.” It’s just a normal process you can do to keep your business or your department financially sound, where you can fulfill the requirements of your department or have money for marketing and business development in a private company.
