Fraud Detection and Deterrence

Fraud can be more devastating to a business, management, and employees than a fire, flood, or earthquake. Feelings of betrayal, when a trusted team member and friend has put the financial future of of everyone involved at risk, can undermine the day-to-day operations of a business. At best, fraud shakes a company to its foundations and creates a culture of mistrust and fear. At worst, damage from fraud can result in a company closing its doors forever.

Because of the challenges of the current economy, many companies must make the difficult decision to reduce staff size. One of the unwelcome effects of reduced staff size is that internal controls can be weakened, providing new opportunities for fraud. In addition, pay cuts, soaring debt, loss of jobs by spouses, loss of real estate value, and a plummeting stock market are placing more financial pressures than ever before on people who remain employed. The time is right for a spike in fraudulent activity. The Chubb group of insurance companies estimates that private firms experience $350,000 in losses over a period of five years due to fraud. Recent studies support this trend.

When it comes to fraud, we’ve noticed that one theme consistently repeats itself. After a fraud is uncovered, everyone is shocked, saying that they never would have suspected the perpetrator. But statistics show that significant fraud is present in 60% of all businesses.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that actions can be taken immediately to deter fraud within your organization, and we can help you.

Training and Internal Control Review

Our Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE) will review your processes and internal controls, and then work with management and employees to create and implement a comprehensive plan to deter and detect fraud. We help you create a culture within your organization where everyone knows that fraud is unacceptable, on any level. Our methods increase the perception that fraudulent activities will be detected and we make reporting of potential fraud as easy as possible.

Time is critical. If you think that someone is defrauding you or your client, contact us immediately for a free, confidential consultation to learn how we can help you.