Rising Threat: Employee Embezzlement and How to Prevent It

Overview:

• Even government agencies are not immune to theft and embezzlement. In a shocking case, a Washington state employee embezzled $900,000 from the Office of Administrative Hearings through fraudulent credit card purchases and various schemes.
• This incident marks the largest theft in 15 years from the state of Washington, highlighting the risks all organizations, including private companies, face regarding embezzlement.

Key Points:

• Risk of Embezzlement: Government agencies experience theft and embezzlement every day, similar to private companies.
• Prevention Strategies:
  • Implement controls, such as:
    • Assigning someone else to open credit card statements.
    • Cross-referencing all financial statements.
    • Ensuring that multiple people are involved in auditing processes to deter theft.
  • Adopt common best practices to enhance financial security without incurring additional labor costs.
• Expert Consultation:
  • We offer live one-on-one consultations with licensed certified experts who can provide tailored advice on your situation and discuss your options.

Resources:

• Visit Active Intel for more information on easy-to-implement strategies to keep your agency or business financially secure.

Call to Action:

• If you found this episode helpful, check out more content on our channel for additional insights on similar topics to assist you in resolving your issues.

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Even government agencies have theft and embezzlement in their ranks. A Washington state employee stole $900,000 from the division they work for, the Office of Administrative Hearings, 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.

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, and 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's a lot of very common best practices you can put in place in your company or your agency. You can check out our website, activeintel.com, which will tell you more about things you can put in place that are very easy to do.

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.

If you like this video, be sure to click on a few others on our channel to see if there's other information that might be helpful to you about this same subject or maybe even other related subjects that could assist you with your resolution of your issue.