Preventing Employee Dishonesty > Financial Controls
In this series of posts, we’ve covered the best ways for staffing agencies (and any other business) to mitigate internal crime. The first feature we covered was how to run effective background checks. Next up, we’re diving deeper into implementing financial controls to prevent fraud. In the event something does go awry or you experience loss, a Staffing Crime Insurance policy will be your first line of defense.
Checks and balances.
Being proactive is one of the most effective ways to deter crime. According to Journal of Ahima, the following precautions are recommended:
- Requiring receipts for ANY expenditure that is reimbursed or paid.
- Requiring two signatures for checks issued.
- Performing quarterly (or more frequent) verification of the cash balances, deposits, withdrawals, and expenditure accounting by two officers.
- Requiring a criminal background check.
- Arranging for routine external audits.
Think big and small.
It’s easy for staffing agencies to look at the big picture. However, when dealing with large sums of income and cash management, it can be easy to overlook small losses. With that in mind, external audits become beneficial. Agencies should hire an external auditor annually to ensure the financials are in good health and that any red flags are identified and addressed. Small embezzlements have the potential to increase to a huge loss over time, so be proactive about implementing sound financial controls
About World Wide
For the last 50 years, World Wide Specialty Programs has dedicated itself to providing the optimal products and solutions for the staffing industry. As the only insurance firm to be an ASA commercial liability partner, we are committed to that partnership and committed to using our knowledge of the industry to provide staffing firms with the best possible coverage. For more information about Staffing Professional Liability Insurance or any other coverage we have available to protect your staffing business, give us a call at (800) 245-9653 to speak with one of our representatives.