How to Prevent Fraud and Theft

I belong to many bookkeepers groups and one topic I see time and time again is fraud and how it is affecting businesses.  When hiring an out-sourced bookkeeper, many business owners are worried about handing the company's financial responsibilities over to someone they don't know.  What they don't realize is that fraud and embezzlement can also occur with a full-time employee just as much as it could with an out-sourced bookkeeper.  In fact, most of the news articles I read about fraud, theft, and embezzlement are perpetrated by employees.  Here is an example... I recently  read an article about a woman who worked as a controller for an Acura dealership in Pennsylvania.  Here is the first paragraph of that article:

"Patricia Smith, the former controller of an auto dealership in Pennsylvania, is headed to jail after embezzling $10 million from her former boss in a stunning case of a trusted employee looting the business then squandering the cash on luxuries."- ABC News (link to article below) http://abcnews.go.com/Business/employee-scams-car-dealership-10m/story?id=16604125

As a bookkeeper and business owner I am not only shocked that someone could do that but that it went on for seven years before it was detected. 

The key to preventing fraud, theft, and embezzlement is to have proper checks and balances in place.  Here are steps you can take to protect yourself and your business:

1.  Have a separation of duties-  The person who receives cash should not be the same person who takes it to the bank, the person who cuts checks should not be the person who signs them, and so on.

2.  Audit your books at least once a year by an outside and experienced person.  You should also run monthly "Audit Trail" reports in QuickBooks.

3.  When a mistake is made on a check, have your bookkeeper "VOID" the check in QuickBooks (instead of deleting the check).  Make sure your bookkeeper keeps a copy of every check he or she voided.  Often check the check sequences in your accounting program to make sure that all checks are accounted for.  If a check number is missing contact your bookkeeper immediately.

5.  Make sure you receive and review the monthly bank reconciliation detail and summary reports.  These reports will show every cleared and uncleared transaction for that month.  Go over this report with your bookkeeper so he/she can explain why some transactions may not have cleared yet.

6.  Review the images of checks that cleared on your monthly bank statement (you are looking at who the checks were made out to).  If your mailed bank statement does not include images of cleared checks, you can go to your bank's website and print a statement with check copies.

7.  At least once a month, check the journal entries your bookkeeper made.  Look for any unusual entries.  Some of the usual entries are for prepaid insurance, accrued expenses, depreciation/amortization, payroll taxes, etc...

8.  In QuickBooks, set a closing date and password.  This prevents users from making changes in previous periods by making them enter a password before the transaction is saved.


I hope these steps will help you.  Our goal at Kerr Bookkeeping is to help our client's acheive their goals.  Sometimes that goal is to obtain a piece of mind.  That is where this post come in.

For more information please visit our website www.kerrbookkeeping.com or send us an email at info@kerrbookkeeping.com.

Why Customer Service is Key

Most companies these days understand the value in customer service but there are some companies that either don't care or don't realize how important it is.  If you were looking at an org chart, you would usually find customer service reps at the very bottom.  Because of this, many companies don't spend the time or resources needed to find suitable employees for those positions. 

Customer service reps are considered "face" of most companies.  The reason for this is simple... If you call AT&T because of an issue with your bill or because you are having technical issues, you don't speak to a CEO, VP, or even manager.  You are transferred to a customer service rep.  If that rep provides poor customer service, whether they are inexperienced/uneducated about the product or are just plain rude, it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth and a poor image of that company.  If the customer service was really bad we will sometimes file a complaint, write the company a bad review (on Yelp.com for example), or even go to the extreme of cancelling our service with that company or not purchasing from them again.  On the other hand, if you are transferred to a customer service rep who is courteous and knowledgeable it leaves you with a good feeling and a positive impression of that company.  If the service is exceptional we want to tell our friends about it and/or write a great review for that company.  To simply sum it up:  Poor customer service = bad reviews and potential loss of current and future customers; Where as great customer service = positive reviews and/or repeat and referred clientele.

The reason for this post comes from an article published yesterday by AOL (see link for article below).  The article was titled "The 11 Worst Companies to Work for in America".  Here are a few excerpts from the article: 

Game Stop- ranked #10:  "Employees appear to regularly complain that the company privileges sales above customer service. According to one review, "Priority is placed on sales instead of games and customers, pushing people to pre-order games can place them in a situation where they spend good money on a bad game with no possibility of a refund, business' models place customers at a disadvantage." It may also be the reason why the video game retailer made the Consumer Report's annual "naughty" list for bad customer service in 2011. Likely adding to poor customer service, reviews point to high turnover."

Sears Holdings (Sears/Kmart)- ranked #6:  "Customers will not be surprised to hear that Sears employees think the company's "ancient systems" are in desperate need of repair. In addition to aging infrastructure, retail workers at both companies are unhappy with compensation. Sears employees consistently pointed to low starting salary and even lower annual raises. Kmart employees complained they cannot get enough pay as they are limited to fewer than 32 hours a week with shifts only "four to six hours long." In 2011, Sears' American Customer Satisfaction Index score was a 76 out of 100. Among all department stores and discount retailers, only Walmart received a lower score."

Dish Network- ranked #1:  "Many reviewers objected to the company's long hours and no holidays. "You work all day all night. Your day starts from 6:45am till 6pm or 10pm You work every holiday that your day falls on." It is no surprise then that reviewers suggested employees were unhappy with management, citing "mandatory overtime" and "no flexibility" with schedule. Perhaps the dissatisfaction of employees is affecting customer satisfaction. MSN Money awarded Dish a spot in its 2012 Customer Service Hall of Shame, noting that Dish's customers did not like that the broadcaster had dropped channels and seemed to prioritize sales over quality service."

Excerpts all from AOL Jobs website.  Click the following link to read the full article: 
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/08/14/the-11-worst-companies-to-work-for-in-america/

My advice is simple.  Listen to what your customers and employees have to say.  When employees and customers are happy they will promote your company via "word of mouth".  In this day and age of social media it's an excellent form of free marketing.

Is An Entry a Debit or a Credit?

If you have trouble remember which accounts to debit and which ones to credit, here is a very easy cheat sheet:

Asset Accounts: debit (increase) - credit (decrease)
Liability Accounts: credit (increase) - debit (decrease)
Equity Accounts: credit (increase) - debit (decrease)
Expense, Revenue, and Draw Accounts- debit (increase) - credit (decrease)

Quick Tip of the Day- Having Efficient vs Inefficient Employees

When I walk into a business one of the issues I see time and time again is inefficiency. Inefficient systems in place cost company's billions of dollars each year. In this economy who can afford to waste money? I am a firm believer in implementing policies and procedures and developing a strong and solid team. This will not only save you time but will save you money as well.

One of the worst cases of inefficiencies I have observed is when an employer is paying two or three employees to do the job that only one employee is needed for.  For example, a company could have three or four administrative employees when only one (or two at most) is needed.  The same problem occurs with having inefficient employees.  If you don't manage your employees properly who will?  Some employees excel with minimal directive from management, but other employees will skate by undetected without proper management guidance .  Many new business owners face this problem when buying an existing company.  They soon realize that some of the employees they inherited may be hindering the company instead of helping it.  The key is to get rid of these bad eggs as soon as possible. 

Many of you may wonder why an employer would keep an inefficient employee around at all.  Unfortunately, I have seen this happen time and time again with employees that have been with the company for several years.  Employers feel that there is nothing they can do about these kind of employees since the behavior has gone on for so long.  I, myself have inherited one or two bad apples in my day(from other departments within the company).  I have always given the employee a chance to change their ways.  If they can't do that then they have to go.  These employees are often severely overpaid (since they have been with the company for so long) and they need to understand that, under my management, they need to step up they're game.  When I am managing a company or a department within a company I believe in developing a strong team to work under me.  I also believe in giving employees all the tools they need to be successful within the company.  I try and work with poor employees to the best of my ability.  If, after all of this, the employee is still  falling short there is really nothing more to do besides letting them go.  I have been in this situation time and time again.  It is hard letting people go especially those that have been with the company for a long time (although it's easier when the issue is poor attitude and not poor work ethic).  You just have to remember, you are only as strong as your weakest link.

My advise is to develop job descriptions for each and every employee.  That eliminates a lot of the excuses that arise from an employee claiming they weren't responsible or didn't realize they were responsible for a certain aspect of their job.  If the employee's position changes immediately amend the job description.  If you are an employer who does not have job descriptions in place, ask your employees to write their own job descriptions up.  This can not only save you time but you can also see what employees believe their day-to-day responsibilities are.

What Should You Depreciate?

One of the most common questions I am asked has to do with fixed assets and depreciation.  A great example came from a client I was working with a couple months ago.   This client had recently purchased a small business and in doing so had purchased several new items such as: a new computer, new software, a new printer, and a new desk chair. The question that my client asked me was this: "Which of these items CAN/SHOULD I depreciate?" He then told me that he wanted to depreciate as many of the items as possible using the most accelerated depreciation method possible to save the most money as soon as possible.

Like many new business owners, he assumed that depreciating as many items as possible would save him money. This is not 100% true. The reason for depreciating items is to write off the "depreciated"or "used up" amount of that asset each year. The lifetime of a fixed asset varies depending on what type of asset it is.  In order to depreciate an asset it has to have a "service life" of greater than one year.  There is another factor that should be considered when depreciating assets- and that is the purchase cost of the asset. Every company should have a fixed asset threshold that determines which assets are expensed and which items are not.

In this particular situation every item that my client had purchased had a service life of longer than one year so he assumed that everything should be depreciated.    The items ranged in value from $75-$400.  I told my client that we needed to come up with a threshold to base which assets would be depreciated and which items would be expensed.   We decided on a threshold of $250.  I then proceeded to transfer the items under $250 (software, printer, and chair) from the asset account "Office Equipment" into the expense account "Office Equipment Expense".  This worried my client since he thought he would save more money depreciating everything.  The truth is, the more you can expense the more you save.  The reason is simple.  Lets say the software, printer, and chair totaled $500 .  If he had used the straight-line depreciation method for these assets  ( with a useful life of five years and a salvage value of zero) he would have been able to write off $100 that first year ($100/year for five years).  If he expensed the items he would be able to write off the entire $500 that first year.  Once my client understood the difference between expensing items and depreciating them he was more than happy to expense those items under $250.

The lesson here is simple: 

1. You should ONLY depreciate what you have to; and

2. When in doubt ALWAYS ask a professional.  When it comes to tax write-offs you want to be really careful and always double check with a professional.

Welcome to Kerr Bookkeeping Service's Blog

Welcome everyone to Kerr Bookkeeping Service's blog.  Here we hope to answer any bookkeeping questions you may have.  At the bottom of the page is a place to submit your questions.  Thank you everyone for your support!