Whether it’s cyber fraud, a billing scheme, check tampering, cash skimming, payroll, or expense reimbursement fraud, no amount of “gut feeling” or trust between employer and employees is a safeguard against this type of insidious crime. Think about it: The average fraud incident costs a company $150,000. Would your company be able to handle a financial hit of that size—or a bigger one? And what about the damage to your brand’s reputation? Knowing this, it should be abundantly clear that fraud prevention is one of the wisest investments of any CEO’s time and energy. Download The CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud, to help you understand how to implement the necessary steps to detect, reduce, and ultimately prevent fraud. https://www.growthforce.com/the-ceos-guide-to-reducing-fraud

1. The CEO’s Guide to
Reducing Fraud
Implement the necessary steps
to detect, reduce, and ultimately
prevent fraud.

2. 2CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
of Fraudsters are
First-Time Offenders
with Clean Records.
Can Fraud Happen in Your Business?
90%90%

3. 3CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
of reported fraud cases were
committed by employees
working in the following six
departments: Accounting,
Operations, Sales, Executive/
Upper Management, Customer
Services, and Purchasing.
76%

4. 4CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
What’s the Real Impact
of Occupational Fraud?
40-60%40-60%
of businesses never recover
any fraud-related losses.

5. 5CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
$150,000
5%5%
The typical surveyed organization lost
of it’s annual
revenue to fraud at a
median loss of
$150,000
per case

6. 6CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Fraud is Especially Damaging
for Small Businesses
Statistics show that the average occupational case of
fraud is active for 18 months before it’s detected.
Imagine the scope of the financial and data losses
that can occur within that time frame.

7. 7CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Many CEOs of small businesses believe
they’d feel it in their gut if something
were amiss.
Many nonprofit and religious organizations
believe they’re immune to fraud because they
have strong core values.
Why Does Fraud
Happen?

8. 8CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
$100,000
$80,000,
In 2016, nonprofits and religious
organizations experienced median losses of
respectively, per fraud incident.
$100,000
$80,000,
and

9. 9CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
The most fundamental way to reduce the risk of fraud is
setting up internal controls.
How to Prevent Fraud:
Internal Controls
How to Prevent Fraud:
Internal Controls

10. 10CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
One key best practice is to prevent fraud
is to never build a system of internal
controls based on trust.
Start with the following:
Separation
of Duties
Separation
of Duties
Written Policies
& Procedures
Written Policies
& Procedures

11. 11CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Job Duties Need to be
Separated
The principle of separation (or segregation)
of duties is the cornerstone of a solid
internal control system.

12. 12CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Dividing the critical duties into 3 primary accounting and
bookkeeping functions, which are split between 2 or
more employees or departments.
In fraud prevention, separation of duties involves:

13. 13CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Written Policies
and Procedures
Control activities are policies and
procedures that ensure management
directives are fulfilled. They usually involve
two elements:
»» A policy that prescribes what
should be done
»» The procedure to implement
the policy

14. 14CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Establish
all policies and
procedures in writing.
You shouldn’t build a business on “tribal
knowledge.” A well-run company will
handle transactions consistently across the
workforce over time.

15. 15CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Remember the Human Factor of Fraud
Fraudulent acts can be triggered
by external fractors in an
employee’s life:
»» Personal debt
»» Other financial pressures, including
• medical bills,
• a spouse losing a job
• an ailing parent moving in
Be alert to warning signs in employee behavior.
There also can be other factors,
such as:
»» Drug or alcohol use
»» Gambling
»» An inability to control spending

16. 16CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Are any of your employees:
»» living beyond their means?
»» experiencing financial difficulties?
»» exhibiting control Issues?
Ask yourself these questions

17. 17CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Set up an
anonymous hotline
The best way to catch fraud is to
set up a hotline.
Let everyone know “if you see
something, say something.”

18. 18CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Leverage Outsourcing
The truth is that the more people you have overseeing
your books, the less attractive your company becomes
as a target for fraudsters.
One of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of
fraud is to outsource your bookkeeping, accounting
and control functions to an experienced provider.
This eliminates the risks associated with a lack of
internal controls and ensures that every transaction is
checked for accuracy.

19. 19CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
In addition to providing
a significant amount of
protection, outsourcing also
provides peace of mind.

20. 20CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
6 common fraud scenarios
& how to avoid them
In our eBook, The CEOs Guide to Reducing
Fraud, we review the six most common fraud
scenarios in small business.
Each section walks you through a different
fraud scheme, what it costs and how it
happens. We also show you how to avoid
these fraud scenarios in your business.

21. 21CEO’s Guide to Reducing Fraud
Get the eBook!
Download our eBook and
review the fraud prevention
checklist on page 8 to
determine if your business is
prepared to prevent fraud.
Download Now 