Accounting All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 2

Preventing Cash Losses from Embezzlement and Fraud

In This Chapter

Putting business controls in context

Checking out the internal control checklist

Realizing the limits of internal controls

When the infamous bank robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he's reputed to have said, “Because that's where the money is!” The cash flows of a business are a natural target for schemers who see an opportunity to siphon off some cash from these streams of money.

Making a profit is hard enough as it is. There's no excuse for letting some of your profit slip away because you didn't take appropriate precautions. This chapter discusses controls and preventive measures that a business should consider adopting in order to prevent and mitigate cash losses from dishonest schemes by employees, customers, and other parties it deals with.

This chapter is directed to business managers; it isn't a detailed reference for accountants. The chapter takes the broader management view, whereas accountants take a narrower view. Accountants focus on preventing errors that may creep into the ...