Intuit, the parent company of Quick Books, published a primer on fraud protection. In it, they cite the 2014 Association for Financial Professionals Payments Fraud and Control Survey. According to this survey, 60% of businesses experienced actual or attempted payments fraud in 2013. Only 10% of businesses recovered the full amount they were defrauded, and 30% of businesses recovered nothing.
Clearly fraud prevention is important and Quick Books offers some tips you might not have considered.
Reconcile all of your bank statements regularly. This includes checking and savings accounts, credit card accounts, and loans. Anything that gets a statement, reconcile it. Quick Books point out that waiting too long to discover and report fraud to your bank makes it easier for the bank to claim that you are responsible for the financial consequences of the fraud. It’s also easier to remember which transactions were legitimate if you review them sooner than later.
They also point out that making sure your bookkeeping firm has liability insurance is good fraud protection. Most people don’t think of running a business without carrying liability insurance. It is a sound practice. Rest assured that Provision Business Services LLC carries professional liability insurance. Beware that many freelance bookkeepers have never run a business and don’t realize they need to carry insurance. Always ask.
Finally, they point to the importance of keeping organized stating that if a bank can prove you didn’t keep a responsible, organized routine for your finances, you can be liable for the fraud. Your bookkeeper can be a great partner in keeping your finances organized.