The reasons why staff might use their roles to commit fraud are varied and this makes the controls needed to avoid employees acting illegally quite broad.

Many experts have looked at the catalysts that push loyal colleagues to effectively steal from or dupe the firm that pays their wages. Sometimes the worker concerned is experiencing severe financial difficulties and is looking for an easy way out. Others are opportunists who believe they are able to get away with theft of some kind, while a third group include those who find it easy to rationalise their decision to commit fraud, such as those who believe they haven't been treated well by the organisation and think they 'deserve' their illegal perks.

There are several ways that you can weed out prospective fraudsters and a variety of techniques are available to prevent them becoming active in your company. There are statistics revealing that younger employees may be more inclined to thieve, but older managers are also linked to high-profile cases where significant amounts of money is stolen from work accounts.

Start with screening

Before you offer someone a job in your firm, it's wise to follow up on checks into their past. This can include references from previous employers and questions about their criminal history. Of course, not all people who have been in trouble with the law will offend again, and the decision is yours whether their skills and experience speak for themselves.

References may give indications that the staff concerned experienced problems/addictions that resulted in warning signs that candidates have issues that could affect their ability to carry out their role. It's important to bear discrimination policies in mind when considering these variables and to weigh up each decision individually.

Laying down the law

Once new staff have started with your company, then introduce them to the policies you have regarding fraud. This will help staff see that there are drastic consequences for their actions should they break their contracts. Another way to help prevent fraud among your workforce is to introduce a system whereby employees are able to raise their concerns anonymously regarding fellow colleagues they believe are acting illegally.

Spread your staff

High-profile fraud cases are unlikely to hit your organisation, but this kind of illegal activity can result when one worker is charged with looking after the majority of your accounts. Rather than having just one role where accounting is concerned, you may like to consider creating numerous posts, so issues are more likely to be detected. Workplaces also like to practice staff rotation, meaning each employee in the financial sector gets a chance to oversee the financial running of your firm.

Monitoring and random audits

You may feel more comfortable relying on audits rather than staff rotation to identify any incongruities within your company. Also, this could suit you better if your firm is a small to medium enterprise that cannot afford to employee more people in order split roles.

It's best to practice both monitoring and the technique of spreading responsibility, but if you do choose to rely on just audits then try and launch random ones to catch any suspect employees off-guard. Don't forget to look at expenses claims, payroll, purchasing, sales, cash amounts and customer complaints. As well as conducting surprise audits, you can also monitor workplaces using CCTV, especially where cash transactions are concerned.