Employee Theft – What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You – Atlanta Georgia

There are a couple of common denominators in over 90% of the employee theft cases that I’ve been involved in as a corporate fraud investigator over the years, and they are 1) The perpetrator held a position of trust; and 2) The thief started taking small amounts and became bolder as he continued to steal and stole more and more until he was caught.

A business owner who undertakes his own employee theft investigation does so from a position of having an employer/employee relationship with the people he suspects may be stealing from him.  Although the employee may see his actions as being taken against an impersonal company, the company owner or manager sees it as a personal affront, in effect taking money out of the employer’s own pocket.  This is not the best place from which to impartially look at a potential internal theft situation, as emotions are likely to enter into a situation that requires an objective look to remain impartial.

The employer often has a tendency to rush into the employee theft investigation to find the guilty party, confront them, and get them out of the business.  Haste in this case can be costly because early into the investigation, there is undeveloped knowledge about both the depth and the scope of the employee theft.  How many are involved and how long have they been doing it?  These are important questions that need to be asked and answered for the health of the business.

All the employees who were involved in the theft and all who knew about it and didn’t speak up should be disciplined and separated from the company.

A corporate fraud investigator is frequently called upon to investigate cases of internal theft, whether it’s money, merchandise, company property, or even intellectual property.

The corporate fraud investigator has a good working knowledge of business operations based on experience in both investigations and exposing vulnerabilities in the operations of different types of businesses through audits and policy formulation.

The causes of internal theft can be complex and not the result of a single employee, and the corporate fraud investigator is experienced and qualified to get to the root cause of the problem and fine a viable solution for the business, whether it’s a hole in the procedure or out and out employee theft.

For more information on employee theft , employee theft investigation , internal theft , or to speak with a corporate fraud investigator contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia