I have been doing this job for over 20 years and before that I held several senior operational management roles. In all that time I have had to manage cases where a person in a position of trust has stolen from the business twice. I don’t mean the person who nicks parts and sells them on e-bay or the person who walks out of the shop they work in with clothes they haven’t paid for or a couple of steaks for dinner. I mean people in the finance department deliberately manipulating the accounts to put money into their own bank accounts.
Not that both aren’t wrong and sackable offences but the second example requires time and thought and a lot of moving parts so is more rare. Until now…..
In the last 6 months we have dealt with two dismissals for theft, people working in finance departments with responsibility for bank accounts and payments.
The personal stories behind these events are things like a sudden change in personal finances an addiction that’s out of control the pressure of keeping up with the Joneses. Times are hard and sometimes people are driven to do things they wouldn’t normally do….once they have taken the first step and got away with it the behaviour becomes a repeating pattern.
What can we do as employers to protect against this…
- Provide support for employees financial wellbeing.
- Implement strong internal controls, separation of duties and regular audits.
- Foster a culture of transparency and ethical behaviour.
- Conduct thorough background checks during hiring.
- Encourage whistleblowing and provide anonymous reporting channels.
In both of the cases I have dealt with if the individual had shared their personal circumstances the business would have helped. Make sure your people know they can talk to you… If you want to talk about how you can support financial wellbeing, create a culture of transparency or tighten up your policies, contact me for a no obligation chat.
