The authors of No free lunch, a recent whitepaper from Grant Thornton LLP, estimate that fraudulent reimbursement of common employee expenses represents 20 percent of the cash misappropriation workplace fraud cases in Canada, and that the typical Canadian organization loses five percent of its annual sales to fraud every year.
And fraud is on the rise, as organizations cut back on staff, and their internal controls slacken as a result. As the paper points out, however, the monetary loss is just the beginning of the problem: “Failure to crack down on this unethical—and indeed criminal—behaviour blurs the line between right and wrong. It creates a culture of entitlement that can extend across the business. And it can open the door to more significant corporate theft.”
The paper goes on to highlight the vital role that effective, well enforced policies play in keeping a lid on expense fraud. Click here for a copy of this thought-provoking white paper.
The upcoming release of Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, includes updates to policies related to expense authorization, petty cash, company credit cards, expense advances and allowances, and travel guidelines.
Colin Braithwaite
First Reference Internal Controls Managing Editor
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