Combine a tough economy and opportunistic employees, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for fraud and theft in the accounting system software realm.
The Wall Street Journal addresses the latest employee “trend,” noting, “About 20% of employers polled last month said workplace theft has become a moderate to very big problem recently…Employers are hot targets for theft because workers ‘know their systems, controls and weaknesses, and they can bide their time waiting for the right opportunity’…”
Other stories reinforce the presence of increased theft in accounting services departments and elsewhere, due in part to tough economic times. An article in securitysolutions.com points out, “As many as one-third of all business failures annually can be attributed to employee theft, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce…The cost of theft and fraud to American business nationally hovers around $40 billion a year, and ‘some experts believe as much as 40 percent of the losses are internal,’ …The Commerce Department also says employee theft is on the rise, thanks to the recession…”
And, it’s not only Madoff-scale fraud that is occurring in accounting services and elsewhere. Employmentblawg.com adds, “…there are millions of smaller fraudulent transactions that go unnoticed every year…From stupid expense violations to ingenious travel scams…a serious problem that costs companies millions…”
So, what’s a company to do? Get top-notch accounting system software. Mid-market accounting solutions provide highly complex levels of security, offer sophisticated transaction auditing and tracking, and present a more daunting target to would-be internal thieves.
Among Microsoft Dynamics® accounting software protective elements, for example, is “RoleTailored” software. Microsoft describes it as, “Software that’s designed around the specific jobs people do…” One practical effect of this is to keep the types of information accessed on a need-to-know basis, limiting exposure.
Also characteristic of mid-market accounting software solutions are role-based permissions, where employees gain access to data based on their roles, locations and timing. A company can define locations, both on-site and remote, from which employees can access data, identify accessible hours and authorized computers—as well as define the scope of information based on the employee’s role in the organization.
Besides the actual protection afforded accounting services departments by this level of sophisticated security, its existence helps send a message that the company will do what is necessary to protect its data. Much like the thief who moves on to a car that appears to be “easier pickings,” so will many untrustworthy employees move on to a company accounting system software environment that offers more theft opportunity.
Just make sure that company isn’t yours.
