Business Security

This page accompanies the chapter, Checks and Balances to Help Keep Everyone Honest, in the book, Hire Your Job, Fire Yourself. Here you’ll find a recap of the chapter, additional information, and some valuable resources to help you secure your business. As stated in the book, the first step toward business security is being aware of the potential forms of embezzlement. Ignorance can be dangerous.

“Honesty and integrity are absolutely essential for success in life – all areas of life.
The really good news is that anyone can develop both honesty and integrity.”  – Zig Ziglar

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About the Chapter, “Checks and Balances to Help Keep Everyone Honest (Securing the Cookie Jar)”

This chapter was originally part of the bookkeeping chapter but the author decided to break it out and expand on the details because his research showed that a high percentage of businesses fail because of financial crimes. In fact, the FBI Financial Crimes Report to the Public estimates that financial crimes account for approximately 30-50% of all business failures. This seems a little high but who is going to argue with the FBI?

The book then takes the reader through a list of various embezzlement schemes including:

• Cash Embezzlement Schemes
• Negotiable Document Embezzlement Schemes (e.g., checks, money orders, traveler’s checks, etc.)
• Account Credit Embezzlement Schemes (e.g., ghost employees on payroll, fictitious borrowers, credit card theft, etc.)
• Physical Item Embezzlement Schemes (e.g., item theft techniques, scraps, etc.)
• Computer Software-based Embezzlement Schemes (e.g., skimming, Trojan Horse, security workarounds, personal access, etc.)

For each of these sections, the book explains in detail, the best techniques to help protect against each specific type of embezzlement. The book includes good examples and commentary along the way.

The author was actually a little nervous that this chapter would make a great “how to embezzle” handbook for those who lack integrity. However, it was decided to keep the valuable material because business owners and future business owners need to know how it is done to understand how to stop it, or make it much riskier to attempt.

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Additional Resources to Help Stop Embezzlement

More Resources:

We’re in the process of researching the following types of resources; this is not a final list. Make a comment at the bottom of this page if you have recommendations we should consider.

• Background Checking Sources
  • Live Scan is one of the key tools used in fingerprint and background checks. Live scan results can be verified and returned to the source within 72 hours of transmission. Most states provide numerous Live Scan locations. We can’t provide a thorough list here but we recommend that you use your favorite search engine and type in “live scan” plus the state in which you live (e.g., “live scan california”). Look for a list of locations that is maintained by your state government. That will be more reliable than picking the first one that appears.
• Video Surveillance Equipment
  • We highly recommend Security Cameras Direct because they offer a 115% lowest price guarantee, one of the biggest selection of brands, FREE lifetime support, the best warranties we can find, and a no hassle return policy. “I have a pretty cool, multi-camera video system for my restaurant. I bought it from a local big box retail store because I didn’t know about Security Cameras Direct at the time. However, I did buy from them later when I needed an additional camera. I was thrilled with the pricing and the superior quality of the camera I bought. They are my go-to source from now on.“-Scott Alvord, Author
• Auditing Firms
  • We are currently researching auditing firms because we don’t want to blindly recommend anyone. Make a comment at the bottom of this page if you have recommendations we should consider.
• Accounting Systems with built-in security features:
  • QuickBooks by Intuit. (we’re currently trying to obtain a special discount for readers)
  • SageOne Small Business Solutions. This system provides a simple business management solution. This is a FREE trial for our readers. You do not even need to provide a credit card, just download and try it out.
  • Paychex is a recognized payroll services leader. Outsourcing your payroll processes can significantly help cut down on internal embezzlement through the payroll system. They serve over a half million businesses nationwide. They provide secure outsourced solutions for pretty much everything you need in regards to payroll (tracking hours, cutting checks, electronic deposits, excellent reports, and all of your W-2 and tax needs).
• Computer Backup Software
  • Acronis is a very good product (a trusted, major industry leader) for making an image of your hard drive as well as incremental backups.
• Virus Protection and other Internet Threats
  • Panda Security is a world leader in protecting computers against Internet threats. They are offering a discount to Fire Your Job, Hire Yourself readers: Internet Security 2015: Maximum protection against all kinds of Internet threats.Now 25% off

Employee Polygraph Protection Act

Here are two links to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act that was discussed and summarized in the book:

• The United States Department of Labor’s official description.
• An easy-to-read description of it.

Password Safety Education and Security

Advanced Development Concepts teaches one of the best password safety techniques available. They train company employees and workgroups about the importance of having secure and unique passwords and how to create a hacker-proof password. You’ll learn why and how to properly create a unique password for every type of login, and how to use an extremely powerful, yet simple, technique that allows you even write down the password or store it in a phone (yes, really!).

 

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Do You Have a Suggestion for Something We’re Missing?

Let us know if you think of something else we should include here. Add to the Comments section below or Contact Us.