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Whether it’s digital fraud, phishing and spoofing, or check and payments fraud, the reality is that many businesses (71%, according to a 2022 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey) unfortunately experience fraudulent schemes or attempts that can cost them time and money. The survey also found that the most common scheme (66%) currently impacting businesses is check fraud. While electronic payments have become increasingly common, ceasing to use or accept checks isn’t an option as many businesses and vendors prefer this payment method. Therefore, it’s important to take proactive precautions to not only protect yourself against check fraud, but to prevent it as well.

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Financial authorities have announced a set of new rules governing financial firms' internal controls, aiming to prevent recurring financial crimes or accidents that incur customer losses. One of the most noteworthy changes is requiring financial firms to draw up a "responsibilities map," which is a comprehensive document clearly describing management and governance, lines of responsibility and detailed identification of which executives are accountable for which functions. CEOs are required to write the responsibilities maps, which are confirmed at board meetings. Confirmed maps will be submitted to the financial authorities. The U.K. has adopted a similar system, introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Financial authorities expect the responsibilities maps to clarify each executive's range of liabilities, aiming to engage firms' internal control management by effectively curbing misconduct and internal breaches.

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A little over two years into his tenure as president of the United States, it is unclear how far Joe Biden has been able to clear the mammoth in-tray that would have greeted him as the new incumbent. What is clear, however, is that over the past 12 months, much has been added to that in-tray to prioritise the president's attention: the ongoing Russia and Ukraine conflict, the hangover from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and extant geopolitical and economic tensions, among many other priority issues. Against this testing backdrop, it is perhaps inevitable that a number of issues generally considered a priority by the US government have been, if not exactly neglected, almost feel as if they have been placed on the backburner, despite the considerable weight usually attached to them One issue that has seen a slowdown over the past two years is the investigation and prosecution of corporate crime and corruption, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement matters in particular.

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Employee Theft Statistics: Employee theft can be a major source of anxiety for businesses in a range of sectors. Employee theft affects both financial performance and workplace trust; recent statistics demonstrate this with employee theft accounting for an enormous portion of overall corporate losses; an Association of Certified Fraud Examiners study revealed this costing firms worldwide five percent of their yearly income – this amounts to losses totaling billions annually.

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Introduced in 2018 by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the UK Corporate Governance Code was designed as a tool to help businesses align their culture and values with their overarching strategies. It aims to provide key guidance in areas such as board leadership, roles and responsibilities, compensation, and composition, among others. The code, albeit crucial, adds to the already substantial responsibilities of board directors. This article will break down what the code entails, its applicability, the ongoing guidance by the FRC, potential amendments, and how entity management tools can facilitate compliance.

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Fraud and embezzlement don’t just happen at large companies. In fact, theft may be more common in small businesses because many lack internal controls that are typically in place at larger organizations. But the good news is that effective internal controls don’t have to be complicated or expensive.

The best way for small businesses to battle fraud is to create a segregation of duties framework. With segregation of duties, you have one person responsible for each of three different areas: Authorization of cash expenditures, physical custody of cash and reconciliation of cash expenditures.

Here’s what you need to know:

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You finally have a full-blown accounting policy manual in place. It has taken several months and a lot of work, but it is done. Something to be proud of indeed! But, wait a minute, it seems like no one knows about these policies and whenever you speak about such and such internal control not being followed, you get the deer in the headlights look. This all too familiar stare means one thing, these people have no idea what you are talking about. Your policy manual might be complete but you are still a long way from compliance. What is the solution? The answer is you need a regular program to test your control points to ascertain whether people are indeed following policy in the key areas of your operation. You need to create a monthly internal control review program and that is what this piece is all about.

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The Enron scandal. The Worldcom scandal. When one thinks of accounting fraud, it is likely that these are some of the cases that come to mind. However, most cases of accounting fraud will not make news headlines and can happen in companies of all sizes and industries. Do you know how to spot it? A study on the pervasiveness of corporate fraud estimates that in an average year, 41 percent of companies are committing accounting violations, which are less severe than alleged securities fraud. Meanwhile, in an average year, 10 percent of large public corporations commit (alleged) securities fraud (i.e., a misrepresentation, information omission, or other misconduct). Researchers stated that, “In spite of all the regulation, roughly half of the US financial statements suffer from misreporting more serious than pure clerical errors.” 

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The recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision, In re McDonald’s Corporate Stockholder Derivative Litigation is a reminder of corporate officer duties and the vital role that corporate officers play in corporate governance, at both publicly and privately held corporations. These duties stem from officers’ status as both agents and fiduciaries. For boards of directors and other officers to perform their roles effectively, it is critical for officers to understand an satisfy their duties. Failure to do so may deprive boards of directors of information they need to monitor operations, mitigate risks and establish strategy and can expose officers to personal liability.

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Contact: Mr Nereo Guzman Mendoza

Email: nguzman@businesssolutionvalley.com

Tel: +52 811 181 3514

Control Quotes:

If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month.

Theodore Roosevelt