An employee who has an unusually close relationship with a vendor or customer could be a prime candidate to commit fraud. The cozy bond could lead them to take kickbacks, resulting in significant economic loss, legal risk and damage to your company's reputation.

A kickback is "an illegal payment for some type of preferential treatment or improper service," according to Grand Law. They are illegal "because they affect the ability of employees...to make unbiased decisions in the best interests of their clients and the marketplace as a whole"

They may be an offer, solicitation, payment or receipt of cash, in-kind remuneration, special treatment or another form of enrichment, states Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP.

Employees with unusually close associations with vendors or customers are responsible for roughly 20% of all occupational fraud cases identified in ACFE's 2022 Report to the Nations.

Here are some signs of potential bribes or kickbacks:

If you are concerned that your company could be vulnerable to bribery or kickbacks, contact us and we'll investigate.

"While evidence in fraud-related cases might be found on employee or organizational devices," most organizations in ACFE's 2022 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report do not use digital forensics or e-discovery software "to collect and capture this information."

Of the organizations adopting the software, most use proprietary tools created in-house.

"John Capizzi and Internal Audit Services bring the highest standards of excellence and expertise to his profession. I highly recommend John and his company to anyone in need of his services."

IAS can help you identify, deter, investigate and resolve fraud in your company. We can audit your internal controls, create a loss prevention and internal audit program, conduct loss prevention workshops, and most importantly investigate suspected fraud.

Our investigations can obtain signed confessions, restitution and even prosecutions.