In This Issue:
- What Houdini and Embezzlers Have In Common
- Examiner Profile -- Luci Berardi BSc CFE
- Upcoming speaking dates
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| Mar 3 |
San Diego Dental Society, San Diego CA |
| Mar 3 |
Dr. Ask Vasanthan Study Club, Sacramento CA |
| Mar 4 |
American Academy of Dental Practice Admin, Long Beach CA |
| Mar 4 |
Eastern Panhandle Dental Association, Martinsburg WV |
| Mar 5 |
Alabama Association of Oral Surgeons, Birmingham AL |
| Mar 7 |
Spartanburg Dental Society, Spartanburg SC |
| Mar 18 |
Hinman Meeting, Atlanta GA |
| Mar 23 |
Oral and Dental Implant Surgery, Pittsfield MA |
| Mar 25 |
Four study clubs, Plantation FL |
| Apr 5 |
North Shore Implants & Oral Surgery, Huntington NY
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| Apr 26 |
Will County Dental Society, Joliette IL
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| Apr 29 |
Port Huron Study Club, Port Huron MI
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| May 5 |
Ontario Dental Association, Toronto ON |
| May 13 |
Eastside Dental Study Club, Cincinnati OH |
| May 29 |
Journees Dentiare Internationale du Quebec, Montreal QC |
| Oct 15 |
Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists, Palm Springs CA |
| Nov 10 |
Carestream Global Oral Health Summit, Las Vegas NV |
For more information, or to book a fantastic speaker for your society or study club, please click here. |
Examiner Profile
Luci Berardi, BSc, CFE
Senior Examiner Luci Berardi's two decades of managing large dental specialty practices, plus her Certified Fraud Examiner designation (which is the "gold standard" for fraud examiners), make Luci one of our "go-to" examiners for tough cases.
Luci is also actively involved in the American Association of Dental Office Managers, and serves as the President of AADOM's Denver chapter.
In her spare time, Luci eats really healthy food. |
Did you miss a previous newsletter? We archive them here. |
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What Houdini And Embezzlers Have In Common |
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Harry Houdini was probably the most famous magician of all time. His
daring escapes included the “Water Torture Cell” (where he was manacled
and suspended upside down in an oversized aquarium),
and the “Overboard Box Escape”, where he was locked in a wooden packing
crate that was lowered into the water.
While many who watched Houdini’s daring escapes probably believed
that he had supernatural powers, Houdini was a master illusionist.
Since many of his stunts were performed in full view of his audience, he
relied on two key elements to perform the impossible. First, he was
dependent on cleverly constructed props. However, his true genius was
mastering the art of misdirection — getting his audience to focus on his
hands while he was doing something with his feet, for example.
Although embezzlers in your office do not stand in the spotlight in the
same way that Harry Houdini did, they rely om the same two things. Like
Houdini, they have clever props (often taking the form of adulterated
reports on which the embezzler has worked their “magic”). A busy dental
office is an excellent place to introduce some distraction, and
embezzlers become adept at encouraging you to see what they want you to
see.
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This week marks a significant milestone for Prosperident. In the next seven days, we will be giving SIX embezzlement presentations in various parts of the country.
I'm pleased that we have been able to attract a talented team here -- these speaking engagements involve four different speakers from Prosperident. The other three are excellent speakers, and I try hard to be as good as they are.
I'm also pleased that our long-held goal of educating dentists about the danger that embezzlement poses to their practices is producing results; dentists are more aware of the problem, and more interested in the solution, than they have ever been.
It is also shocking and sometimes saddening to grasp the enormity of the problem (embezzlement took well over a BILLION dollars out of dentists' pockets in 2015). I occasionally need to remind myself that awareness does not cause the problem -- it just facilitates keeping score.
If you a member of that large cohort of dentists who is an embezzlement victim, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your situation and how we could assist. Please feel free to email us here and tell us about your situation. We will be happy to schedule a time to chat with you.
Thanks for reading.
David Harris CPA, CMA, MBA, CFE, CFF
Chief Executive Officer |
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