When we started this newsletter about a year ago, our plan was to send it monthly. That's still the plan. However, our investigative work takes priorit y and that means that sometimes we will be a little (or in this case a lot) tardy with our newsletter.
In the last two months of 2012, we started a record number of investigations, and this forced our entire team to put other work aside.
Since it is clear to me that the workload isn't diminishing any time soon, we started hiring again, and I am pleased to say that we were successful in hiring three outstanding investigators to complement our existing team. I'll be introducing you to them in upcoming newsletters.
As you know, a major news story of 2012 was the "Frankenstorm" that devastated parts of the Eastern Seaboard. Two of our staff were caught in the storm -- fortunately neither was harmed. If you were affected, I hope that you were as fortunate.
The destructive power of Hurricane Sandy did reinforce one point for me -- as much as we humans like to think that we control our environment, there are some forces so strong that they defy our control.
I hesitate to compare a storm that caused loss of life and affected millions of people with the operation of your dental office. However, I see one small parallel. Embezzlers are pushed by some incredibly strong emotional forces; some are desperate and feel basic necessities are jeopardized; others are driven by ego and feel that society hasn't properly rewarded their talents.
In either case, their motivations are sufficiently powerful to circumvent any system of controls you implement. I will never state that controls are useless; they aren't and every business depends on them to function. However, they are not powerful enough to stop a determined thief, in the same way that roofs and walls couldn't stop Hurricane Sandy.
If you have heard me speak or have read you have heard me say that the simplest, easiest and cheapest way to control embezzlement in your office is to regularly scrutinize employee behavior.
We have recently made some major enhancements to our tremendously popular Embezzlement Risk Assessment Questionnaire. If you don't have it, or if the version you have is more than three months old, I'd encourage you to ask for a copy, by emailing us at fraudnews@prosperident.com. I've said it before -- investing 10 minutes in completing this questionnaire could save you a bundle.
Thanks for reading,
David Harris
Chief Executive Officer
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