Employee theft is noted by Mishra and Prassad (2006) to be a major component of private and public retail shrinkage.There is a consensus that theft in the workplace constitutes a serious offense and is a cause of serious problem (Weber, Kurke & Pentico, 2003).Employees have been noted to steal time, money, merchandise as well as other forms of company property like information in exchange for cash and other forms of favors. Wells (2001) noted that opportunity is the main reason for commissioning fraud. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. employees lose between $20-$40 billion annually through employee theft alone. This theft is noted to be responsible for 30% of all business failure (Condon,2003).Bamfield (2004) further indicated that employee theft is commonplace in the business today.
General prevention strategies against employee theft: A literature review
Vigilance is noted as the key to the prevention of corporate fraud and the prevention initiatives must involve all employees. If ignored then, it can have serious consequences on the affected company (Bokaba,2005). Glover (1995) for instance noted that electrical surveillance can help in the reduction of employee theft by between 35 to 75%. The breakdown in the levels and forms of management controls are noted by Hemphill and Hemphill (1975) to be the main reasons as to why employees can gain unscrupulous access to company money as well as property.
According to Anderson (2007) employees engage themselves in corporate fraud as a result of three main factors. These are;
The presence of a situational pressure such as a financial need
The presence of a perceived opportunity to participate in or conceal a crime as well as
A method of rationalizing a dishonest act as noted by Albrecht and Wernz (1993).
How company can handle the suspected fraud case
Before embarking on the fraud detection methods, it is critical that we conduct a review of what constitutes fraud, why people engage in fraud, why it happens as well as how fraud manifests itself in any given company. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), defines fraud as the deception as well as misrepresentation that a person or an entity makes with the knowledge...
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