This recent news about the comptroller of a New Orleans law firm stealing $2 million from the firm reminded me how common employee embezzlement is in the legal industry.
I have several friends over the years who were victims of employee embezzlement. Invariably, it was the last employee they would have suspected who was doing the stealing. I mean that literally. The embezzling employees seemed exceptionally trustworthy. Maybe that’s what gave them the confidence to steal.
Years ago, I read an article about how to eliminate the possibility of employee embezzlement. In a nutshell, the owners have to do everything themselves. It seemed like too much work to implement. But like many other areas, technology has made it more feasible.
Mobile bank deposits, credit card bill payments and cloud based accounting systems mean it takes much less time to do the firm’s bookkeeping. I now do my bookkeeping. It takes little time.
And even if you decide not to permanently do the job, you should at least know how to so you can look over someone else’s shoulder.