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Is Your Bookkeeper Stealing From You?
Having a bookkeeper gives small business owners peace of mind knowing that income and cash flow are well taken care of. However, discovering that your bookkeeper is stealing from you only denotes that your business has very little chance of success. The tricky part about bookkeeping is that you will never know that fraudulent transaction happens until you discover your financial records. Failing to pay close attention to your records can make you more vulnerable to employee theft. Here are signs our bookkeeper may be getting more than just his or her paycheck:
1. Discrepancy with your bookkeeping records
One of the things to look for when you are highly suspecting your bookkeeper of stealing from you is by checking your bookkeeping records. This is one way to detect that your bookkeeper has been manipulating your records. While occasional adjustment is considered normal, seeing a pattern without any valid explanation only shows that there is a serious problem. If books are not adding up and you do not know where problems are coming from, you will need to ask hard questions to find out about the discrepancy.
2. Maintaining higher level of secrecy
If there is one person that should be the most open within your business, it is your bookkeeper. A bookkeeper is responsible for showing you everything within the bookkeeping software at all time. It is a cause for concern once a bookkeeper is trying to hide the books from you. Since you are the business owner, there is no valid reason that you should not see the books. If a bookkeeper is habitually stealing from your company, he or she will hesitate to turn over financial information.
3. Insufficient cash flow
Businesses regardless of the size should give importance to cash flow because it is the lifeblood of every business. The reason you hired a bookkeeper is to keep your business on the right track. Most business owners can easily predict the levels of cash based on the number of customers they have. The number of invoices being sent out also gives you an idea of your funds. You can easily uncover a problem by considering this factors.
4. Resisting bookkeeping assistance
Although bookkeeping for small business is a job that one person can work on, there are times when two heads are better than one especially when you are you have a lot of bookkeeping obligations to handle. However, a bookkeeper who prefers to work on their own may have an ulterior motive, which you need to find out as this is considered a red flag.
About the Author Peter Broberg
Peter Broberg is a bookkeeping professional with over 20 years experience in the finance sector. With more than 2 decades of experience, Peter provides payroll and bookkeeping services on a professional level. His services cater to small and medium enterprises in Cannington, Kalamunda.