Employee Embezzlement: The Ultimate Guide | i-Sight. Embezzlement. It’s likely a word that invokes images of high-profile lawsuits, multi-million dollar scandals and corrupt CEOs or CFOs. But although employee embezzlement does impact large organizations, not all cases involve senior managers at large multinational corporations. This is perfectly illustrated by the following two cases from earlier this year: Understanding the forms of embezzlement and the accompanying warning signs can help you implement policies to detect and prevent this form of theft at your company, no matter the size.
Can you spot an altered or forged check? What is Embezzlement? The United States Department of Justice defines embezzlement as: “The fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom such property has been entrusted, or into whose hands it has lawfully come.” In other words, embezzlement occurs when an employee trusted with the handling of company property (usually funds) decides to take some or all of that property for themselves. Workplace Policies. Incident Reports: The Ultimate Guide | i-Sight. An incident report is completed any time an incident or accident occurs in the workplace.
It’s among the most important documents used in an investigation, especially in health care facilities and schools, but also at every company that values the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees. Many companies with more than 10 employees are required by law to keep records of workplace incidents. Almost 3 million non-fatal workplace incidents were reported by private industry employers in 2015 and almost 800,000 in the public sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. No matter how safe you think your workplace is, there’s a good chance you will need to complete an incident report this year, so it’s a good idea to have a process in place when the inevitable occurs.
Need help writing the incident report? Download the free Incident Report Template. What is an Incident Report? The answer to this question depends on how we define “incident”. The incident report can be initiated by: 31 Ways to Prevent and Detect Payroll Fraud | i-Sight. Who’s to blame when a company is a victim of a devastating payroll fraud scheme? Aside from the fraudster(s), of course, there are others in the company in positions to ensure this doesn’t occur and finger-pointing isn’t going to solve anything. But knowing all the different schemes and how to prevent and detect them might. Payroll fraud schemes are among the most damaging to a company because they tend to take place over a long period of time.
According to the Association of Fraud Examiners (ACFE) the median duration between the start of a payroll fraud scheme and its detection is 24 months — enough time to do some significant financial damage to a company. And some experts estimate that almost a quarter of businesses are affected by payroll fraud each year. Busted! What is Payroll Fraud? It’s often long-term, trusted employees who carry out these frauds, and companies with lax or non-existent controls are most often targets. Types of Payroll Fraud Timesheet Fraud Falsifying Wages. 41 Types of Fraud and How to Detect and Prevent Them | i-Sight. Employee fraud is one of the most expensive liabilities of an organization. One frequently quoted statistic comes from the ACFE, which has reported year after year that companies lose, on average, five per cent of revenues to fraud. Types of Fraud and Theft One of the biggest challenges of detecting, investigating and preventing employee fraud is the fact that there are so many types of fraud and theft that require different methods for discovery.
Every department presents opportunities for employees to steal, although it’s been widely reported that a disproportionate percentage of theft is carried out by employees in senior positions and that employees involved in accounting and finance are the most frequent offenders. Most schemes fall into the following fraud categories. So you’ve found the fraudster in your organization. Asset Misappropriation Asset misappropriation is a broad term that describes a vast number of employee fraud schemes. Asset misappropriation schemes include: Data Theft. 44 Investigation Interview Questions for the Complainant, Subject and Witnesses | i-Sight. Knowing what questions to ask in an investigation interview comes with experience.
Investigators who have interviewed thousands of complainants, witnesses and subjects know the standard questions they should always ask, but they also know the importance of following the trail to ask new questions based on the information revealed. So, while the investigation interview questions below provide a great basis for starting the conversation and covering the basics of what happened, don’t limit yourself. It’s by asking the probing questions that arise from what’s revealed in the conversation that the whole truth is uncovered. Learn how to use the list of questions in this article as part of your overall investigation interview strategy. Download the free eBook: Investigation Interview Techniques. Questioning the Complainant It’s important to take the reporter’s complaint seriously, no matter how frivolous it may seem at first glance. What happened? Learn more about questioning the complainant. 39 Tips for Conducting a Sexual Harassment Investigation | i-Sight. Sexual harassment allegations are among the most sensitive and tricky investigations that a company must conduct.
Allegations of sexual harassment must be assessed, investigated and resolved as soon as possible to ensure the behavior doesn’t continue. While preventing sexual harassment is the ultimate goal, immediate intervention followed by a swift and fair resolution is the next best way to stop the behavior and send a message to the rest of the company that harassment isn’t tolerated.
Download our free cheat sheet: 10 Tips for Better Sexual Harassment Investigations. The complainant in a sexual harassment investigation may be in distress, embarrassed or angry and it’s important to treat these cases with discretion and tact. Many victims of sexual harassment prefer that the incident and ensuing investigation be kept confidential. 50 Free or Cheap Tools for Investigators | i-Sight. Today’s investigators have at their fingertips a plethora of useful tools and resources, from software and smartphone apps to digital research resources, state-of-the-art communications technology and nifty spy gadgets. But many of these are costly and require company budget approval or a large personal bank account. Fortunately, there are thousands of free and cheap resources for investigators that can help you conduct your investigations more efficiently and effectively. Here’s a collection of useful investigation tools and resources that are either free or close to it.
Tools for Planning the Investigation Calendar apps can be a lifesaver for time-crunched investigators. A well conducted investigation starts as a well planned investigation. Calendar apps can be a lifesaver for time-crunched investigators. Online phone and video chat applications make it possible to interview witnesses remotely, no matter where they are. Download the free Investigation Plan Template. Ethics Hotline | i-Sight. Comply with International Regulations A well managed ethics hotline helps you uncover problems early, address them quickly and maintain a safe and ethical workplace. Ethics and compliance hotlines also help you comply with anti-corruption legislation, including: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)Bill 198 (Canada)The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)The UK Bribery ActThe Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) A hotline is a critical part of your employee relations and safety programs, conforming to requirements of the EEOC, CCOHS and OSHA and helping you to manage: Safety and security issuesHarassment and discrimination in the workplaceCode of conduct and compliance breachesTheftFraud, waste and abuse Ethics Hotline Data Provides Deep Insight Leverage your ethics hotline data to keep a close eye on your company’s risks, assess training gaps and spot trends.
Encourage Employees to Report Misconduct Keep your company’s ethical culture front-and-center. Ensure Privacy and Confidentiality. Writing Investigation Reports: The Ultimate Guide | i-Sight. The process of writing the investigation report can sometimes clarify your thinking and can even uncover additional questions that provide new insight into a case.
Writing an investigation report is one of the most tedious tasks an investigator undertakes. But, because it’s an important showcase of the investigation, you can’t skimp on this critical investigation step. Your investigation report reflects on you and your investigation, so make sure it’s as clear, comprehensive, accurate and polished as possible. An investigation report has many purposes. It’s a document that sparks some sort of action based on the official findings it presents. This could be a termination of employment, corrective action, implementation of training, counselling, or some other action taken based on the findings.The investigation report is also a record of the steps of the investigation. Investigation Report “Musts” The executive summary consolidates case information into a clear and concise synopsis Record:
15 Types of Evidence and How to Use Them in Investigations | i-Sight. The ability to gather and analyze different types of evidence is one of the most important competencies for anyone who conducts investigations. There are many types of evidence that help the investigator make decisions during a case, even if they aren’t direct proof of an event or claim. The first rule is that evidence must be relevant to the investigation.
If it is not directly related to the case it isn’t relevant evidence. That said, there are many types of evidence that, while not admissible in court, can be valuable to an investigator trying to reach a conclusion in a workplace investigation or other non-criminal investigation. And even some evidence that is not admissible on its own may be admissible in conjunction with other types of evidence. 1. While not a kind of evidence you’d use in court, this kind of evidence can be useful for increasing credibility by drawing parallels when there isn’t enough information to prove something in a workplace investigation. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Top 20 Tips for Preventing Data Theft | i-Sight.
If you have an extra $3.8 million to spare, you don’t need to worry about preventing data theft. That’s the average cost of a data breach in 2015, according to IBM’s 2015 Cost of Data Breach Study. It’s a 23 per cent increase over costs unveiled in the 2013 study. If, on the other hand, you’d like your company to keep its hard-earned cash, you’ll need to put in place policies and procedures to prevent data theft. Because, as the saying goes, there are two kinds of companies: those who’ve suffered a data breach and those who don’t know it yet. With that in mind, we’ve compiled top tips from the experts to help you keep your company’s sensitive information safe from data thieves. Data Storage and Access Abolish paper, or at least lock it away.
If you have to keep paper files, shred them as soon as they are no longer needed. “Not everyone in the company needs access to everything. Find out what you need to protect. “Have an audit or assessment on your data. Need a quick reference? Technology. 101+ OSINT Resources for Investigators | i-Sight. When researching investigative subjects, the first stop for an investigator is usually the internet. And while this is a great place to start, the sheer volume of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools on the internet is staggering.
It’s important to have a plan and know where you are going to look before you begin mining for OSINT. And depending on what kind of information you are seeking, there are many online avenues, both free and paid-for, that you can take to get it. What Are You Looking For? First, you need to know what you are looking for. Knowing what information you are trying to find makes it easier to determine which websites, forums, directories, public information sources and other OSINT tools and resources to use. Capture What You Find Through OSINT The internet is fluid and what you find one day could be gone the next, so it’s a good idea to capture anything important immediately upon discovering it. How to Conduct a Workplace Investigation: Step-By-Step | i-Sight. Many HR, compliance and security investigators don’t receive targeted training on how to conduct a workplace investigation from start to finish.
Training may cover investigation planning, conducting interviews, gathering evidence and other aspects of the investigative process, but most often doesn’t provide an overall blueprint for conducting an entire workplace investigation. This step-by-step article will take you from the initial report of misconduct to the conclusion and final investigation report, with examples and guidance to ensure your investigation follows best practices. Initial Report and Deciding Whether to Investigate Failure to investigate misconduct that should be investigated can have dire consequences for the company. When a complaint or report of wrongdoing is received via a company’s hotline, web form or through any other means, the company is obligated to take the report seriously and act on it quickly. Choosing an Investigator Planning the Investigation Learn more.
OSINT resources. Security resources.