There are stories every day of individuals handling companies’ finances being charged with larceny, theft and other crimes. How do you keep it from happening to your firm? By having the watchful, trusted eyes of Count On Us checking your books. Our proven security measures safeguard your business from most internal abuses.

But the headlines are for big businesses and big crimes, nothing is going to happen at my business, right? Know that not all thefts are big heists. The big ones just grab the headlines. In actuality, more small- and medium-sized businesses fall victim to internal crimes than larger corporations which have internal audit and fraud departments.

Thoughts like “But I trust my employees. I know my workers. They would never do something like that to me” might be running through your head right now. With an unstable economy and people under mountains of debt, you simply can never say “Never.” The same person may have handled your business’s financial matters for years and you trust that person like a member of the family. But you don’t know all that is going on in his or her personal life. And while you may have total faith in that person, there is a huge benefit to having an outside set of eyes on your books. Plus, there can be a huge cost savings by going to virtual record keeping.

Two recent examples point to how susceptible small-business owners are to internal thefts:

– A former bookkeeper for the Raintree Nursery in Morton, Ill. was charged with stealing $12,000 from the business. Debora S. Barnett, 55, of Morton, was charged with first-degree theft with aggravating circumstances for allegedly putting large refund transactions into a separate business account that she used for her personal use. The aggravating circumstances were a lack of remorse, using a position of trust and conducting an operation with a high degree of sophistication, according to investigators.

– The popular North Shore eatery Hackney’s was the victim of an apparent internal theft on more than $180,000. A woman who had been with the Glenview restaurant for 25 years – starting as a waitress and advancing to a part-time bookkeeper – was charged with taking funds from the business. Shawn Dragman, 52, a resident of the 800 block of Glendale Road in Glenview, was charged with felony theft after a six-month investigation determined she had allegedly embezzled funds from the business. Police said Dragman was in charge of depositing the previous day’s receipts and over two years took cash from deposits, as well as deposit checks endorsed with an old restaurant stamp.

Count On Us can be that internal auditing and fraud department for your business. We can be those eyes that you need to ensure that your firm’s money and financial records remain safe.

We make it easy and affordable to keep your bookkeeping safe and on the right track. Contact Count On Us at (847) 343-9370 or randall@counton-us.com today.