What motivates an individual to commit fraud? How is it that the same person entrusted with safeguarding the financial well-being of a company is finally the one that abuses it? While these are questions no one has a definite answer for, business owners should be aware of the facts behind this very common crime. Learning [...]
Your business has a voice. The financial statements tell you the story. We’ll help you learn how to read it….free.
Following are some common terms generally found in income statements: Gross Income Depending on your business, income is broken down into two categories: sales income and service income. Just as it sounds, sales income comes from products you sell, and service income comes from services your business provides. We separate the two so you can [...]
A financial statement is really nothing unless you use it. Used properly, your financial statements show the past (Income Statement), present (Balance Sheet) and future (Statement of Cash Flows). Make sure your financial statements are current and accurate. Review the three statements to look for the trends in your business. (If you’re not currently doing [...]
We hear about it every day: bookkeepers of small and mid-sized businesses embezzle millions of dollars from their employers. Some of the schemes go on for years while others are completely undetected. It is common knowledge that the American banking system uses state of the art fraud prevention/detection systems. But even high-tech safeguards are susceptible [...]
In some cases when reviewing an investment you might be presented with an income statement only. The income statement is only one part of the financial statements. You must see all statements in order to get a full sense of the investment potential. The income statement is a great place to start, though! The income [...]
The reason most businesses fail is lack of cash. The majority of businesses are embezzled from at least once. And the most common embezzler is the bookkeeper. Put all that together and that means you need to pay attention to your financial statements. Of course, not every bookkeeper is going to steal from you. In [...]
Small and midsized businesses are the perfect target for fraud and embezzlement. True, all organizations big and small are subject to fraud, but evidence suggests the risk level small businesses face is higher, and the consequences are catastrophic. Poor economic times can possibly increase the incidence of fraud, particularly employee theft and embezzlement. Studies conducted [...]
