In the last 2 years we have seen an increase in unauthorised spending and fraud at work so it is timely to look at who you let spend company money and how. Examples of fraud have included personal purchases on company fuel and credit cards and on company trade and supplies accounts. In one case a person bought gift vouchers for their family members at Christmas on a company account!
This type of spending can be easily missed. Fraudulent timesheets and invoices can be easily missed too where robust processes are not in place and checked periodically.
The end of the financial year is a great time for checking that your spending rules are clear and current and that they are being adhered to in practice so you can minimise your risks. Actions you could include are:
- Reviewing your policies and procedures to ensure they are up to date and the rules are clear and re-share these with staff so they are clear on expectations
- Updating any spend limits that are written down so they are current e.g. review job descriptions, finance policies, credit card and fuel agreements
- Putting in place any missing agreements for use of company cards and accounts so that you have signed agreement for rules of usage
- Ensuring you have specific agreements for deductions in place for legitimate spend like purchasing of tools so that agreement to deduction from wages is not withdrawn
- Making sure that there is a chain of command so there is not one person creating, authoring and making payments on your behalf
- Spot checking spend for the year for anomalies or unsual transactions and further investigating where there anomolies so you can see whether there are any potential issues that might need sorting
If you need any help with setting clear rules for spending with staff get in touch with a member of the Grow HR team. Include your accountant if you need any assistance with setting your financial delegations and any auditing needs.