Don’t release anyone until the facts are known.

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Question:

We had money taken at one of our offices. We conducted a review and released everyone who didn’t follow our written procedures. Yesterday we found that money has been stolen again so we didn’t get the right person. We were told by local police we didn’t perform a proper investigation. What should we do now?

Answer:

Never release anyone until a trained professional has completed their investigation. Your institution released people who violated policy. This results in them having no reason to cooperate with you on conducting a true internal fraud investigation now. You need to secure a trained investigator to do this inquiry. The problem when you find the person embezzling you may have a lawsuit from the people fired who hadn’t taken the funds.
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Learn more about Barry Thompson’s webinar 20 Internal Fraud Errors to Avoid