Fraud and Corruption are two most dangerous things that can bring down any workplace very easily, most of the companies, offices, departments, organizations and different workplaces are facing this problem and because of these issues the common people and the working of the organization gets adversely effected.
If not stopped or identified at the right time, then it can even let the organization fall forever and the business will get totally stopped.
In some of the cases companies have to bear loss, some have to face the financial issues, and some needs to close their gates forever, so one must be very careful and bothered about the well working of every single individual in the workplace. Before knowing that how we can stop fraud and corruption in the workplace, let us see what does this fraud and corruption actually means.
What is Fraud and Corruption?:
1. Fraud Meaning:
A fraud activity can be termed as the deceitful act done by any working member of the organization or the company which actually causes financial and other types of property losses to the third party people.
One of the most common frauds in the business sector is the misuse of the documentation without taking any higher authority’s permission. This can cause great damage and loss to the people whose documents are used in various formats without any information.
2. Corruption Meaning:
Corruption can be explained as the fraudulent activity that is done by any working member of the organization so that he/she can gain some external financial or other profits. This is one of the most common problems that a company should solve at the earliest because if it gets rooted in the organization then other working members of the company will also get corrupt and the whole working of the workplace will get spoiled.
Both fraud and corruption are the dishonorable acts which a person can do because of many reasons, some do it because of extra burden of responsibilities, some do it for taking revenge, some do it for personal benefits, some do it because they enjoy doing fraud with people and spreading corruption in the company, what so ever is the reason behind these activities the last bearer of the loss and the negative consequences of the frauds and corruption is the company and business.
But at this point of time most of the people might be thinking that how to know that people of the company or the organization are doing frauds and corruption? This is one of the biggest reasons because of which corruption is spreading at a rapid speed as people are not caught and they fearlessly continue doing fraud with people.
How to Investigate Fraud and Corruption?
For stopping fraud and corruption in your company and workplace you need to find out the specific individual or the group of people who are spreading the fraud and corruption in your workplace. This can only be done by a systematic, planned and managed investigating structure. There are two efficient ways of finding out who is the one behind all the mess, i.e.:
1. Internal Investigation
2. External Investigation
Internal Investigation:
The internal investigation of the workplace generally and mainly includes the proper and detailed investigation of the official documents, audits, expenses, financial stats and other confidential docs of the company.
Once these confidential documents are checked and investigated properly then they should be properly managed, stored and checked on regular basis.
By the internal investigation of the workplace you will find the problem creating sector or department in the company and hence you can easily find out the specific individual who is doing fraud with the people or who is spreading corruption in the workplace.
External Investigation:
The external investigation is needed when you find someone very suspicious and dangerous for your company and organization. You can also set an external investigation on a person who is acting weirdly and differently which is very inappropriate in the work place environment.
The external investigation is best done with the assistance of the external investigating agencies or teams. These agencies make sure that you get all the needed information about the suspected person and they also find out that to what extent the person is causing damage and fraud to the workplace.
This lets you to get a hold of all the proofs and information of the person and finally you can make your company and business safe by eliminating the threat from your workplace.
May it be the internal investigation or the external investigation that you have arranged for your workplace, the main focus of the investigation is always to find out the corrupt element in your workplace and help you to remove him/her from the organization.
These investigations are a real help as it saves you and your organization from any further damage and corruption. Let us see some of the frauds and corruptions that you may find out from the investigation.
Different Types of Fraud, Theft and Corruption in the Workplace:
1. Bribery:
Bribery is one of the most common forms of corruption that prevails in many different departments and sectors. In bribery, you will find out different people taking some extra money or other valuable assets in order to treat the customer in the preferred way that he demands.
2. Stealing:
Stealing happens a lot when your management is weak or the surveillance of the workplace is very low. People steal different assets of the company which do not belong to them for their personal benefits and use.
Stealing can be very dangerous for a company because if in case a person steals the confidential information of the company and passes it on the open market competitors then your company may have to shut down forever.
3. Fraud commitments and documentations:
You may also find workers making false commitment to the customers so that they can generate higher sale and business in order to achieve higher position as well as higher incentives as their pay.
Moreover, some people even do fraud documentation process to make a fool of the people and fetch money and then they vanish with all the money leaving behind the company and the customer face to face. At this point of time, the company has to bear extra loss because of the fraud of the workers.
4. Extortion:
Extortion is again one of the most common forms of the corruptions that can prevail in any organization, one of the common forms of the extortions that prevails in the market is the exchange of the assets or the properties in return of the proofs or the evidences which can be very important in a legal hearing.
5. Misuse of the Power and Position:
When a person is placed at a higher position and given handful of powers then his first and foremost duty is to use his power in the betterment of the workplace, but some of the people fail in doing this and finally, they land up in misusing their powers and position.
The misuse of the powers can affect the whole working of the organization and the management and can create further more problems.
6. Unauthorized use of the confidential information:
Most of the people tend to use the private and confidential information of the workplace and then they can also make excess amount of money by making the confidential information and documentation of the company open in the highly competitive market.
The list is endless when it comes to the fraud and corruption that a person can do, but there are some of the preventive measures that you can set in your workplace so that no fraud and corruption prevails inside the doors of the company. So let us see that how to stop fraud and corruption in the workplace below.
Strategies for Fraud Prevention in Your Business and Workplace:
Stopping the fraud and corruption spreading people is must for the growth of any company or organization, many people who ignore this fact have to face very adverse consequences and finally they also have to bear heavy loss in their business.
But one can be on the safer side if he or she decides to take the preventive measure before hand and make the workplace a corruption free place. Let us see some of the methods by which one can prevent and stop corruption and fraud in the workplace.
1. Clear and Strict Protocols:
A workplace can have a managed and systematic environment for working when every single individual is well aware of his or her duties and limitations that they need to follow to work in the organization.
The protocols should be clear and strict for every person, whether he is the manager of the company or the average worker of the company everyone should follow certain protocols, this will also end up the discrimination between the staff members and finally the working environment will be healthy for working.
2. Open communication:
Most of the times it happens that the low grade employees of the company are well aware of the fact that who is behind all the corruption and fraud that is prevailing in the workplace but they are not allowed to meet and communicate with the head or the upper managers. This actually suppresses the faith of the employees and the corruption grows well under the table.
So, open communication should be allowed to all the employees of the company, this will let you know all information about the working of the company and the workers. This also boosts up the morale of the workers and the workplace grows well without corruption and fraud.
3. Keep a regular and systematic check over the Financial transactions:
A majority of people tend to start their business with proper management and system but once the company touches the desired growth they tend to become less worried about the little things that are happening in the workplace, which encourages the corruption and fraud people to continue damaging the company and fulfill their desires.
So you need to be very specific about all the transactions and expenses that company is bearing, this will let you to keep your workplace safe from any financial frauds.
4. System of Review:
Not only the financial department of the company is the most important but all the different departments of the company are equally important and they too need proper review of the things, so manage a defined system according to which you can review and keep a check over all the happenings of the company.
This will let you to stay informed about the slightest thing that is happening in the work place.
5. Have Trustworthy Hands in the Workplace:
You need to have certain people of trust who you personally know from many years and who can be dependable enough that if something wrong is happening in the company or in between the workers then they are the first people who will inform you at the earliest so that further upcoming problems can be stopped.
This also assure that you have working eyes in between the workplace even when you are not actually present there.
6. Take the reports and the corruption claims seriously:
Most of the people set a defined management and then they forget all the worries, claims, reports that come from the management.
If you are not taking proper action on the reports of the management and the employees then setting a management is of no use, so you need to take active part in all the reporting that is provided by the employees and the management.
This will let you to eliminate all the risky elements from the workplace before they tend to do fraud with the people and spread corruption in the company. This active participation will also keep the management up to date and the proper working of the company and workplace will be assured.
