SmallBusinessNewz

According to the findings of a recent survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), fraud is running rampant among small businesses.

The results show that 7% of annual revenues for U.S. organizations are lost to fraud, with the median loss $200,000 higher for small businesses (with under 100 employees).

They found the most common fraud schemes to be corruption and fraudulent billing schemes, with financial statement fraud being the most costly category.

Tips the ACFE gives to combat small business fraud include:

1. Be proactive

2. Establish hiring procedures

3. Train employees in fraud prevention

4. Conduct regular audits

5. Call in an expert

You can audit all you want, but even the ACFE says that occupational frauds are more likely to be detected by a tip rather than an audit or any other means.