Companies need to have internal security measures and should not rely solely on guards and cameras
Earlier this year, a report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners revealed shocking facts about employee theft. The report confirmed that approximately 27% of large companies have seen an increase in theft cases and up to seven percent of annual revenues are being lost due to fraud, 37.1% of which was committed by managerial staff.
The reality is that the average South African company employing more than three staff members is almost guaranteed to experience a level of loss over a period of time.These losses grow exponentially as the staff complement increases. A recent survey of 314 small businesses revealed disturbing statistics. Over seven months, 34%of these firms faced the scourge of employee theft, averaging a loss of R273 000. Of these thefts, 40% were cash and only 16% were reported.
Kyle Condon, Managing Director at independent investigations and risk consultancy D & K Management Consultants, believes that there needs to be a shift in the approach to traditional workplace security, saying that companies currently rely too heavily on security guards. Generally, a company’s first port of call, when they want to secure their assets, is to hire guards. Their second step is to install cameras, and then to put up an electric fence, However, While these systems may be effective in blocking external threats, they certainly won’t do much to counter internal thefts.
While guards and CCTV cameras have their place within a sound security strategy, they will not resolve the problem. In fact, as stand-alone loss control practices, Kyle they are grossly overrated and in fact create an illusion of security, quickly picked apart by employees.
Says Kyle: "When you combine trust with the belief that security cameras are enough of a deterrent, weak spots are created, and these lead to significant losses. The biggest risk to every business is the staff(at your peril) – which is why keeping security independent is essential...To be effective in loss control, businesses must create levels of defences.
