Policies reviewed after audit reveals employee theft

While the retail sector is famed for ‘inside jobs’ where theft is concerned, employee theft in other sectors is also on the rise.

According to a recent report, employees are responsible for more than a third of retail theft, but charities, councils and private businesses also suffer from the problem.

However, one way they can counteract the damage this does is to learn from the theft and then change how they operate to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

For example, a disability charity in Scotland has reviewed its policies after a former employee pleaded guilty to stealing £40,060 from some of its vulnerable residents.

Violet Connor was employed by Sense Scotland as a Locality Manager and was authorised to withdraw precise amounts of cash for 10 service users.

Once or twice a month, she would enter the transaction in a manual paper ledger system at the charity, which cares for vulnerable adults and children who face challenges such as being deaf, blind, or having learning difficulties.

In court earlier this year, Connor admitted to embezzling money from some of the residents between April 2019 and December 2022 and falsifying the books to cover up her crimes.

She had been given compassionate leave in October 2022 and the person standing in for her noticed a book-keeping irregularity.

Following this, an audit revealed that she had made excessive withdrawals totalling £40,060 from the accounts of residents.

Sense Scotland has agreed to repay the money in full to the families affected, with a full review of services having taken place.

In a statement after the sentencing hearing, a spokesperson said that the charity has reviewed all their policies, procedures and systems to ensure robust management of the finances of the people they support.

Roger Isaacs, National Technical Director of NIFA, said: “Uncovering fraud during an employee’s absence from work is a common occurrence and, indeed, employees’ failure ever to take holidays or time off should be a red flag.

“Once suspicions have arisen it is often sensible to instruct forensic accountants to help to collate evidence to build a case, whether that be for dismissal on the grounds of gross misconduct, to give to the police or to support a private prosecution”

Sources: The Courier, Times

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