By: vish ks
Submitted: 2010-03-04 00:09:29 | Word Count: 535
Bookkeepers and accounting clerks are the people primarily responsible for the maintenance and updating of financial records. The scope and range of their actual duties vary according to the size of the company they work in. Bookkeeping clerks who work for smaller firms would be responsible for most of the financial record keeping aspects of small scale companies. Their job titles or designations like accounts receivable clerk and accounts payable clerk for instance, reflect the kind of work they indulge in. Specific jobs include such aspects as the posting of debits and credits, production of financial statements, preparation of various reports for management, handling of the payroll, and the making of different purchases. Larger companies will often have a separate accounting department that employ bookkeepers or accounting clerks. Although these bookkeepers perform somewhat similar functions as done by accounting clerks, they in general, have more specialized tasks and jobs to accomplish.
Recently, there have been some media stories doing rounds about some bookkeepers cheating their companies or employers. So, it would be wise to take a look at a few tips that can be of help to any business person or owner. Is there any possibility of a church bookkeeper who had held that particular position for more than 20 years to be found as a fraud? No, and in one case, neither did the church. And, this bookkeeper bamboozled the church of hundreds of thousands of dollars. We shall go through a few of the safeguards that can come in handy in order to minimize the chances of fraud happening within your company or organization. Make it a point not to give your online banking details or information to anyone. By the time you find that the money is taken away, your bookkeeper could also be gone. Handing out blank cheques is strictly to be done away with. This is a very common blunder many business owners commit. They leave these signed cheques with their bookkeepers or other staff citing convenience. In this case, the fraud person will not even have to forge your signature.
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Do not give your bookkeepers the authority to sign on your bank accounts. You are exposing yourself to abuse if your bookkeepers are vested with the legitimate power to avail of cheques even without your knowledge. Be the first one to open and check the bank statements every month. Ask the person concerned if you see an entry that you do not recognize. Fraudulent bookkeepers and bookkeeping practices often go on without being detected just because they are the only people that actually watch and see what goes through the company’s bank accounts. Make a separation between your bookkeeping and accounting roles. A double check on your accounting books can provide you with a critical set of checks and balances. This way, the accountants can review a bookkeeper's records and also vice versa. This will ensure that each of the persons will be held accountable for the act, and deception is more likely to be found out.
