5 Ways To Help Protect Your Small Business From Fraud

Small businesses are at a greater risk for fraud than large corporations, which is why it’s so important to protect your company in every way possible. According to research collected by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), businesses with fewer than 100 employees lose an average of around $155,000 per year due to fraudulent activity.

The majority of this fraudulent activity originates with employees working on the inside. Business owners don’t typically have the time to go over every single line item on every single bill; meaning a lot can slip beneath the radar unnoticed. Also, it’s not uncommon for small business owners to mingle business and personal accounts, further propelling the potential for fraud.

Here are 5 ways you can help protect your small business from fraud.

1. Hire An Accountant That Specializes In Forensic Accounting

Every small business should be concerned about fraudulent activity. A CPA is a valuable asset to detect fraud on multiple levels.

DGK Group offers forensic accounting, which is the use of specialized accounting skills to uncover fraud or embezzlement, as well as to analyze financial information for legal proceedings. Our fine-tuned eyes are trained to identify fraud in the most likely and unlikely places, potentially saving your business thousands of dollars (or more) every year.  

Our CPAs can also go through your internal controls and provide valuable reviews with recommendations for ways to better safeguard yourbusiness from fraud. The majority of fraud has to do with company cash, which is yet another area CPAs regularly go over to help ensure capital is spent appropriately.

Aside from fraud detection, forensic accounting services also includes expert witness testimony, discovery assistance, royalty audits, damage computation, claims analysis, determination of compliance, and litigation support.

2. Screen & Monitor Your Employees

When you hire someone to work for your small business you trust him or her on numerous levels. It’s highly recommended to carefully screen all employees before trusting them to work for you. Designating accounting positions to a few different employees also makes it more difficult for a single employee to get away with fraud without other employees catching on. If one person is solely in charge of certain accounts it’s much easier to funnel money or overspend without anyone noticing. 

Business owners should personally monitor accounts, or hire a CPA to do so, on a regular basis to make sure everything is as it should be. If employees know that no one other than them looks over most company credit card statements or accounts they may take advantage, even buying personal things unrelated to the success of your company.  

It’s important not to over monitor employees or create a culture of distrust. Employees that feel disrespected or distrusted are more likely to commit fraud than employees that feel trusted and appreciated.

It’s difficult to take on all of this oversight yourself; after all you have a business to run. By hiring a team of experienced CPAs to take care of the trouble for you, you actively safeguard your business without taking up every last second of your time.

3. Keep Personal & Business Banking Separate 

Maintaining separate bank accounts and credit cards for personal and business related expenses makes it easier to keep close tabs on what’s going on, as well as pinpoint issues or discrepancies in expenses. Also, if someone does gain fraudulent access to your accounts they don’t drain you professionally and personally. Not to mention, keeping separate accounts makes it easier to file taxes and deduct business expenses.

 

4. Secure IT Infrastructure  

Digital crimes are on the rise so it’s more important than ever to protect computers and smartphones that hold important business data. Otherwise someone on the other side of the world could rob you blind. Invest in a firewall to use for anti-virus, malware and spyware detection. Make sure to consistently back up your company website, accounting information and everything else stored on electronic devices.  

5. Educate Employees On Fraud  

Train your employees on the logistics of fraud, making sure they understand what qualifies as fraudulent behavior, as well as how to identify if someone within the company is participating in fraud. Our CPAs can provide valuable training to your employees to help protect you in the future.

 
Let DGK Help Protect Your Small Business Against Fraud

There is no proven way to prevent all fraud at all times, but there are many ways to make it much more unlikely that it happens to you. DGK Group has the tools, knowledge and expertise to identify fraud at many levels. We’d love to help protect your small business from multiple types of fraud that could otherwise go unnoticed for years. 

5 Valuable Benefits Of Outsourcing Accounting Services

More and more businesses in Philadelphia are outsourcing accounting services in order to save time, money and gain advantageous expertise.

DGK Group specializes in small business accounting services. We see day in and day out all of the rewards businesses reap as a result of our services. We handle everything from financial statement reporting to small business support, forensic accounting, and business valuation and appraisal. If you’re still unsure if outsourcing financials is the right decision for your business, here are some valuable benefits to consider.

1. Improve Accounting Efficiency

Outsourcing accounting services to a qualified team of financial experts automatically gives your business a leg up when it comes to efficient accounting services. Certain technologies, platforms and programs are available to help improve efficiency, accuracy and overall insights provided by accounting data. Accountants are keen to these industry improvements and as a result your business benefits.

A recent Ovum study assessed over 100 large companies in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. Researchers found that businesses outsourcing accounting services had something in common, almost all CFOsmentioned outsourcing F&A tasks to improve overall efficiency.

2. Save Money

If you don’t outsource financial and accounting services, you’re paying a team of people to run an in-house financial department. Hiring a team of qualified people to handle finances full time may be cost-prohibitive, which is why many businesses leave all financials to one person. This may seem like a good way to save money but it leaves you susceptible to a lot of costly mistakes. Hiring less experienced people to manage business accounting could also save you money, but that doesn’t mean the results are going to be good.  

Hiring DGK to take care of your accounting services is way cheaper than hiring an entire full-time team of qualified financial experts, but that’s exactly what you’re getting. By outsourcing an entire department you save money in terms of salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, paid-time off and so forth. Not to mention, CPAs know how to help you make more out of every last penny, saving your small business money in so many ways.

3. Save Time, Focus On Building Your Brand

Taking care of accounting in-house is time consuming for you and your staff. You could get a lot more done in terms of expanding your business by freeing your office from most financial tasks. Instead of hiring an entire team to take care of finances, you could hire a new social media team to generate buzz over a new product or campaign. As a result, you will be making more money thanks to increased customers. Even better, our team of financial experts is there to help your business make the most out of increased profits.

4. You Assume Less Risk

When working with a reputable team of financial advisers you assume less risk than hiring in-house. That’s because service providers are faced with much higher liability than standard employees. Contracted agreements give you more leverage if anything goes wrong. On the other hand, if your in-house team messes up big time the most you could potentially do is fire them and start fresh.

5. Add A New Team Of Experts To Your Bag Of Tricks

The value of experience, knowledge and passion is unmatched. Outsourcing financial services to a third-party provides you with a team of dedicated experts. CPAs must keep up to date on the latest bookkeeping and financial services in order to remain relevant among the competition.

On the other hand, in-house teams tend to get comfortable doing things one-way and don’t change systems unless something appears to be broken. Just because a system doesn’t appear broken doesn’t mean you aren’t wasting valuable time, money and resources on an outdated process.

6. Assistance For Start Ups

Many companies wait until they are making decent money to hire an accounting firm to take over finances. But, hiring an accounting firm from the get-go is incredibly valuable in terms of starting the right company (an LLC, C-corp or S-corp), getting a good loan and setting up shop so that you increase profits in your first year and beyond.

What Philadelphia Small Business Accounting Services Does DGK Group Offer?

We offer a wide variety of accounting services for small businesses, including creation of financial statement reports, bookkeeping and accounting, tax services, financial advisory, fraud detection, damage computation, royalty audits and so much more. You would need to hire an entire team of financial experts to get all of these same services in-house.

Contact us today to learn more about our small business accounting services.

8 Reasons Small Businesses Should Hire An Accountant For Tax Preparation Services

Owning and operating a successful small business is no easy task, and taking on the role of tax preparation makes your job that much harder. There’s no reason to waste time preparing business taxes on your own. Outsourcing tax preparation services can save you time, money and hassles.  

All it takes is one small mistake on your tax forms and you could have a problem on your hands, as well as a really big fine.  If small business taxes are not your area of expertise, hiring a certified public accountant helps remove a lot of unnecessary risk.

DGK Group provides professional tax preparation services to many Philadelphia small businesses. We see first hand all of the benefits our expertise is able to afford. Here are 8 reasons every small business should rely on professional tax preparation services instead of trying to handle it on their own.

11. Time Is Money

How long will it take you and your team to complete tax preparation? These hours add up quickly, especially if you are learning as you go. As a result, you will likely end up spending way more money in terms of time than if you simply hire a tax preparation service.

22. Avoid Costly Mistakes

Businesses are regularly audited, especially if something doesn’t seem right in regards to taxes owed or paid. You may think you’ve dotted all of your I’s and crossed off all of your T’s, but it’s super easy to make expensive mistakes. CPAs are experts at this stuff, and will help you avoid making common costly mistakes.

33. Be In The Know About Tax Codes That Apply To Your Business

Depending on the type of business you own and the industry you are in, there are different tax codes you must adhere. A professional CPA will know exactly which codes and laws apply to your business.

44. Plan Ahead For A Prosperous Future

An accountant can help your business plan ahead for the future in regards to taxes, investments and overall growth. A CPA can also consult with your business on how to simplify future tax preparations.

55. Don’t Worry About Changes In Tax laws

Tax laws are subject to change at any time, but that doesn’t mean the average business owner is alerted to any of these changes. Instead, if you take care of your taxes it’s up to you to seek out this information. A professional accountant, on the other hand, is keeping up with all of these changes for you. As a result, you don’t have to worry about complicated and constantly changing tax codes and laws.

66. Know For Sure If Your Business Financials Are On Track

Financial integrity is huge for businesses of all sizes. Knowing that you are on the right track to making money is fundamental to long-term success. Inadequate financial records or even simple math mistakes could cause the actual success of your company to be inflated or deflated—neither of which is good for long term output. 

Hiring a team of financial experts to take care of your tax preparation helps you identify if your business made money, lost money or broke even without any inkling of doubt.

77. Help Pinpoint & Solve Issues

If you are struggling to make ends meet, an accounting firm will offer the expertise necessary to pinpoint financial mishaps holding you up. Going over your record books and auditing your internal operations will help pinpoint issues with creditors, day-to-day inefficiencies and so forth. Financial consultation services can help your business get back on track, while simultaneously preparing your taxes.

88. Enjoy Peace Of Mind

Filling out your own taxes can be stressful even after everything is said and done. There’s always that looming fear that you made a mistake and the IRS is going to be asking your for 2 million different things. When you hire a tax professional you get peace of mind knowing that everything is properly taken care of. Plus, if anything would arise down the road, you have someone by your side to help make it right.  Having an accountant there to assist during an audit can completely change the results.

Finding The Right Accountant For The Task

Before hiring just anyone to take care of your business tax preparation, check to make sure they have the proper tax credentials and experience.  Certified Public Accountant credentials are earned through education, experience, tests, and swearing to a code of ethics. Be leery of accountants that ask for a percentage of your returned taxes, or offer services that seem too good to be to true.

If you’re looking for reputable tax preparation services for small business, DGK Group remains Philadelphia’s most trusted source.