SCA Vice President Chirs Yaw (left), of DY Calison, Inc., calls out door prize winners, as Lynsey Camara, of PuroClean Home Rescue and SCA Treasurer Kelly Denison, of Liberty Executive Admin, Inc. assist.

Congratulations to 50/50 Raffle winner at the March meeting: Chris Taylor, of Taylor Renovation, Inc.

Chuck Thomas, of O’Connor Engineering, chats with Kelly Taylor, of CSE Insurance after the luncheon.

Tiffany & Brett Lawton and Amanda Aronson of Lawton Construction; and Aaron Zambrana, of A to Z Chimney Sweep & Dryer Vent Services.

Danell Cassetta, of Restoration Mgmt Co., and Cathrin Nevin, of Carl Warren & Associates.

McCurley and Thurman offer insight into dealing with, and avoiding, dishonesty at March SCA
By Randy Lingenfelter, Carl Warren & Company

Many thanks to James McCurley for his great presentation on Employee Dishonesty Claims and Fraud Investigations at the March 12, 2009 SCA luncheon. And what a great turnout, again!

In case you aren’t aware and/or missed the meeting, Mr. McCurley is the Manager for the Sacramento branch of RGL Forensics, which is an international firm of accounting, valuation and technology professionals. In addition to being a Certified Public Account, Jim is also a designated “expert” and has testified in many court cases.
Mr. McCurley with the assistance of his associate, Ryan Thurman, offered a wealth of experience and expertise in their presentation on the topic of Employee Dishonesty Claims and Fraud Investigations.

McCurley began with an overview of Employee Dishonesty Coverage and basic definitions; Common misappropriation schemes; the elements of substantiation, and avenues of recovery. He and Mr. Thurman covered the subject with a broad enough brush to encompass the perspective of large and small business owners in this seminar.
From their talk it was clear that the work of a professional like Mr. McCurley could directly impact your business in the midst of suspicious employee actions, and could quite possibly mean the difference between a covered loss in determining whether you have a case of Employee Dishonesty or not.

McCurley made clear the importance for all business owners to be aware that any employee in your company with access to money, checks or bookkeeping could be tempted to abscond with funds. He and Mr. Thurman offered suggestions to help reduce the temptation.

Bottom-line: the risk is too large to ignore. In the event that suspicion should arise, their suggestion was to notify the proper authorities, as well as your insurance carrier, and to gather and protect as much evidence as possible.

Policies, of course, vary, they said. Some insurance polices require a police report to be filed or the authorities to be contacted in order for coverage to be afforded for Employee Dishonesty Claims. McCurley also advised that most policies have a trigger date or deadline to file a claim once the Dishonest Act is discovered. Generally within one year of discovery, he said.

“There are many different ways dishonest employees may scheme to take money or steal from your company,” McCurley stated. Some examples he gave included: check writing schemes; fictitious vendor schemes; collusion with third parties; excessive sales voids, and understatement of cash receipts.

Mr. McCurley suggested Separation of Duties for employees so as to not allow one employee complete control of the business finances without having some type of checks and balances and internal controls in place.

And finally the most important suggestion offered was for business owners is to reconcile their own bank accounts. This way you won’t have to discover after it’s too late a trusted employee has taken you to the cleaners!

Getting to relax at the luncheon were past SCA President Art Coussoulis, above right, and longtime Board Member/Membership Chair Barbara Prosch.

SCA 2009 President Don Sams, above right, thanked guest speakers Jim McCurley, center, and Ryan Thurman, of RGL Forensics. The duo presented a well-rounded discussion on Emplyee Dishonesty claims, including proactive tips to help avoid the possibility of these types of incidents.

John Moore, of JM Environmental, at the March SCA luncheon.

Just two weeks after delivering her baby, Jessica Belding was back, looking as though it never happened. Pictured above with Guardian Environmental associate Joe Ricki.

March 2009 Photo Gallery | Meeting Review | Slide Show

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