Under this heading we wish to draw your attention to recent occurrences which could also affect your organisation. In most cases the damage could be financial but reputation could also be adversely affected.

This page will be periodically updated. If you have subjects which could be of interest to other readers, please contact us. The sharing of information is a first step to making malversations visible.

• Confidential information on the street

Recently employees of a certain company were given instructions by their manager to clear out business data. Instead of destroying confidential material or having it disposed of professionally, they packed it in plastic bags and put it out on the street to be collected by the municipal refuse collection service. As a consequence, sensitive material was found by someone who passed it over to the media and negative publicity resulted. Most businesses have rules about the destruction or disposal of confidential business data, but it can do no harm to test these rules in practice, if only to prevent that such an event overtaking your organisation.

• Ghost invoices

With a certain regularity ghost invoices arrive through the post. These are invoices sent out by dubious businesses for services and deliveries which have never taken place. The amounts vary but they are rarely so large that they raise questions. They

often purport to be for an entry in a business directory, but enquiry reveals that no such entry has been ordered. Further enquiry will probably reveal that no such directory exists. During recent months such invoices have been issued by a company in Zug, Switzerland but  posted in the Czech Republic. An investigation is being conducted as to  whether punishable offences have been committed. Should you receive such an invoice, from any source, we advise:

• do not make contact with the company;

• make sure that this company cannot obtain your company’s blank, headed stationery;

• neither confirm nor deny the receipt of such an invoice if the company should inquire;

• notify your local Chamber of Commerce about the receipt of the invoice.

• Inform your financial administration department of these guidelines. 

And of course it goes without saying that such invoices should never be paid.

• Expenses

In organisations there are often a number of people who may declare certain expenses, and there are usually clear agreements about this. What is strange is that  some only declare their expenses after a time lapse of several months. They usually hand over receipts to the administration department unsorted and pressure of work probably  means that the employees in that department do not check all these old receipts to see whether they are permissible, the amounts correct, or whether they are dated for weekends or holidays. This is probably why the employee concerned held them back for so long. When you think about it, it is strange that an employee would allow the employee several months credit, is it not?

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