Must Know! 4 Ways to Prevent Embezzlement in Business

Business management is never a simple thing because it involves many factors to achieve smooth and profitable operations. One of the obstacles that many people experience and must be aware of is embezzlement. Practically, this can have a massive impact on business, and risks making anyone involved face the law.

Embezzlement also has the potential to bring business to ruin, because in practical terms this is understood as a criminal act against the law by hiding other people's goods/property by one or several people without the owner's knowledge with the aim of stealing, controlling, or using for other purposes.

You can imagine how big the risks that arise from this action are, right?

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Several Examples of Cases of Embezzlement of Company Assets

In Indonesia itself, cases like this are heard quite often and are brought up in various media. Even though in reality the cases that are widely discussed are cases with large losses, in reality embezzlement does not have to have fantastic value.

Some examples of embezzlement cases that have occurred include the following.

• Case at PT BLC in Citraland Housing, Manado. This case occurred in 2022, involving one of the employees who was suspected of embezzling company assets. These assets are reportedly worth IDR 300,000,000 and are kept at the perpetrator's house.
• Case of embezzlement of customer money worth IDR 800,000,000 involving a state-owned bank teller in 2020. This case occurred in Madura, and the perpetrator was named a suspect after being proven to have committed the crime. Cases occurred when the suspect did not deposit the customer's money and instead used it for personal needs.
• Embezzlement of assets worth IDR 3,000,000,000 by four assistant managers which occurred in 2018 in Banjarnegara. This happened to PT Veronique and caused the company to suffer a loss of more than IDR 3,000,000,000 consisting of precious metals gold and silver.

There are still quite a lot of other cases that have occurred in various companies, both private and state-owned, and even government institutions. This unlawful action causes huge losses, and of course requires the company to allocate a large number of resources to resolve the case and restore the business it manages.

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Embezzlement Prevention Steps Business Owners Can Take

Because embezzlement falls into the category of business crimes and criminal acts, these steps can help you prevent it from happening. These steps can be strategic points for reducing the risk of losses and unlawful actions quite effectively, if they are implemented with discipline and care.

1. Conduct Regular Internal Audits

In fact, the audit process is a standard thing that every company must carry out. As a company owner or manager, independent assessment activities need to be carried out periodically to test and evaluate the activities and budget allocations that your business carries out.

The use of a good system and truly credible implementers need to be ensured so that they can identify if there are financial posts or assets that are suspected of being a point of embezzlement. At least with regular audits you can track every asset, company activity and financial dynamics of the company.

2. Strict Work Ethics

Work ethics are important in business. Not only in the context of collaborating with other parties, but also for the staff you have within the company. Work ethics of professionalism, responsibility, caring for others, and a high work ethic, help you have a solid team so that you avoid the desire to commit embezzlement.

This cannot be done easily, because you must have a formula that is prepared accurately and in detail. However, the long-term effects obtained by the business will really be felt, both in terms of productivity and in terms of business security.

3. Conduct Anti-Fraud Training

Embezzlement itself is one type of fraud that can occur in business. Therefore, preventative steps that can be taken are to provide anti-fraud training, so that every staff knows that matters related to embezzlement are punishable offenses.

Apart from that, training like this also increases staff awareness of signs or indications of embezzlement, so that it can be immediately identified and reported for follow-up before it becomes a case that brings losses to the business you manage.

4. Proper Use of Business Insurance

Businesses also need the right insurance to be a safety net if something happens those results in major losses. You can get the right Business Insurance from AXA Insurance Indonesia. This insurance can provide guarantees for many losses that the business, or you as the business manager, and the staff you have may experience. With the right business insurance like this. The risk of loss can be reduced to a minimum, so you can recover quickly if embezzlement does occur.

what is the solution to overcoming embezzlement in business?

In fact, in general, embezzlement cases can be reported criminally, because the regulations regarding this matter are clearly stated in the Criminal Code or Criminal Code.  The criminal elements include recognizing that the object as a personal asset is clear, that all or part of the embezzled asset belongs to another person, and the embezzled object is under his or her control.

Apart from that, there are also subjective elements which fall into the category of legal violations. This element is an element of intent and an element of unlawfulness. You can look at the details in several articles in the Criminal Code, such as Article 374 of the Criminal Code, then Article 375 of the Criminal Code, and so on.

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The risk of embezzlement will always exist in a business. Awareness of this risk is a good step, so you can take various preventative steps so that this can be avoided.

Having the right business insurance, such as Asuransi SmartBusiness ance offered by PT AXA Insurance Indonesia, will be the right choice to use. This insurance will provide many protections and benefits, such as inconvenience due to termination or closure of business premises, coverage for death or permanent disability due to work, and prolonged illness experienced by employees. You can manage your company more easily so that existing business risks can be managed well, and you avoid the risk of large losses that might occur. Practical and solid, trust your business to the protection and benefits of PT AXA Insurance Indonesia!

Reference:

• https://news.detik.com/berita/d-6434274/bagaimana-mempidanakan-pelaku-penggelapan-tapi-uang-balik-ke-korban
• https://www.gramedia.com/literasi/pengertian-penggelapan-dana/#google_vignette
• https://idstar.co.id/cara-mencegah-fraud-dalam-bisnis/
• https://midtrans.com/id/blog/cara-pencegahan-fraud
• https://vida.id/id/blog/fraud-triangle
• https://www.hukumku.id/post/kejahatan-bisnis
• https://siplawfirm.id/tindak-pidana-penggelapan/?lang=id#:~:text=Penggelapan%20merupakan%20suatu%20perbuatan%20tindak,atau%20digunakan%20untuk%20tujuan%20lain.
• https://www.detik.com/sulsel/hukum-dan-kriminal/d-6119408/karyawan-sulut-gelapkan-aset-perusahaan-rp-300-juta-disimpan-di-rumah
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