We can answer straight away: Yes, of course! But between making small arrangements and providing “small services” with our conscience, we sometimes cross the yellow line. Here’s a small compilation of the irregularities and some advice to prevent politicians from getting into compromising positions.
Entrepreneurship requires every entrepreneur to be adventurous, creative and independent of spirit. But if it is natural to “dress the bride” to give an attractive image of our business, then every act of management involves the manager before the law. In the context of business management, every decision needs to be weighed because it is probably heavy with consequences. The risk of committing a crime unintentionally or recklessly has never been greater than it is today. Anthology of what to avoid.
“Hole” in the box: you just have to dare!
Some manager-employees take daily cash from the company’s credit cards, embezzling one million euros in two years. These cash withdrawals of 100 or 200 euros each time allow workers to pay for small purchases at construction sites. After some time, the matter is seen when the accountant expresses his surprise in writing. The counterfeiter can then avoid translating the letters to the parent company located abroad, not French speaking. The parent company may never check the accounts of its French establishment, but you run a great deal of risk.
Fake Payment Slip: You Must Be Of Service!
When this owner’s girlfriend asks for a payment slip of convenience for “a friend” who wants to adorn her file as a tenant candidate. With the “friend” eventually going bankrupt and known to the police, PJ may arrive at the company one fine morning and, beyond the lack of image associated with the discovery, quickly convince the overly satisfied manager at the courthouse. Helping, even if it may seem minor, can quickly put you in a difficult position.
False Invoices: Lack of Resources!
You can mortgage sales invoices that do not correspond to an actual commercial loan. Error ! This case is special because you can be in good faith: the company’s workforce is shrinking, following economic hardships, the remaining employees, inadequately and poorly supervised, may double invoicing from simple clumsiness. Obviously, the matter ends badly if you do not correct the situation quickly. In terms of management’s responsibility, an error, even in good faith, is not forgivable, so report it quickly.
Violation of Social Law: “Boss Bravado”!
When this SARL manager decides to pay his employees for only 35 hours, whereas he requires 39 hours of attendance, on the grounds that the law on working hours does not apply, according to him. This brave boss launched a time bomb: if the employees in the activity pretended to ignore the problem, it was not so when the employees left the ship: they were fortunate enough to be compensated very well for such a major irregularity. .
Abuse of social good: “We will never have control”!
We can continue this list by generating several small spins, such as restaurant bills or other expense reports of a personal nature, for example, but paid for by the company. An innocuous exercise? In this regard, the entrepreneur, if he is the owner of his business, would simply say that he “Tax Takes Risk”, Yet it is an abuse of social good. You must note the names of the people you had lunch with and possibly the purpose of your meetings on your invoices.
How to protect yourself from fraud
Leaders, by definition, are at the top of the pyramid. Absence of direct control over their actions by them voluntarily or “unintentionally of his own will” For prohibited actions that may lead to sanctions for the individual company or for himself. The above examples also demonstrate that bosses can be victims of their employees’ actions. Yet he must answer before the judges, because of the indecency committed under the guise of his authority.
To avoid unnecessary worries, remember some proven good administrative organization practices.
- Separation of duties: In the company, the person who pays the invoice should not be the same one who initiates and validates the purchase. The checks are materialized, if necessary, by the managers’ signatures on the documents to serve as legal evidence.
- Administrative procedures: The formalization of administrative procedures governing recurring activities makes it possible to restrict useless or “at risk” tasks and effectively delineate everyone’s responsibilities. Risky behaviors are more visible in an organized system.
- Internal controls: systematically cross-checked between the information available in the company. Among the required checkpoints: Bank reconciliation is up to date, accounting is kept as it happens, no expenses are incurred without verification of invoices and purchase orders, cash register contents transferred to the bank regularly She goes; Systematic relaunching of payment instruments and customer receipts placed in the safety deposit box. All these checks are executed and stored in such a way as to constitute a single file, which makes it possible to establish the regularity of operations at a later stage.
One word to conclude and re-explain, if necessary, what business leaders and corporate executives need to defend against their own ignorance or weakness as well as that of their teams: the jurisprudence of business life is no longer just business. No CAC40 pundits. Protect yourself and your VSEs and SMEs, without giving in to paranoia.