Could someone take $1.6 million from your company without you knowing?

A bookkeeper in San Antonio (allegedly) took $1.6 million from her employer over 4 years before anyone caught it.

The same article lists 5 more cases, also in San Antonio, where another $1.3 million was (allegedly) taken.

Here's the sentence that stopped me. The bookkeeper "was responsible for managing the firm's financials, including paying bills and handling payroll, and had access to at least one of its bank accounts and a company debit card."

One person. Bills, payroll, the bank account and the debit card.

That setup is common in small businesses, and there's an honest reason for it. You have a small office staff and you trust them. Most of the time that trust is earned.

The risk isn't that your bookkeeper is dishonest. It's that nobody should be the only one looking.

3 things you can do this week

1. Open last month's bank statement yourself. It takes 5 minutes. Look for payees you don't recognize.

2. Ask one question. "What's the most recent month where every bank account has been reconciled?" (Reconciled means your books have been matched to the bank statement.) Last month: fine. 2 months ago: fix it this week. 3 or more: that's a bigger problem than bookkeeping.

3. Make sure someone besides the bookkeeper can see the bank account. The person who records deposits shouldn't be the person who takes checks to the bank.

What to look for when you open the statement

• Payees you don't recognize. In the San Antonio case, it was Venmo charges on a company debit card.

• Payroll checks that posted twice.

• Vendors you've never heard of.

• Subscriptions you meant to cancel.

None of this takes software. It takes 5 minutes a month and the habit of looking.

If you'd like a second set of eyes on how cash moves through your business, that's a 20-minute call.

Book a free 20-minute call here.

P.S. Know another owner who should read this? Send it to them.