Every Thursday, I share my thoughts on Family Finances.
For those of us who work @ home, we often rely on other professionals to aid us with financial advice, bookkeeping, tax preparation and other financial transactions that are the lifeblood of our family or small business. A recent article at CNN entitled "Confessions of a Con Artist" spells out just how easy it is for us to unwittingly be sent into financial ruin if we're not paying attention.
In the article, convicted felon Diann Cattani spells out just how easy it was for her to start ripping off her employers:
It was a startup, so the owners relied on me to take over the company's business functions. I automated the bookkeeping systems, contracted with all of the vendors and basically did everything that it took to set up the company's infrastructure. I never established systems with the plan to steal from them, but the fact that I implemented everything made things a lot easier.
Cattani's story and her warning to "trust, but also verify" is an important reminder in times when many small business are simply a few bad transactions away from financial ruin.
Do you employ a contract bookkeeper or business advisor in your small business or family finances? What steps have you taken to ensure oversight of those services?



Recent Comments