Dual Control: Segregate duties among team members

Inventory is an area of your practice where segregating duties will greatly reduce the risk of theft. 

If the person responsible for ordering inventory also receives the inventory and enters it into your computer system, there's no one to verify whether the amount recorded matches what was ordered.

So if 12 cases are ordered and received but only 10 cases are entered into the inventory system, no one will notice that the other two cases ended up in your inventory person's trunk.

Police: Employee steals pain medication from veterinary hospital

A 45-year-old woman is accused of stealing pain medication while working for a local veterinary hospital, police say.

Jennifer Manning was charged with felony embezzlement on Sept. 22 after police say she stole at least 17 bottles of Tramadol from the Jolly Pond Veterinary Hospital, located at 3800 Longhill Road, James City County Police Department spokeswoman Stephanie Williams wrote in an email.

Manning is accused of stealing the medication while accepting deliveries from Feb. 2, 2015 to Sept. 2 as an employee of the veterinary hospital. Police believe she took one full bottle from some deliveries and only logged the remaining bottles, Williams wrote.

Police believe Manning stole about $385 worth of Tramadol. The Drug Enforcement Administration considers the medication a schedule four drug, meaning it has a low potential for abuse and dependence. Other schedule four drugs include Xanax and Valium.

Tramadol is used as a pain killer for moderate and severe pain, including surgical pain. It can become habit forming if used for a long time, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Manning’s case is scheduled to be heard in Williamsburg-James City County General District Court on Oct. 4.

Source:  http://wydaily.com

A dual control system requires the authorization or approval of two individuals to complete a transaction. 

One individual should not be responsible for an entire financial transaction from beginning to finish. 

The dual control system puts a second set of eyes on transactions, greatly lessening the risk of embezzlement.

Inventory Management:

One person orders.  A different person receives in the order.   All purchase orders should be forwarded/transmitted to bookkeeping.