Why embezzlement is unethical

Get Involved Events R. Mentorship Program. Translate this page. Ethics and Fraud. Identifying fraudulent scenarios and learning how to prevent them.

Ethics Fellows in this Focus Area. View All Ethics Fellows. Senior Instructor of Accounting, College of Business. Andrew Czaplewski, Ph. For example, if a computer monitor disappears when the front desk is left unattended for a minute, cameras are valuable, because the video from that time can be examined. In contrast, embezzlement can happen at any time, and the amount of camera footage required to be monitored to spot it would be huge.

Second, since a thief would normally know that cameras are in use, only the dumbest of thieves will commit a visibly dishonest act on camera anyway. What Does Work? So if thieves are smart, aware of the control systems in place and motivated, how do you stop them?

The answer is far simpler than many dentists think. Research by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners suggests that more than 80 percent of embezzlers act in a manner consistent with stealing.

And the good news? Behavioral monitoring is easier and far less time consuming than overinvesting time and money in cameras and financial monitoring. One of our most potent monitoring tools is our Embezzlement Risk Assessment Questionnaire, which can be found at dentalembezzlement. Published statistics suggest that 60 percent of dentists will eventually be embezzlement victims. We believe that underestimation of the determination and capabilities of embezzlers is a major contributing factor.

Harris can be reached at david prosperident. Little at pat prosperident. Dentaltown Magazine. Townie Perks. Do you take digital impressions?

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Embezzlement refers to a form of white-collar crime in which a person or entity misappropriates the assets entrusted to them. In this type of fraud, the embezzler attains the assets lawfully and has the right to possess them, but the assets are then used for unintended purposes.

Embezzlement is a breach of the fiduciary responsibilities placed upon a person. It is illegal to intentionally access that money and convert it to personal use. Such activities can include diverting funds to accounts that appear to be authorized to receive payments or transfers. However, the account is a front that allows the individual, or a third party they are collaborating with, to take the funding. For instance, an embezzler might create bills and receipts for business activities that never took place or services that were never rendered to disguise the transfer of funds as a legitimate transaction.

An embezzler might collaborate with a partner who is listed as a consultant or contractor who issues invoices and receives payment, yet never actually performs the duties they are charging for. The nature of embezzlement can be both small and large. Embezzling funds can be as minor as a store clerk pocketing a few bucks from a cash register.

However, on a grander scale, embezzlement also occurs when the executives of large companies falsely expense millions of dollars, transferring the funds into personal accounts. Depending on the scale of the crime, embezzlement may be punishable by large fines and time in jail. Embezzlement occurs when someone steals or misappropriates what they were entrusted to manage or safeguard.

The property or asset need not be of substantial value for embezzlement to occur. Although closely related, it differs from fraud in that the embezzler had authorization to use or oversee the property or funds. Some types of embezzlement might be combined with other forms of fraud, such as Ponzi schemes.

In such cases, the embezzler scams investors to entrust them with their assets to invest on their behalf but instead uses the money for personal gain and enrichment. Using confidential information of the company for personal interest is also against principles of business ethics.

This calls for dismissal of the implicated employee, and requires lawsuit for prosecuting the offender. Business environment in the modern period encourage cut-throat competition that has influenced some individuals to involve in unethical practices, like theft, to succeed their ambitions. It is a concern why an employee steals a pencil or pen from his work place Jason, Such actions can be seen as small actions but are unethical behaviors that can cost a great loss to the employer because the impacts are multiplied.

There is a difference between actions that are illegal and practices that are unethical. It is upon the business organization to decide on how it handles unethical behavior. Unethical actions that are not illegal often fall between wrong and right behaviors that make it complicated to decide what action to take when it is faced. Patricia, Gregory, Clair and Lindon say that different individuals have different viewpoints concerning what is unethical and what is ethical.

Making decision on doing something requires an employee to realize that unethical behavior has difficult choices.