In both good economic times and bad, embezzlement is a potentially costly issue for organizations. This form of occupational crime, which involves fraud or theft by trusted employees or managers, can range from simply stealing cash from a cash register or overstating expenses to complex schemes involving billing, inventory, payroll or intellectual property.
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) 2016 Report to Nations, occupational fraud amounts to 5% of gross revenues for all businesses in a given year. The typical fraud lasts 18 months and 56% of the perpetrators in the U.S. were men, 46% women.
Because crimes of embezzlement involve trusted employees, they can carry on much longer without detection. These circumstances tend to be especially relevant to nonprofits and government agencies. Indeed, most embezzlers aren't antisocial, don't have criminal histories, and do possess stable family relationships and steady job histories.
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