If you don't have an understanding and checks/balances in place with your accounts payable, CFO, or anyone else that manages your money you run the risk of massive theft. When times are tough you can't trust your CFO our accountant to do the honorable thing. Many business owners put too much trust in the people they hire...they focus on the growth of their business and become complacent about what their accounting people are doing. For example, I have a client that had his CFO (who had been with him for 5 years), steal over $800k from the company account. They did this over the period of 2 years by mismanaging company accounts, pretending to pay bills, and falsifying invoices. The way the owner found out was when he had a lien from the IRS slapped on the business for not being current on his previous years taxes. He is still liable to the IRS and the court costs to fight the case are too large for him to afford in his current business condition.
No matter the size of your corporation do not think you are insulated from theft within the corporation. The highest risk companies have 20-100 employees. To protect yourself and the health of your business ask your bank about positive pay features and fraud protection. Also, get your business bank statements sent to your house so you can review personally all checks cut over the last month.
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