27
Volume2 Issue8
|
I
ssues and
P
eople
Yet the safeguardsmanydentists relyonmay
providea false senseof security, according toHarris.
Most practicemanagement softwareprograms
comewithdefencesdesigned toprevent embez-
zlement, butHarrisbelievesprevention isnearly
impossible so thesedefencesusually fall short.
“Ultimately, the safeguardsbuilt into these systems
aren’t terriblyeffective, becausea thief has lotsof
options,” he says. “We’vecataloguedover 300ways
to steal, andwe’renot done!”
Although therearemanyways embezzlers can
steal, Harris says they typically start by studying their
environment. “In thecaseof adental practice, they
lookat thedoctor.What does thisperson lookat?
What don’t they lookat?What are theweaknesses
in their system?”As a teammember, it is easy for
them toobserve theother staffand recordswithout
arousing suspicion.
NeedorGreed
Embezzlers aregenerallymotivated inoneof two
ways: byneedorgreed. ‘Needy’ thieves are inaposi-
tionof urgency; their financial circumstances require
them to takedrasticmeasures todealwithdebtor
financial trouble. ‘Greedy’ thieves, bycontrast, aren’t
stealingbecause theyhave to, butbecause they
want to. “Membersof this secondgroup, inmymind,
are farmoredangerous,” saysHarris, “because their
desire formoney is insatiable.” For example, inone
of thecasesProsperident investigated in theU.S., an
embezzlerwas already stealingwhen shehappened
towin$3million in the state lottery, afterwhich she
keptonembezzling. “At thatpoint, itwasn’t about
themoney,” saysHarris. “Shewasgetting somekind
of endorphin rush from theactof takinga riskand
gettingawaywith it, the same rushpeoplemight
get from skydiving.”
A thiefwill either target theexpense sideof theprac-
ticeor the revenue side. Expense-sideembezzle-
ment involves stealingmoney leaving thepractice,
including tamperingwithpayroll, supplierpayments,
andother regular officeexpenses. Thismethodcan
be self-limiting, as at some level itwill benoticeable
to thepracticeowner. Revenue-sideembezzlement,
or ‘skimming’, involves takingmoneyon itsway into
thepractice. Skimminghas amuchhigherpotential,
since therearenewpayments coming into theoffice
everyday. It is farmorecommon, appearing inmost
dental practiceembezzlement cases. And stealing
isnot limited to strictlycash transactions. “Thieves
canfindcreativeways toconvert almost any typeof
payment intomoney for themselves, suchas taking
achequepayable to thedoctor andcashing it, or
hijackingcredit cardpayments thatpeoplemake to
theoffice,” saysHarris.
“Almost everybody I’veencountered in thedental
fieldbelieves that ifwemake ithard forpeople to
steal, that itwon’thappen,” he says. “I call this the
‘hard target fallacy’.”According to influential fraud
theoristDonaldCressey, thereare three thingsneed-
ed inorder for embezzlement tooccur: pressure
(either needorgreed), rationalization, andopportu-
nity.
2
“Whatpeopleassume is that ifwediminish the
opportunity, therewill be less stealing,” saysHarris.
“Itdoesn’twork thatway in reality.Opportunity is a
binaryvariable; it’seither thereor it’snot. And ina
dental practice, it’s always there.”
Move fromPrevention to
Detection
Harris says it is important to shift the focus from
prevention todetection.While it isnearly impossible
toprevent embezzlement (andnever aguarantee)
theAssociationof CertifiedFraudExaminers (ACFE)
Embezzlement is a crime that plagues many small businesses, and dental offices are
no exception. According toDavidHarris, the CEO of Prosperident, a leading dental
embezzlement investigationfirm, published statistics state that about60%ofdentistswill
be the victims of embezzlement at somepoint in their careers
1
; however, “whatwedon’t
know ishowmuchembezzlementoccursand isnevercaughtorevenreported, sothetrue
number isactuallyhigher.”
