Would you like to sell your business for $320,000 – $960,000 more? According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) 2010 Global Fraud Study, the median loss caused by occupational fraud was $160,000. Most small to lower mid-market companies will sell for 2-6x EBITDA. Consequently, if your business is experiencing occupational fraud at the median level of $160,000, by discovering and remedying the problem you may be able to increase your business value by $320,000 – $960,000.
Here are some of the other findings:
* 80% of business fraud is committed by someone in one of the following departments: accounting, operations, sales, executive/upper management, customer service, or purchasing
* In 43% of fraud cases the perpetrator was living beyond their means
* In 36% of fraud cases the perpetrator exhibited signs that they were experiencing financial difficulties
* Small organizations are disproportionately victimized by occupational fraud. These organizations are typically lacking in anti-fraud controls compared to their larger counterparts, which makes them particularly vulnerable to fraud.
Here’s a link to the entire ACFE 2010 Global Fraud Study: http://www.acfe.com/rttn/rttn-2010.pdf
