“With great power comes great responsibility”

We understand you want to empower your staff to be the best employee they can be. You want to encourage them to strive to greater heights within the business. But what happens when the responsibility is too great for the staff member in question?

As we saw in our previous blog, the level of power was used and abused by the Property Manager in question. Due to her unrestricted level of access, it was very easy for her to alter records in the agency database and conduct agency fraud.

Allowing supervisor access enables staff a level of access that only Agency directors and owners should have. If you are currently granting supervisor access to your staff, it is important to ensure you have adequate supervision over their activities. As unfortunately, abuse of this level of autonomy is more common than you think.

Case Study #2 – Software Fraud

In Victoria, another client we have worked with also fell victim to an untrustworthy staff member abusing their level of access. This Property Manager in question changed the bank account details for the deposit of agency administration fees. The new destination was her own personal bank account. Even more shocking is that this went on for a time period of 6 months. And $6,000 later…

Unfortunately this is not uncommon! And it all comes down to improper supervision. The reason this fraud continued for such a long duration was because the Officer in Effective Control was unaware of the fraud. Why? The Property Manager had supervisor level access to the database and the trust account. This allowed her to sign off on records she prepared herself. There was no cross referencing and therefore no questions to be answered.

Fraud committed.

So how can you prevent this from happening to you?

9 SOFTWARE USER RESTRICTION TIPS TO AVOID SOFTWARE FRAUD IN YOUR AGENCY

  1. Know the limitations of your trust accounting software

The more you understand your software the better you can manage it.

  1. Understand what level of permissions to assign your staff members

Grant appropriate access to your staff and avoid giving more authority than what is needed.

  1. Get a print out from the trust accounting system of what can and cannot be altered on each user level

This will allow you to know which staff can perform particular actions with their level of access. Plus it provides you with more information about your system.

  1. Make the level of access appropriate to the person’s role within the organisation

This allows you to delegate accordingly. For example, salespeople and reception may only require read only access. This will allow them to look up a record but not make any changes. Senior Property Managers and Trust Accountants will require higher level access. Note that only licensees should have admin rights. This is essential and where the majority of agencies come undone.

  1. Check sensitive changes report at the End of the Month

Know what changes have been made and why.

  1. Don’t limit one task to one person

By spreading the workload you share the risk and hopefully avoid staff flying under the radar.

  1. Review your insurance

Increase your insurance annually and ensure that your current policy covers employee theft.

  1. Regular staff training

Frequent training and engagement with staff will reiterate agency guidelines and code of ethics.

  1. Conduct regular internal audits

As licensee, conduct regular internal audits yourself or engage a 3rd party to conduct regular agency health checks.

If you require an Agency Health Check, get in touch with our team of Angels. We specialise in ensuring your Agency is up to industry standard and appropriate software user controls are in place.

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~ Jane Morgan is the Director of End of Month Angels, a consultancy firm specialising in Trust Accounting. Jane knows the legislative requirements of running a successful Real Estate office through her 19 years industry experience. Don’t trust just anyone with your trust accounting. Trust End of Month Angels and get back to what you do best – growing your business.