Improving Your Internal Controls to Protect the Firm's (and Your Clients') Money
Managing partners of law firms should ensure that there is an appropriate structure of internal controls in place at their firms to protect their firms and clients against fraud. With the economy in a recession, cases of employee fraud are on the rise, and in many instances better controls and more oversight are needed.
Avoiding e-Conomic Insanity When Business Rebounds
For e-commerce firms and businesses generally, the ability to maintain a turnaround will be affected by decisions made now, in the depth of the recession. Today, as they struggle to preserve cash flow and stay current on obligations to lenders, landlords and vendors, the helmspeople of too many firms have come to regret decisions they made with hope in their heart for a booming economy 'yet forgot and may still forget to plan prudently for the rebound. Ever more so than before, today's "big deal' may become the liability that leads to tomorrow's bankruptcy filing.
Compliance Now More Than Ever
In a profit- and loss-driven world, there is always a risk that companies facing an uncertain economic future may choose to cut compliance expenses," SEC Chairman Christopher Cox noted last November at the SEC's Compliance Officer Outreach National Seminar. Then he issued a stern warning: "When a company cuts compliance, violations will occur. And if violations occur, punitive actions should and will be taken."
How to Safeguard Employee Data
Employers should be aware of the rapid growth of data privacy and security laws, which may affect their methods of conducting business and handling personal employee information. The new laws carry with them a private right of action in some cases, civil penalties as much as $500,000 and in some states, administrative investigations.
Consider P-Cards to Directly Enhance the Bottom Line
In efforts to increase transparency, manage demand, and streamline back-office operations, law firms are looking at automation opportunities within the procure-to-pay cycle. A well-defined Purchasing Card ("P-Card") program is one tool available to law firms which requires little or no upfront investment, yet yields many of the controls, efficiencies, and transparencies that law firms and their clients seek.
