Employees may assume incompatible duties while filling in for a vacationing or ill employees. A department head wants to believe that their supervisors and employees are honest people. Also, when an employee shows initiative and wants to take on responsibility, the tendency is to give them as much responsibility as they can handle. However, this leaves an operation vulnerable. In most cases of fraud or embezzlement, it was due to lack of internal controls, with lack of segregation of duties right at top.
Segregation of duties is the first line of defense against the dishonest employee.
Often it is the most trusted employee that is the culprit because it is the one that can steal with the least effort. These are the people that are familiar with the system, including the weaknesses. If employees are intent in misappropriating assets, chances are they will find a way to do so, but proper segregation of duties is a deterrent to such acts. Justice may be blind, but departments should not be blind to the risks involved in their daily operations. If you have any concerns about this subject or need assistance in this area, please contact the Inspector General's Office at 7-3682 Return to the Table of Contents Segregation of Duties was initially written as a booklet in 1996 by Dianne Parkerson for Administration and Finance.