North Texas Dentistry Volume 9 Issue 4 2019 ISSUE 4 DE - Page 20

fraud alert
THRIVE
SAFELY
Watch out for fraud!
The cost of fraud is staggering. The median loss from a sin-
gle dental practice employee fraud case is $150,000. The largest
we discovered in Texas was more than $715,000. The statistics
are astounding! The concealment methods we have found most
prevalent in a dental practice are:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Altering physical documents: 48%
Creating fraudulent transactions in accounting: 42%
Altering transactions in the accounting system: 34%
Altering electronic documents or files: 31%
Destroying physical documents: 30%
Creating fraudulent electronic documents or files: 29%
Creating fraudulent journal entries: 27%
by Richard V. Lyschik, DDS, FAGD, CFE
Observing how thousands of practices operate
across the country, we have noticed some very
clear trends that are becoming more obvious
with every month that passes. We have found
there to be two distinct groups in dentistry.
There are those who are thriving in practice, and
there are those who are trying to survive in prac-
tice. Thriving practices have written policies and
procedures in place; training, testing and per-
formance reviews; and a responsible and
accountable team spirit. Fraud has no home in a
thriving practice!
Dentists used to make lots of money just showing up at the
office – they did not need to know how to run their business.
They let others handle the practice details. Times have changed.
Some will also say, “People have changed too!” Dentists are now
fully exposed to the exact same challenges that every entrepre-
neur has to deal with in a growing business, and the fraud that
accompanies every business. A thriving dental practice is 51%
business, and 49% technical.
20 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com
Fraud is now so common that its occurrence is no longer
remarkable, only its scale. A 2017 EY study shows relaxed atti-
tudes towards unethical behavior and a tendency to treat fraud-
ulent activity as acceptable norms in the workforce –
particularly among younger generations. The study further
reveals that 73% of respondents from younger generations jus-
tify unethical actions! But let’s not pick on a particular genera-
tion. We shouldn’t judge individuals based on their generation,
but on their merits. But the statistics speak for themselves. The
potential for unethical behavior in our dental profession is on
the rise.
It is time to add anti-fraud training to your practice. The least
expensive way to find out your practice’s vulnerability is to have
a Fraud Prevention Check-up. Most practices score very poorly
because they don’t have the appropriate anti-fraud and HR con-
trols in place. It’s like finding out you have seriously high blood
pressure. It may be bad news, but not finding out can be a
lot worse!