In my travels, I've had the privilege of meeting many, very interesting people. I was recently in Napa Valley, CA and ran into a woman whose specialty is fraud prevention. Wow - her stories were amazing! The cunning and the lengths people go to to commit fraud are mind-boggling - like knowing the laws and regs well enough to be able to skim money just below the limit where, what she was taking wouldn't be noticed unless someone looked very closely.

The reason I bring this up is because the occurence of fraud continues to rise. So my question to you is this - When was the last time you went through your processes and procedures to make sure there are enough checks and balances in place to make sure you're not experiencing fraud in your workplace? For those of you that chafe under processes and procedures, this is a reminder that they're in place for a reason.

I am reminded of one of Ronald Reagan's favorite phrases ... trust, but verify. I encourage you to do the same.