Worried about fraud? Send your bookkeeper on vacation!

Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to employee fraud because an employee often has several responsibilities without direct supervision.

The American Express Small Business Advisor is offering some effective financial controls to stem the problem.

Keep duties separate. No single employee should control a financial transaction from beginning to end. Dividing up responsibilities makes it more difficult to steal and manipulate records to cover theft.

Receive bank statements personally. Review canceled checks carefully, including the payees, signatures and endorsement.

Make your bookkeeper take a vacation. Many owners are surprised when "loyal" employees -- the ones that never take a vacation or sick days -- are found to be stealing from them.

Have your books audited regularly. At least once a year, conduct an unscheduled audit of your books by a third party. Consider specifically requesting a "fraud audit", which is designed to uncover and prevent these kinds of losses.

Understand your books. Sloppy and unsupervised bookkeeping makes it easy for an employee to keep cash and receipts. If you're not a "numbers person", have your accountant show you what to look for, or take a relevant class at a local college.