Company Credit Cards - They will steal from you!

A client here in Orlando issued gasoline credit cards to all employees driving company vehicles. When the company set up the account with the vendor, however they did not put the proper control policies and procedures in place for the credit cards. The employees used the cards for personal use…therefore stealing company funds!

If you give employees the opportunity to take money or resources from the company because of improper or non-existent controls, THEY WILL STEAL FROM YOU!

The employees were using the company credit cards for their personal vehicles, buying beer, food for lunches, etc. at the gas station where they were buying the gas.

One employee purchased $4,800 in gasoline in one month with the company card. He had his friends meet him at the gas station, where he would use the company card to pay for gas for their vehicles; and they would give him cash for the purchase at a discount, of course. A list of controls for company credit cards:

1. Every time the card is used to purchase gasoline, the employee must enter the mileage from the vehicles’ odometer. The credit card company monthly report would calculate the average miles per gallon for the vehicle from the last purchase. This control would indicate that the card was only being used for the company vehicle and not other personal vehicles.

2. A maximum limit purchase amount of $75 is set by the credit card company so the employee could not use the card during the month for personal use for a large dollar amount. Also, the card can only be used once per day.

3. The credit card company is instructed that the card could only be used for gasoline and oil changes and nothing else, including food purchases.

4. The monthly report from the credit card company is reviewed by management every month for discrepancies noted per vehicle. If there were any problems, the employee would be held accountable for the problems and written-up and noted in the employee’s personnel file. Multiple warnings would constitute disciplinary action or termination of the employee.