Tree Farmer - September/October 2010 - (Page 26)

By Kazee TOM Focus on Preventing Trouble on reputations, trust, and intuition to protect your interests. I suspect that you probably have pretty good internal controls in place when you make a deal (sell timber, invest in reforestation, etc.). I’m more worried about your neighbors. A high percentage of landowners are not members of any association or organization that promotes education and good business and forestry practices. If that describes your neighbors, give them a copy of this article! Help a neighbor avoid a financial ambush. Let me continue to be emphatic: You can’t tell a crook from an honest person. In spite of your feelings to the contrary, reputations, trust and intuition are not good enough. A real crook is the best liar in the world — he or she has had a lifetime of practice. Our business is inherently difficult to control, so a crook can hide his or her crimes for a long, long time. Financial Ambush: This is a good label. People are blind-sided by financial crimes in several simple ways, but here is the most common: It is the last person you would ever suspect. Most white-collar criminals have no criminal record. Their reputations are unblemished. They look and act just like us — but their motives are entirely unpredictable. And you can bet there are schemes you cannot predict. Conspiracies do happen, and some crooks will take on significant risks. Alone, or in combinations, these components will overcome all routine internal controls. Preventive Measures: I recognized a long time ago that good internal controls have tangible and intangible components. Procedures, paper trails, checklists, maps, contracts, load reports, and cameras in the woods are great, but are not the most important internal controls. The single most critical internal control measure is Registered forester Tom Kazee helps clients across the Southeast reduce the potential for financial crimes through his firm, Woodland Security Inc. in Orange Park, Florida. Reach him at (904) 504-9489 or . woodland security 26 Please steal this article! Or, if you’re opposed to stealing, just make a copy or borrow it. But please find some way to pass this information along to your neighbors. So, what could be so urgent? In my presentations, I consistently affirm my faith in human nature. I do believe that most people are honest. From truck drivers and equipment operators, to timber buyers, landowners, and CEOs, I think most people are honest and diligent. But it might be that my declaration gives some people too much comfort. Let me be emphatic about the other side of the coin: Not everyone is honest. In all walks of life, including charities and the clergy, there are scoundrels of many kinds. In any given transaction, you may encounter a person or a group of people who will cheat you if given a chance. Forewarned is forearmed. Let me explain why I have written this article at this time. Twice in the last month people have called me to assist with a timber theft investigation. In both cases, I was not able to help: It was too late. In both cases, good preventive measures would have avoided the trouble altogether. Common sense, low-cost and effective preventive measures do exist! You don’t have to rely Tree Farmer SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - September/October 2010

Tree Farmer - September/October 2010
Contents
Cover Story
Inspectors Honored
Tree Farmers Gather
A Well-Kept Woodland
Wildlife Matters
Woodland Security
Tools & Techniques

Tree Farmer - September/October 2010