“It’s my cousin. He wouldn’t steal from me.” “I check the cash every evening; I don’t need a system.” These are the famous last words of many failed businesses in Burundi.
The Internal Control Crisis
Research into Burundian SMEs reveals a disturbing trend: a direct link between “poor profitability” and “mismanagement”. Specifically, the lack of what experts call “Detective Accounting Controls”. Many businesses rely on trust. In a family-centric society, this is natural. We hire relatives because we believe they are loyal. But loyalty does not equal competence, and opportunity creates temptation. Without controls, you are not running a business; you are running a charity for your staff.
What are “Detective Controls”?
These are systems designed to find problems after they happen but before they destroy you. A study in Bujumbura showed that implementing these controls had a massive positive impact on financial performance. Examples include:
Surprise Cash Counts: Checking the till at 2 PM, not just at closing.
Blind Stock Takes: Asking the storeman to count the rice without telling him how much should be there.
Bank Reconciliations: Matching the bank statement to the ledger every week, not every year.
The Segregation of Duties
The most basic rule of financial safety is Segregation of Duties.
The person who sells the goods…
Should not be the person who collects the cash…
And definitely should not be the person who records the transaction. If one person does all three, you have given them the keys to the vault. In many small businesses, the “trusted manager” does everything. This is a recipe for fraud.
The FMS Solution: The “Manual of Procedures”
You might think, “I am too small for a manual.” You are wrong. Structure creates freedom. When you have clear rules, you don’t have to micromanage. FMS develops tailored Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for your business.
The Approval Matrix: Who can sign a check? Who can authorize a discount?
The Petty Cash Rule: How do we handle small expenses so they don’t eat the daily profit?
The Inventory Cycle: How often do we count? Protect your family relationships by removing the temptation to steal. Let FMS build a system where trust is verified, and assets are secure.
