STORES Magazine - February 2008 - (Page 44) NUTS AND BOLTS / LOSS PREVENTION Looking at both sides LP Innovations was able to adapt an auditing program that was specific to the needs of Hard Rock. “We have never had a manager call and complain that the auditor was not reasonable,” DiPerna says. At Hard Rock, the challenge was to come up with audits that considered both sides of the operation. “Hard Rock has a unique culture,” says LP Innovations president Steven May. “It wants to give its customers a unique experience so that going there is more of an event. We had to come up with an audit program that reflected that unique culture.” LP Innovations’ auditors bring a depth and breadth of outside experience not always available in-house, May says. “When you have internal auditors, you are limited by what they know about that business,” he says. “Our auditors are able to leverage experience they bring from other retailers; we don’t have to re-invent the wheel each time. It is likely that this is an issue another one of our other clients already faced and we already know the bestpractice solutions to deal with the problem.” A common issue many retailers are facing today is preventing fraud associated with gift cards. “We’ve surveyed enough retailers to see how they are handling gift cards and what procedures need to be in place,” May says. “We know what compliance concerns and procedures need to be added to retail operations.” LP Innovations also provides a service whereby Hard Rock employees can report allegations of illegal or unethical behavior via e-mail or a toll-free phone call. In cases where cash or expensive items were missing, investigators came in to question staff. “Sometimes, they have determined the controls were not in place [to prevent theft from occurring],” DiPerna says. “They are also extremely professional in talking to employees and getting them to cooperate. They are able to get at the truth of what StORES happened.” Lauri Giesen is a Libertyville, Ill.based business writer with extensive experience in covering payment and finance issues. 44 STORES / FEBRUARY 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG http://www.scanning.datalogic.com http://www.scanning.datalogic.com http://WWW.STORES.ORG
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