During a national emergency, a managerial accountant was called back to active duty with the US Army. An acquaintance of the accountant forged papers and assumed the identity of the accountant. He obtained a position in a small company as the only accountant. Eventually he took over from the manager the functions of approving bills for payment, preparing and signing checks, and almost all other financial duties. On one weekend, he traveled to some neighboring cities and mailed invoices made out to the company for which he worked. On Monday morning, he returned to work and began receiving, approving, and paying the invoices he had prepared. The following weekend he returned to the neighboring cities and cashed and deposited the checks in bank accounts under his own name. After continuing this practice for several months, he withdrew all of the funds and never was heard from again.

What steps can be taken to prevent this theft in the future?

This is assuming that the company is small with limited resources and personnel.