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Safeguarding your optometry practice against embezzlement
By Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO
Jan. 2, 2025
In business, there’s a saying: “You’ve either been stolen from and know it, or you’ve been stolen from and don’t know it.” Unfortunately, I learned this lesson the hard way.
When I first started my practice in 1995, I was a new mom, pregnant again and struggling to stay afloat financially.
I had to go on bed rest, so I hired a part-time doctor to help out. I really couldn’t afford it at the time—I was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy—but I had no choice. That doctor ended up staying, becoming full-time, and eventually, we worked out a partnership agreement based on “sweat equity.”
Around that time, life was chaotic. I was serving as the Texas Optometric Association’s Legislative Chair and President, and that was the year we passed our first Glaucoma and Orals legislation.
At home, I had a 4-year-old, a 9-year-old and was going through a divorce. Needless to say, my attention was stretched thin.
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My partner, seeing how busy I was, kindly offered to take over the office books, pay the vendors and handle payroll. It felt like a relief—one less thing for me to worry about.
Then, everything unraveled.
I’ll never forget sitting in the Austin airport when my Valpak representative called. He was a patient and someone I’d worked with for years, even back when I was next to a LensCrafters. He told me, “I have a check from your office, but it’s for an invoice from another office.” That office turned out to belong to my partner’s best friend.
The more I dug, the worse it got. My office had been paying not only the best friend’s business expenses, but also my partner’s student loans. No wonder cash flow had been so tight, and I hadn’t been able to give myself a raise in years!
My partner had been stealing from me for about two years.
The partnership dissolved, and I negotiated to recover some of the embezzled funds, but it was a tough and painful year. I used this horrible experience as a wake-up call to get my act together as a business owner.
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Implementing Safeguards Against Embezzlement
I became determined to implement safeguards to protect my business.
Here are a few of the key changes I made:
- Personally reviewing bank activity: Back then, I started by opening the bank statements myself. Today, I log into the bank account online regularly to review expenses as they post. If I had been doing this at the time, I would have caught the embezzlement much sooner.
- Segregating duties: I instituted a policy where different people handle cash deposits and pick up the bank bags. While cash handling isn’t as big of an issue now, this separation of duties is still a good practice.
- Surprise audits: I committed to conducting surprise audits once a year with an accountant or a professional service. These audits are a great way to catch discrepancies and ensure everyone knows the finances are being monitored.
- Outside bookkeeping: I now use an outside bookkeeping service to balance the checking account monthly. Having an unbiased third party involved is one of the best ways to ensure accuracy and accountability.
Looking back, I realize how easy it is to get caught up in the day-to-day chaos and assume everything is running smoothly. But staying vigilant and proactive is crucial to protecting your business.
Embezzlement was one of the most painful chapters in my optometric journey, but it also pushed me to become a better, more intentional business owner—and for that, I’m grateful. I always say it was the worst thing that ever happened to me in business…and the best thing that ever happened to me.
Through this experience, I discovered a passion for the business side of optometry and, even more importantly, a desire to help other optometrists find joy and success in their own practices like I have (hopefully without having to be embezzled from first! 🙂).
Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, is president of Lakeline Vision Source in Cedar Park, Texas, and the Professional Editor of Review of Optometric Business (ROB). To contact her: lsorrenson@gmail.com.
