1. What factors led to the thefts at Page and Palette and the Roly Poly–Biggby Coffee franchise?
2. Do you agree with Brandon Ansel’s view that small businesses are more vulnerable to employee theft because they lack the systems to detect the signs of theft? Explain.
3. List at least five steps business owners can take to prevent employee theft.

Like many business owners, Karin Wilson saw sales slide at Page and Palette Inc., the bookstore in Fairhope, Alabama, that she co-owns with her husband, during the last recession. By the time the all-important holiday season arrived, the store was running low on its inventory of books. However, cash flow at Page and Palette was extremely tight, and Wilson was unable to convince her book suppliers to extend the store additional credit. One week before Christmas, Wilson happened to see the company’s credit card bill, which indicated the Page and Palette was months behind on its payments and was racking up huge fees and interest expenses. She began investigating and soon discovered evidence that the company’s bookkeeper, who had a personal account with the same bank, had been using money from the company’s account to pay her personal credit card bill.