It doesn’t take much these days to incite worry in the business world. Phrases like “recession” and “tax increases” have enough of an impact right now to leave everyone biting their fingernails.

But there is one word that pops up (far more often than you’d like to think), that can cause as much damage as the global economy or the bills that Congress passes.

That one little word causing all the stress: Fraud. 

Basically, it’s the crime of cheating people. And it can be costly. About 5% of a company’s annual revenue is lost to occupational fraud and the median loss by all companies due to fraud is $160,000, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) in its 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud & Abuse.

And, while those figures are high, the manufacturing and mining industries see an even bigger increase in their median fraud losses. In manufacturing, that number is $300,000. But mining takes the cake with fraud losses costing around $1 million.

The report, which includes findings from the 2008 and 2009 calendar years, shows that for manufacturers, corruption was the leading fraud scheme and represented nearly 49% of the cases.

Additional findings reveal that 10.7% of the total fraud cases came in manufacturing industries, ranking it second overall. The total number of fraud cases reported by manufacturers is 193, also the second highest.

Switch to mining, and the number of fraud cases reported is 12, which is the lowest total. Those numbers, specifically in the mining industry, show that a large number of cases are unreported and money continues to go right out the door.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Thanks to agencies like the ACFE, there are plenty of tips and information available for companies to curtail fraud in the workplace. Some of the first guidelines for battling fraud include setting an ethical tone at the top, establishing a proper code of ethics and carefully screening job applicants.

While the potential for fraud exists wherever there is money to be had, instituting some new policies and being proactive in the approach to company fraud can end up costing less in the end, and benefitting the employer, employees and customers.

If you’re a moderate or just someone who’s not too enthused about either of the two main political parties, you may find this interesting. According to an article on Stateline, third party candidates are making serious impacts on races around the country. Granted, some of these candidates are former senators and office holders so they’re hardly outsiders, but it is rather noteworthy. (Oh, and the full article also discusses Jesse Ventura, so that alone is worth a few minutes of your time):

In this volatile election year, third-party and independent candidates are making serious bids for governor in a diverse array of states. Most of them won’t get many votes, but a fair number stand to influence the results and it’s possible that at least one may make it into office.

In Rhode Island alone, a handful of independents are running. The most prominent one is former U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee, who served in Congress as a moderate Republican until his defeat in 2006. Polling has showed Chafee either leading the race for governor or modestly trailing Democratic nominee Frank Caprio.

In Massachusetts, state Treasurer Tim Cahill broke with his Democratic roots to run as an independent against incumbent Democratic Governor Deval Patrick. Recent polls show that he could get as much as 10 percent of the vote, which is greater than Patrick’s current margin over Republican nominee Charles Baker.

In Minnesota, Tom Horner is running under the banner of the Independence Party, the successor to the party once led by Jesse Ventura. Horner, a moderate with a Republican pedigree, is hoping to draw Democrats who see their party’s nominee, former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton, as too liberal, and Republicans who see GOP candidate Tom Emmer as too conservative. Horner has been polling at about 14 percent, which is much more than Dayton’s four-point lead over Emmer.

And in Colorado, former Republican U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo, who has been an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration, may end up outpolling the official Republican nominee, Dan Maes, a Tea Party activist who inherited the nomination after the leading GOP candidate stumbled in a plagiarism scandal. Current polls show Tancredo taking 18 percent of the vote, about the same percentage by which Democrat John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver, is leading over Maes.

Given the number of these credible outsider challenges, it seems appropriate to look back at recent third-party governors to see how they fared once they won office, given that they lacked a major-party infrastructure and fellow partisans in the legislature.

If you’re still struggling to determine exactly how recent federal health care reforms will impact your business, you should probably join the Indiana Chamber for the Oct. 14 Health Care Reform Seminar, presented by Ice Miller.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) – also known as “health care reform” – sets forth a number of coverage reforms that apply to group health plans, beginning January 1, 2011, for calendar year plans. "Grandfathered" group health plans are exempt from many – but not all – of these coverage mandates. The regulatory agencies have now issued several significant pieces of guidance relating to these early coverage mandates, including what changes to a group health plan will result in loss of grandfathered status. Employers, therefore, have available to them most of the information they need to make plan design decisions for the upcoming plan year and to ensure timely compliance with the PPACA mandates.

Topics to be addressed include:

• What plans are subject to PPACA coverage mandates
• The significance of being "grandfathered"
• What should employers be doing now to comply
• Tips on handling open enrollment and employee communications
• Penalties individuals and employers face in the future
• Impact on health care providers

See conference details and register here.

Sure, I could insert some clever references here to kryptonite or various villians faced by one of America’s favorite comic book, TV and movie characters. But Waiting for Superman is too serious and too important to become a laugh line.

The David Guggenheim film has the education community (and hopefully soon many others) abuzz. It is, in the words of a National Review Online column, a "stabbing review of teachers’ unions and a plea for more charter schools."

Yon can check out the movie trailer and learn more. But below is a condensed review that does a good job of letting you know why you should be paying attention.

Bianca, Daisy, Emily, Anthony, and Francisco come from diverse locales — Harlem, L.A., Silicon Valley, D.C., and the Bronx — and are black, Hispanic, and white, but they share the same basic problem: Each is consigned by geography to an inadequate public school. Each wants a choice. 

The stories are heartbreaking. But the real message of the movie is revealed in the scenes of the adults who produce this heartbreak. Superman’s most memorable episode is the cartoon illustration of the “lemon dance,” in which school principals waltz their “lemons” (teachers who just can’t teach but can’t be fired) from school to school. The musical number would be hilarious if it weren’t so devastating. So, too, for the shots of the infamous “rubber rooms,” where middle-aged teachers sit in school kids’ chairs, playing cards or laying their heads on their desks to sleep, collecting full pay and pensions.

Guggenheim chooses one champion and one villainess. Michelle Rhee, the chancellor of D.C. schools, is energetic and assertive. She bluntly admits that D.C. students “are getting a crappy education right now,” she fires a couple hundred incompetent educators, institutes some incentive pay, and starts to turn D.C.’s schools around. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and Rhee’s foil, is on the defensive. “It’s in vogue to bash teachers and unions rather than celebrate the work they do to help kids,” she said, responding to Superman. “That being said, I’m a big girl.”

Weingarten, obviously, can take the criticism, but she hasn’t rebutted it. Perhaps it augurs victory that the only thing she can find to fault is her opponents’ tone of voice. For now, though, Weingarten still has the power and the money. Weingarten’s AFT funneled over $1 million to defeat D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty (who appointed and supported Rhee) in the recent Democratic primary. The winner, Vincent Gray, used his victory speech to announce his desire for “a strong, empowered chancellor who works with parents and teachers.”Translation: Rhee is out. This is part of a pattern. Guggenheim, whose political sympathies are normally liberal, admits that the Democratic party is, on education policy, a “wholly owned subsidiary of the teachers unions.” The AFT and NEA — combined, the biggest campaign contributors in the U.S. — send more than 90 percent of their donations to Democrats.

New York City education chancellor Joel Klein was emotional as he explained the difficulties school reformers face. The important division, he said, shouldn’t be between Republicans and Democrats, between public schools and private, or between any one ideology or another — it’s about kids versus adults. “Right now, our kids aren’t getting educated because it’s all about the adults. We’ve put adults’ comfort before kids’ education. It’s not going to change until it becomes about the kids. The education monopoly wants to keep its monopoly.  The way things are now works just fine for the unions, many of the politicians, and others — that’s why it keeps going. So if we don’t rock this boat, we’re going to under-serve kids, mostly poor kids and kids of color.”

Waiting for Superman, with all the noise and buzz it’s generating, with the acclaim it’s received from diverse political circles, might be just the thing to start the boat rocking.

Jeff Brantley, VP of political affairs for the Indiana Chamber, offers his thoughts on the upcoming statewide election. Brantley believes Hoosiers’ concerns for their families’ financial well-being could create turmoil for legislators this election cycle.

For a more detailed look at the current political climate in Indiana, see Tom Schuman’s article, "State of the Statehouse," in the current edition of BizVoice.

Looking for a quick yet comprehensive guide to Indiana and federal elections?

Let’s Talk Politics 2010 is your complete resource. Produced by the Indiana Chamber for more than 35 years, this non-partisan guide covers all facets of Indiana’s electoral process and informs Hoosiers about their candidates at both the state and federal level. This booklet is ideal for:

• Teachers, professors and other educators
• Libraries
• Business leaders
• Political groups and campaign committees
• First-time voters
• Neighborhood and civic groups
• Nonprofit organizations
• Any citizen interested in the future of our state and our nation!

Copies are very affordable, and bulk discounts apply. See more information and order here. This book is sponsored by Indiana State University and Hoosiers for Higher Education.

Jay Goltz of The New York Times offers 10 reasons for entrepreneurial success. If you’re thinking of starting a business, or just want to separate your small business from the competition, these thoughts might help you:

1. Look for opportunities to do something better than just about everyone else.
2. Accept risk as a necessary evil. It makes for much less competition.
3. Act responsibly to customers, employees and vendors.
4. Goals aren’t enough. You need a plan. You need to execute the plan.
5. You need to fix the plan as you go. Learn from your mistakes. Most people don’t.
6. Do not reinvent the wheel. Learn from others — join a business group.
7. Make sure the math works. I know plenty of people who work hard and follow their passion but the math doesn’t work. If the math doesn’t work, neither does the business.
8. Make sure that every employee understands and works toward the mission.
9. There are going to difficult times and you need to be resilient; whining is a waste of time.
10. There will be sacrifices. Work to find a balance so that you don’t become a financially successful loser. It’s not about the income, it’s about the outcome.