An unfortunate reality of the construction industry is that fraud is rampant throughout. Whether it is a competitor using your logos, identity theft or misappropriation of funds, fraud not only damages your reputation, but your ability to remain profitable.

In this brief video, Publisher Jill Bloom talks with legal expert Trent Cotney, partner at Adams and Reese, on what contractors can do should they come across fraud in their business.

“I always say that, in order to be a contractor or anybody in the walls and ceilings industry, you’ve got to have a good accountant, a good lawyer and a good insurance agent,” he said. “Depending on the nature of the fraud, you may need to get one or all of them involved in order to help remedy it."

The conversation shifts to licensing and what contractors should know about properly maintaining them.

“Understanding that is critical, because it’s like everything else in construction: it’s not a problem until it’s a problem and then it’s an enormous problem,” Cotney said.

View the full interview here. For the audio version of this episode, visit our podcast page. For additional information on how to protect your company, check out W&C’s series on cybersecurity.