Regular as clockwork
When preparing presentations on the dangers of fraud for church groups, it’s our practice to perform a Google search on “church embezzlement” to see what turns up. Consistently, the results show a new list of unfortunate occurrences. It never fails. There seems to be a never-ending supply of fresh fraud examples to share with our audience.
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What this indicates to us, and hopefully also to you, is that the threat of fraud is a real and present danger.
Based on the wide variety of churches that are victimized—Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, or non-denominational—no one appears to be exempt. Considering these facts, churches would be wise to take action sooner rather than later.
First Things First
To understand our process, think of a time you’ve had trouble finding a particular store at the mall.
The usual solution is to seek out one of the prominently displayed maps. The largest and most obvious symbol on the map is typically a large, brightly-colored arrow, pointing to a dot labeled, “You Are Here!” This symbol is an application of a basic principle: “Before you can get to where you want to go, you first have to know where you are.”
The same thing is true in fraud prevention. Before charging off on a campaign to rid itself of all “evil influences”, a church should first figure out “where it is” in regard to fraud prevention.
Before fixing anything, a church must first understand what its strengths are and, more importantly, what weaknesses exist.
Over the years, we at PSK have observed our clients struggling with decisions on what action to take. In our audit and review management letters, we suggest that a church should conduct a “fraud risk assessment,” but often this warning is not heeded. Perhaps they think we are crying wolf. Or that we are simply trying to generate some extra fees? Neither is true. We suggest it because fraud protection is something all churches direly need.
Far too frequently we’re called in to help victimized churches total up the damages. We would much rather be called in to help establish preventative steps. Management of a situation in which the horses are already out of the corral is far more frustrating and disheartening than providing protection.
(Self) Help Has Arrived!
To make fraud prevention easier for you to move forward with, we want to introduce an exciting new service—PSK’s Fraud Awareness Church Test (FACT!). Starting at just $750, and capping at $2,250, this self-administered questionnaire and analysis process lets you evaluate your church’s risk and identify crucial areas of vulnerability that need to be shored up.
Organized around ten key concepts of effective fraud prevention, the process will take around one morning’s work as it guides you through about three hundred penetrating and enlightening questions. However, if you don’t like to sit around for that length of time we have designed the test to allow you to save your answers and return at your convenience.
Afterward, you won’t be left standing in front of the mall directory thinking about where you are. We can also escort you to the store.
Upon completion of your questionnaire (a learning experience in itself, for a very reasonable fee), a second option is available to obtain a personalized report, prepared by one of our Certified Fraud Examiners. Within ten business days, we will provide detailed direction on effective techniques your church can use to protect itself.
We’re confident you’ll agree that cost is no longer a barrier to taking wise steps toward fraud prevention at your church. But if it is, let us point out that taking this step is totally risk-free for you. If you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund all of your money. And that’s a promise.
Read How It Works to find out more!