Our Fraud Awareness in the Church series continues as we look at Individual Payments: Contractors and Benevolence. We asked churches to respond to these statements: “Before paying an individual as an independent contractor, our church applies IRS compliant tests to determine if the payee qualifies as an independent contractor.” “Our church has written a policy to direct benevolence […]
Our Fraud Awareness in the Church series continues as we look at Information Technology Security. We asked churches to respond to these statements: “Our church has a formal information technology security plan.” “Our church financial secretary or accountant/bookkeeper has access to all modules of the church’s software system.” Churches struggle to keep up with the challenges of the rapid change […]
Our Fraud Awareness in the Church series continues as we look at Payroll Fraud and Phantom Employees. We asked churches to respond to these statements: “Someone not involved in the payroll preparation process distributes paychecks or direct deposit stubs.” “We review direct deposit account information for duplicate accounts.” Survey Results – Very few churches do any kind of employee […]
Our Fraud Awareness in the Church series continues as we look at Payroll Fraud. PSK in cooperation with the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA) conducted a survey to determine the extent of fraud awareness in the church environment. We asked churches to respond to this statement: “Each quarter we reconcile the total payroll amounts on the quarterly payroll reports (941s) to the […]
Part 5 of our series on Cash Disbursements. In our recent Fraud Survey, we asked churches to respond to these statements: “Our church issues credit cards (in the church’s name) to employees and/or volunteers.” “Our church has implemented a written credit card policy to control credit card purchases.” Survey Results – The first question had the largest variance […]
Part 3 of our series on Cash Disbursements. In our recent Fraud Survey, we asked churches to respond to this statement: “Our church has established an “approved vendor” list. All payments for goods or services are made only to vendors on the list.” Survey Results – Only 20% of the churches surveyed reported using an approved vendor list. […]
Part 2 of our series on Cash Disbursements. In our recent Fraud Survey, we asked churches to respond to this statement: “Our church uses pre-printed, pre-numbered purchase orders or check request forms to initiate purchases.” Survey results – The positive response to this question was extremely low, causing me to believe that the question was poorly worded. It […]
Our Fraud Awareness in the Church series continues with a 5-part series on Cash Disbursements. When churches finally get around to considering their exposure to fraud, they almost universally focus on the cash receipts or the inflow part of their cash processes. Without doubt, many churches have been hit by fraudsters skimming from the offering plates. But in […]
Part 7 of our series on Segregation of Duties. In our recent Fraud Survey, we asked churches to respond to this statement: “Our church requires volunteers to collect, administer and account for special event receipts using a written report developed to properly account for such events.” Survey Results – Once again, a little over one-half of our respondents […]
Follow these fundraising financial safeguards to ensure that donations are collected securely and properly during charity fundraisers. Churches and ministries often host fundraisers to support various projects like mission trips, community outreach, facility improvement and staff support. As non-profits, churches rely a great deal on the funds they raise and therefore they have to maintain […]