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 4 of our series on Cash Disbursements. In our recent Fraud Survey, we asked churches to respond to this statement: “Our church has established a “Positive Pay” program with our bank.” Survey Results – Less than 5% of the respondents use such a program. While the phrase “Positive Pay” is the trade name of one commercial bank, […]
Part 6 of our ongoing Fraud Awareness in the Church series will examine Credit Checks. 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: Our church conducts credit checks on financial employees and volunteers. While almost all churches […]
Part 10 of our ongoing Fraud in the Church series. PSK in cooperation with the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA) conducted a survey to determine the extent to which churches are attempting to address the problem of church fraud. We asked them to respond to this statement: Our church has established a “Positive Pay” arrangement with our bank. Increasingly, […]
Part 5 of our ongoing Fraud in the Church series. PSK in cooperation with the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA) conducted a survey to determine the extent to which churches are attempting to address the problem of church fraud. We asked them to respond to this statement: Our church uses pre-numbered purchase orders or check requests. Theft of cash […]
Part 4 of our ongoing Fraud in the Church series. PSK in cooperation with the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA) conducted a survey to determine the extent to which churches are attempting to address the problem of church fraud. We asked them to respond to this statement: We present a list of authorized check signers to the Leadership Team. […]
There is a great difference in attitude in the church environment between receipts and disbursements. While churches exercise extreme vigilance over the “inflow” of funds into the church, many have a rather cavalier attitude towards the “outflow”. Churches also tend to rely on a few “fraud prevention” methods which in my opinion provide little more […]
“We have rotating count teams with clear rules that account for every penny we collect in offerings…” While this statement is not inaccurate, it is short-sighted. When churches think of fraud, Sunday offering protection is usually the first thing that comes to mind. And as a result, most churches do a very good job in […]
News stories about church funds being embezzled by an employee or clergy are common, but embezzlement by someone charged with oversight is rarely reported in the media. A Michigan based news site, www.mlive.com reported the following story on September 16, 2010: Former Birch Run church leader charged with embezzling more than $100k from congregation The […]