This Florida church is accused of “mishandling” donor’s contributions– two million dollars worth! Read the article here. This is a sobering reminder that, just because an organization is a Church does not mean that it is not made up of sinful people who are prone to temptation and failure. In light of this, what can […]
How does one get away with stealing $1.5 million? This Organization’s Financial Officer stole over a period of seven years. Obviously, adequate controls were lacking at some level in this organization. Read the full story here. Is your church or non-profit in need of a check up on internal controls? Let us help you evaluate […]
Who would ever think that an elderly Church Secretary would steal from her Church? A simple routine review of the bank statement and reconciliation by an independent party may have prevented this church in east Tennessee from losing $1.5 million. You may read more here.
Any discussion of church tithes and offerings practices usually includes both a pat on the back and a criticism. First, in regard to the normal Sunday offerings I can say to most churches, “Way to go!” In fact, when I ask a client if they have taken any fraud prevention steps, the first thing usually […]
Another practice of many churches plays right into one of a fraudster’s strengths, the ability to withhold information. Perhaps in an attempt to avoid interminably long finance committee meetings brought on by micro-managing members, or more likely, fearful that the messenger is going be killed, some church administrators tend to hold back on the financial […]
Until the 1960s, perhaps into the 1970s, churches were rather slow to pick up on new ideas, particularly in regard to technology. (If you have a hard time believing this, think back to the first time someone wanted to bring an electric guitar into your sanctuary!) But that is no longer the case, especially when […]
Establishing an organizational structure is the first step in combating fraud, however it is not enough. Key: In order to stay within reasonable boundaries, churches must take the time to carefully document their management structure and practices. Churches that fail to do this do so at great risk. A written organizational plan serves several purposes. […]
Let me be blunt. The fact that a church has never had an incident of fraud is due to one of two things: luck or planning. Needless to say, the odds of successfully avoiding fraud are much higher with the latter approach. If a church has been relying on the first approach and has never […]
“We’re ok. We performed a fraud risk assessment two years ago…” First, this church should be commended because very few churches ever get around to assessing its susceptibility to fraud. But, determining exposure to fraud at one period in time is not sufficient. Fraud protection is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process. […]