Fraud doesn’t just hurt a nonprofit’s bottom line — it also could do devastating damage to its reputation.
It’s easy to think that fraud won’t happen in your organization. You know and trust the people you work with and believe you’re all working towards the same cause.
In reality, the average business loses 5% of revenues to fraud every year, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. The ACFE’s most recent report on occupational fraud and abuse revealed that the median loss caused by fraud was $145,000. Smaller companies were particularly vulnerable, suffering higher median losses than their larger peers.
One of the things that put small companies at greater risk is a lack of adequate antifraud controls, such as anonymous tip lines, segregation of duties and background checks. By implementing some simple controls, your organization can help protect itself from these risks.