Nonprofit Leaders Need to Know the Danger, Probe for Weaknesses and Improve Controls, Says Marks Paneth LLP
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Apr 14, 2015) - Nonprofit fraud is on the rise, according to a number of sources, and may account for 10% of all fraud in the U.S.1 The implication is that many nonprofits are at risk, probably due to a deficit in financial controls.
"Financial control failures are common at nonprofits and can sometimes be fatal. Leaders of nonprofits would be well served to take steps to assess their risk, tighten controls and detect fraud as early as possible," said Eric Kreuter, Ph.D., CPA, Partner in the Litigation and Financial Advisory Services Group at New York accounting firm Marks Paneth LLP.
Dr. Kreuter and Hope Goldstein, CPA, Partner in Marks Paneth's Nonprofit and Government Service Practice make the following points about the risk of fraud at nonprofits and the best ways to address it:
"The most important single step is to audit current controls, identify weak points and make changes as needed to both policies and staffing levels. Many of these changers are simple -- in one case we recommended mailing bank statements to the leader's home so he could examine the signatures on the backs of checks. Fraud deterrence can be that simple."
"Stealing is not going out of vogue," Ms. Goldstein said. "The answer is to be proactive, not passive. Being proactive can carry a price tag, but so does insurance. When fraud hits, organizations are likely to find it faster and come through better if they've taken the right steps and set up the right controls ahead of time."
For more information, to schedule an interview or request a bylined article, please contact Katarina Wenk-Bodenmiller of Sommerfield Communications at (212) 255-8386 or katarina@sommerfield.com.
About Marks Paneth
Marks Paneth LLP is an accounting firm with more than 550 people, including over 70 partners and principals. The firm provides public and private businesses with a full range of auditing, accounting, tax, consulting, trade remediation and valuation services as well as litigation and corporate financial advisory services to domestic and international clients. The firm also specializes in providing tax advisory and consulting for high-net-worth individuals and their families, as well as a wide range of services for international, real estate, media, entertainment, nonprofit and medical practice clients. The firm has a strong track record supporting emerging growth companies, entrepreneurs, business owners and investors as they navigate the business life cycle.
The firm's subsidiary, Tailored Technologies, LLC, provides information technology consulting services. In addition, its membership in Morison International, a leading international association for independent business advisers, financial consulting and accounting firms, facilitates service delivery to clients throughout the United States and around the world. Marks Paneth, whose origins date back to 1907, is the 35th largest accounting firm in the nation and the 9th largest in the mid-Atlantic region. In addition, readers of the New York Law Journal rank Marks Paneth as one of the area's top three forensic accounting firms for the fifth year in a row.
Its headquarters are in New York City. Additional offices are in Washington, DC, New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and the Cayman Islands. For more information, please visit www.markspaneth.com.
1 Report to the Nations. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. 2014.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Katarina Wenk-Bodenmiller
Sommerfield Communications, Inc.
(212) 255-8386
katarina@sommerfield.com