Next week is Charities Fraud Awareness Week, aimed at empowering charities to talk about and prevent fraud. Charities generate significant income – more than $140 billion per year – which can make them vulnerable to fraud if they have inadequate controls over finance and governance.
Fraud surveys conducted in the Australian not-for-profit sector over the past decade have found between 10% and 15% of not-for-profits had suffered fraud in the two years previous.
The ACNC has identified that the main factors leading to fraud are breaches of trust and a lack of satisfactory controls. Over half the allegations of fraud received by the ACNC have related to the conduct and activities of senior and entrusted members of the charity, including the chief executive officer, directors, and financial officers but fraud can be committed by anyone involved with a charity.
To view the ACNC article in full, and review the ACNC resources to protect charities from fraud, click here.
