A tough reminder from Nova Scotia: a former church bookkeeper received house arrest after stealing more than $225,000 from two Catholic parishes over several years.
Sadly, this isn’t rare. Most church and nonprofit fraud is committed by trusted insiders who touch money daily. They have the keys to the books and the bank, but little oversight.
It usually takes a few years for them to get caught, and by then the damage to the organization is heavy, both financially and reputationally. After all, donors give to a mission, not to fund a bookkeeper’s lifestyle!
The good news is that three simple guardrails can help prevent this from happening:
- Segregate duties: No one person should receive money, enter it in the books, and reconcile the bank.
- Dual approvals: Require two signatures for cheques or two approvals for digital payments.
- Second set of eyes: Make it a policy to examine the financial records regularly and independently from the bookkeeper, such as a yearly independent review.
Canadian churches and nonprofits: If you want to protect your mission with better bookkeeping, read more about our services or request a 15-minute consultation.