Charity Fraud Awareness Week

It is Charity Fraud Awareness Week.

An initiative of the charity Fraud Advisory Panel, working with the Charity Commission, Charity Fraud Awareness Week aims to tackle fraud and cybercrime by raising awareness and sharing good practice.

The Charity Fraud Report, produced by BDO and the Fraud Advisory Panel, found nearly half of charities reported actual or attempted fraud last year. Nearly all were facing financial losses as a result. Over half of fraud was committed by internal perpetrators – a persistent problem.

There are a series of online workshops that can still be signed up for on the Stop Charity Fraud website. There is a collection of extremely practical guidance on all aspects of fraud management in charities. There’s also a pledge your charity can sign to show what you are doing to manage the risk of fraud and protect your charity’s assets.

In a recent blog the Charity Commission revealed that it had dealt with 600 cases of fraud last year. It is every trustee’s responsibility to ensure they’ve done all they reasonably can to protect their charity from harm – reading the Charity Commission’s recently updated guidance is a good place to start.