The Charity Commission
November 2
10:00
2016
Last week saw the inaugural Charity Fraud Awareness Week capped off by the second National Charity Fraud Conference on Friday. The week was a joint initiative between the Charity Commission and the Fraud Advisory Panel to use social media to promote fraud awareness and encourage everyone working within the charity and not-for-profit sectors to discuss the issue. Please see below for a round up of everything that took place throughout the week.
- on Monday the commission launched the new Charities Against Fraud website to support and promote the work of the Charity Sector Counter Fraud Group in tackling fraud
- on Wednesday the commission released its first ever summary analysis of fraud issues reported to the commission via its Reporting Serious Incidents regime - a copy of which is available on GOV.UK via the link above and the Charities Against Fraud website
- on Thursday, board member Mike Ashley was interviewed by the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network on the commissions fraud prevention work
- on Friday, the second National Charity Fraud Conference took place - the event brought together senior figures from the charity and counter-fraud worlds to discuss the fraud challenges charities face, highlight current risks, and share best practice in fraud prevention, detection and response
- the results of the week long social media poll found that 93% of respondents think that fraud is a major risk to charities
To see more comment from throughout the week search for #charityfraud on Twitter.
And finally, dont forget the commissions top tips to reduce your charitys vulnerability to fraud include:
- Develop a strong counter-fraud culture where staff are encouraged to play their part in the fight against fraud.
- Have in place and robustly apply internal financial controls.
- Encourage staff to voice concerns.
- Have a fraud response plan so that everyone knows what to do and when - stay calm but act quickly when incidents do occur.
- Ensure you report incidents to Action Fraud and to the Commission, via the dedicated reporting facility: RSI@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk.