Dr. Glenn Miller, host of the Leadership and the Church podcast, and CEO of Miller Management is getting the mic turned around on him this month as Chris Miller, President of Miller Management, gets to ask the questions.
In the first episode in this series, we talked about the inconceivable nature of Fraud in Ministry. We provided numbers and statistics that might have made your head spin a little. But ultimately, we will be better prepared when we stare these numbers in the face. Last week we talked about the three-legged stool of fraud, or the Fraud Triangle.
Today, we want to discuss the solutions. These are tangible actionable steps organizations can use to reduce the chances of fraud in their ministry. Additionally, you can take our Internal Fraud Assessment to see what areas your organization might be susceptible to.
Top Ten Things You Can Do…
to eliminate or reduce the majority of fraud in ministry. Below we have 10 tips; these are not necessarily in importance order, as they are all important! Listen to the episode for more details on each one.
1. Adopt an effective, timely, and accountable offering counting system.
2. Properly record and control bank deposits.
3. Pay bills only from original, legitimate, signed, approved invoices.
4. Require two signatures on every check, with documentation.
5. Require IRS compliant receipts and higher approval on credit card bills.
Visit Miller Management’s resources page for the assessment, forms,
and ministry descriptions mentioned in this episode.
6. Review and approve every payroll register run.
7. Require a separate person to perform bank reconciliations each month.
8. Require a separate person to reconcile and balance the general ledger, to the bank statements, and to the contribution system every month.
9. Require an accurate & timely income statement and balance sheet monthly.
10. Require the finance committee to review financial statements each month and ask questions.
But Do You Have To?
Do you have to utilize any of these tips? No, you don’t. But, if you were leaving your house for a long vacation, would you leave windows cracked or your garage door partially open? Probably not. You’d want to lock and secure every door and window. Every potential threat to your house.
The same goes for your ministry. Lock all the doors, and close the windows. “That way, at the end of the day, we can say we are doing everything we can to be good stewards of what God has given us.” – Glenn Miller
Visit GoodFaithAccounting.com/Events to see what classes will be available in the upcoming months.
Coming Up
What happens when we suspect fraud or encounter fraud in our ministry? Tune in next week to learn more on that topic. For even more on this subject matter, visit Miller Management’s articles on Fraud Prevention.
Join the conversation, see behind the scenes, and learn more on our Instagram and Twitter.
Special thanks to our guest host and master of all things podcasting, Chris Miller, for this third episode in our Reducing Fraud in Ministry series.