Motivation is typically described as the pressure or incentive to commit fraud. When great pressure is brought to bear, people will do things you would have never thought possible. We used to illustrate this with someone who has a drinking problem or a gambling problem. Those illustrations of pressure don’t paint a good enough picture because you can’t drink enough (and still function) to create pressure to steal enough money to cause a severe problem. Let’s expand the picture. Long before someone with a drug problem deteriorates to the point of non-functioning, they can appear to function normally on the outside but have a need for so much money that the only way they could possibly feed their addiction is to steal from the ministry. (more…)
Major changes to Review and Compilation Reports from SSARS 19
Remember that SSARS 19 makes a lot of changes to the review and compilation procedures. In terms of the reports, the entire report is changing – the wording is completely different.
Update – SSARS 19 had been replaced by SSARS 21. All the reports have been revised. You can check out these posts at my other blog, Attestation Update:
- Flash update on SSARS #21
- Newly approved SSARS will allow a new service, ‘preparation’. Will also require written & signed engagement letters.
- Sample compilation report under SSARS 21
- Sample accountant’s review report for SSARS 21
- Video overview of SSARS 21
- New risk alerts for 2014/2015 are available
Watch your Facebook settings, if don’t want to tell everything to the world
If you want everything you say on Facebook to be visible to the world, that is okay. If you want to set limits on who can see how much, then you need to modify your privacy settings. Best explanation I have seen on how to manage your privacy is found in this article from the Christian Computing Magazine. Took me a while to wander through the settings and instructions at Facebook to learn what is covered here in just a few pages.
By the way, the magazine is free. You can read it online or get email delivery. Check it out. Sign up for a free subscription.
Opportunity for fraud – how does it surface?
Having the door wide open is one way to describe the concept of opportunity to commit fraud – there is nothing stopping you from getting your hands on the money and getting it out of the organization.
How does a person realize there is opportunity to do something wrong? (more…)
Expanded 1099 reporting starts in 2012
(See this post for update – legislation repealed!)
Reporting requirements for 1099s will soon expand dramatically. From the Journal of Accountancy: “(b)eginning Jan. 1, 2012, virtually all payments by a trade or business aggregating $600 or more to any single vendor during any calendar year will have to be reported at the end of each calendar year to the vendor and to the IRS on Form 1099. Vendors include almost anyone a trade or business pays in the course of doing business, other than its employees whose compensation is already reported on Forms W-2.” – the full article is available online. (more…)
Revised accounting for leases – proposed changes to Topic 840
The accounting rule makers (that would be the FASB) have proposed massive changes to lease accounting. Essentially, all leases with a term over 12 months will be recorded as an asset with an offsetting liability for the lease payments.
This is a casual summary (well, as casual as I can get when discussing accounting). A separate post at my other blog, www.attestationupdate.com goes into more technical details.
A very rough analogy is that all leases in the future will be treated in somewhat the same way as a capital lease is handled today. (more…)
Opportunity– one side of the fraud triangle
Opportunity is the first side of the fraud triangle we will discuss. This is when there is a situation that would allow a person to do something wrong. These are the weaknesses and procedures to correct them that we usually talk about. Places where someone could get their hands on money and get it out the door. (more…)
Fraud happens when the ‘fraud triangle’ is present
This will be the first in a series of on what accountants call the fraud triangle.
Just a few comments before we begin. These posts will be written in a more casual style that you would usually see from an accountant. They will definitely be more casual than you have seen in my published resources, which you can find here. (more…)
Cross-Cultural Partnerships
Cross-Cultural Partnerships – Mary T. Lederleitner – ISBN 978-0-8308-3747-2
From the back cover: “Nothing derails global partnerships more quickly than cultural misunderstandings about finances. North Americans don’t understand culture expectations of patronage, and Western money often comes with subtle strings attached. So local mission work is hampered by perceived paternalism, and donors are frustrated with lack of results or accountability. How do we build financial partnerships for effective mission without fostering neo-colonialism? (more…)
Time is running out for tiny NPOs to file a 990-N before they loose tax-exempt status
Following is from an IRS press release on September 22: “A few years ago, Congress passed a law requiring all tax-exempt organizations, even the smallest ones, to file an annual return with the Internal Revenue Service. Any organization that does not file for three consecutive years automatically loses its federal tax exemption. Churches and some church-related organizations are among the few exceptions.
“The first three-year deadline for filing those returns was May 17, 2010. While thousands of organizations did file, a significant number did not. (more…)
Expanded disclosures for loans and allowance for credit loss – ASU 10-20
Disclosures for financed receivables (i.e. loans) and the allowance for losses will be dramatically expanded by Accounting Standards Update 2010-20, Receivables (Topic 310) – Disclosures about the Credit Quality of Financing Receivables and the Allowance for Credit Losses. (more…)
Increased fair value disclosures – ASU 10-06
Fair value disclosures will increase for December 2010 financial statements. Accounting Standards Update 2010-06, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Topic 820) will require a few new items. The two main items I see for small and medium-sized NPOs are first, disclosing transfers in & out of Level 1 & 2, and second, disaggregation of fair value disclosures. (more…)
The recession officially ended in June 2009
The people who make the official call for the start and end point of recessions, which is the National Bureau of Economic Research, announced on September 20 that the recession officially hit bottom in June 2009. We need to look at what that actually means. The bottom point of the economic cycle is considered the end of a recession. The Bureau calculated the low point, or the trough, was in June last year. Since then the economy has been recovering, although slowly. (more…)
Anyone can run a background check on you
Earlier comment discusses dangers of social media. Merely Googling or Binging someone’s name might produce some good background. How about more serious background checks? (more…)
Dangers of social media
People are using social media to do simple checks on people they are involved with. Examples? Employers obviously, but that is old news. Recently I have read articles mentioning that potential roommates, first dates, parents hiring babysitters, and college admission officers are also using social media to scope out people.
How? The easiest way is to look at FaceBook and then Google or Bing the person’s name. (more…)