Is your church vulnerable to fraud?One-third of all congregations experience theft, but researchers estimate 80 percent of cases go unreported and expect church financial fraud to reach $60 billion by 2025. Those are staggering statistics, but sadly this is a common problem that most church leadership prefer to ignore. "Not in our fellowship," they resolutely affirm. However, no individual is immune to temptation and studies show that the number one deterrent is fear of getting caught. The vast majority (87%) of the perpetrators have never been charged with fraud or embezzlement before.Pastors, elders, and trustees have an obligation to safeguard their ministry and shepherd the flock. This includes practices and procedures that prevent an easy stumble down the slippery slope of creative bookkeeping and skimming the church offering. Preventing Fraud in Church Accounting is a quick read for busy leadership. It exposes the problem and outlines the basics of the solution, including options for taking action. It's the perfect primer to educate the senior pastor or the young volunteer. It even includes a free confidential analysis of your church's financial status quo.The first step to a solution is knowledge, but the education process can seem overwhelming. Not with this short book. It can be read together in one committee meeting and will guide leadership to:* Examine two major problems with pastors functioning as Chief Financial Officer* Recognize three categories of fraud and how they apply to churches and nonprofits* Learn the types of internal controls that will decrease the risk of theft* Understand how the budget creation and review process creates accountability for ministry leaders* Explore what a full accounting plan of formal financial processes and reports entailsPastors, board members, treasurers, and anyone concerned about the safety of their ministry and mission can't afford to NOT read this book.

Integrity at Stake: Safeguarding Your Church from Financial Fraud by Rollie Dimos is a financial resource book intended for pastors, church leaders, and church administrators. Dimos' expertise as a certified fraud examiner and internal auditor provides the church audience with essential tools and know-how to assess their financial processes. Including practical steps for evaluation, Integrity at Stake details internal controls, risk management, and true stories to help church leaders reduce the risk of fraud and increase financial accountability and integrity.

Church leaders understand that managing the day-to-day operations of a church can be challenging because of limited resources, managing volunteer labor, and supporting the needs of the congregation. Smart Church Management: A Quality Approach to Church Administration, Third Edition is an updated guide for managing the resources of a church - which is people, time and money. This book provides tools and examples for decision making and problem-solving for church administration that is easy to understand and more importantly, quick to implement! This book also includes discussion questions to provoke thought and discussion for church teams. This book is ideal for ministry students, church boards, church leadership and church administrators.

Dig to the root of public fraud with deep exploration of theory, standards, and norms Preventing Fraud and Mismanagement in Government identifies common themes in public fraud and corruption, describes the forces that drive them, and provides an objective standard of good practices with no political bent. From Bridgegate to Iran-Contra, this book walks through the massive scandals that resulted from public mismanagement and fraud to illustrate how deeply-entrenched, entity-specific norms can differ from actual best practices. The discussion includes the theoretical underpinnings of public fraud, and how intense corporate culture and limited exposure to outside practice standards can lead to routine deviation from normal behavior and moral standards. You'll find a compendium of practices that illustrate actual norms, allowing you to compare your own agency's culture and operations to standard practice, and contrast the motivations for fraud in the public and private sectors. Public agencies and governmental entities are generally driven by a pubic benefit or goal, but are widely varied in the ability and desire to deliver value while retaining best practices. This book explicitly explores the common patterns of agency practices and cultural norms, and describes how they can easily cross over into illegal acts. Understand why fraud exists in the public sector Discover how your agency's mindset diverges from the norm Review cases where agency practices diverged from best financial practices Learn good practices in an objective, nonpolitical context The government/public sector provides some of the most basic services that are critical to a functioning society. Lacking a profit motive, these agencies nonetheless show a pattern of fraud and borderline behavior that could be mitigated with the adoption of standards and best practices. Preventing Fraud and Mismanagement in Government shares a canon of knowledge related to public operations and fraud, providing deep insight into the causes, solutions, and prevention.

A leader of Ministry Watch examines how cases of abuse and financial corruption have hurt the church—and how to bring back integrity. We live in a secular, skeptical, and cynical age. Many Americans have lost faith in institutions—including the church. Although the vast majority of Christian leaders serve faithfully, examples of financial fraud, greed, sexual and emotional abuse, and other systemic problems are almost everyday occurrences. And a watching world has a right to ask even those who are faithful ministers of the Gospel: “If you knew this was happening, why didn’t you say something?” Whether or not honest and above-board Christian leadership like it, in the eyes of the world, our silence makes us complicit. That’s why this vital book takes a clear-eyed look at scandals in the church—from Jim and Tammy Bakker’s PTL Network to Mark Driscoll, Todd Bentley, David Jeremiah, and Bill Hybels. It is an answer to those who say that the silence of Christian leadership is approval. And although this book is sometimes tough on the church and its leaders, its purpose is not to tear down the evangelical church, but to restore it to its rightful place of influence in the culture and in the lives of people who desperately need its message of grace and truth. “Explains why shining sunlight on churches and ministries in America is important.” —Paul Glader, Director of the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute, The King’s College

The must-have reference guide for small and growing churches to understand church accounting basics in a reader-friendly format has been updated and expanded!CPA Lisa London and premier church accounting blogger, Vickey Richardson, help you understand what you need to know to manage the finances and keep your religious organization out of trouble with the IRS.Topics include how to:?Meet the IRS definition of a church?Determine whether to file for a 501c3 or not?Organize and retain accounting records?Establish controls to keep the money safe and guard against errors?Record and acknowledge donations of cash, stock, vehicles, in-kind, and more?Setup and maintain a benevolence fund?Create an accountable reimbursement plan?Handle mortgage payments?Calculate and file payroll?Structure pastor payroll and housing allowances?Budget for the next year?Recognize if you owe Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) ?How to fill out the 990N and 990EZ,?And so much more.Lisa London CPA is the author of The Accountant Beside You series of resources for the non-accountants in nonprofits, religious organizations, and small businesses to understand their accounting needs. She has decades of experience in auditing and consulting large and small organizations.Vickey Richardson is the founder and manager of Vickey's Bookkeeping, Inc., an accounting firm specializing in assisting churches. She is best known for her popular website, FreeChurchAccounting.com.