GIving the frequency with which this occurs among nonprofits versus busineses, this check-and-balance concept must be really challenging. Again we see, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, another individual with clearly too much access and little or no checks-and-balances, has managed to steal, over three years, $75,000.
So what could and should a board do to prevent this stuff from happening? The simple answer is: act prudently. What would you do if this was actually your business? That's the question each nonprofit board member should ask themselves. No, you don't need to see the ledger, certainly not every day or month or quarter. But if you don't have an auditor, it would pay to conduct a review once a year. Certainly stuff like this shouldn't go on for three years. And what about some simple policies and procedures while we are at it.
Come-on folks, this is not the toughest part of being a nonprofit board.