Jerry Ipsen, CFE, MBA
Which of These Three Books Talk About Internal Controls?
In your opinion, which of these three books would you expect to find a thorough discussion on internal controls? Surprisingly, it's not "Starting & Building a Nonprofit" by Pakroo or even "Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization by Hopkins. In fact, it's only "Nonprofit Bookkeeping & Accounting for Dummies" that even mentions the words internal controls. One would think that one or both of the first two would devote several pages to such an important topic. Nope! It's only the "Dummies" book by Nolo that provides a cursory overview and devotes an entire page and a half to the subject. Sad indeed.
It's no wonder so many nonprofit organizations get off on the wrong foot and find themselves in trouble. Without compliance, internal controls, policies and procedures, how do they or any other organization expect to be successful?
After spending an hour or so online, I found an article by GrowthForce titled "Preventing Fraud in a Nonprofit" which provided some great information on Internal controls for nonprofits. Included in this detailed essay are discussions on detective, preventive, and physical controls along with ideas for audits and policy creation as well as a brief discussion on the prosecution of those offenders caught for their participation in illegal activity.
