ID    Code	Safety Tips   Preventing crime and maintaining safe communities is everyone's responsibility. By practising the following personal and property safety tips, you can help reduce the incidents of crime and keep your community safe.   Bike SafetyCrime PreventionFire Safety For ParentsFor SeniorsFor TeenagersFraud SafetyHealth SafetyInternet Safety TipsMotor Vehicle TipsPersonal TipsProperty TipsStreet Racing SafetySummer SafetyTravel TipsWinter Safety         Non-Profit Organizations       Volunteers do, occasionally, steal from the organizations they are working for. Bingos, community groups, associations, and co-operatives can have hard-earned funds and donations skimmed from, to amounts in excess of $100,000. The treasurer that is stealing may have worked in that capacity for years. Inadequate record-keeping hinders the detection of theft and the prosecution of the culprit. It also prevents the organization from calculating exactly how much money has been stolen. Signs of Theft Only one person is in charge of the money in an organization The organization has cash shortages and financial problems never before experienced The treasurer refuses to let others see the books Cash deposits are smaller or larger than they should be Members are asked to sign blank cheques or blank lottery licence reports. The Treasurer can’t explain why the organization is doing poorly financially. Protect your organization Never sign cheques or documents that are blank Have two people sign cheques and documents Refuse to accept any cheque that you cannot prove is legitimate Do basic background checks on all associates paid or unpaid. - Contact personal and professional references Create a budget at the start of each year or with each project Separate financial duties: The person receiving cash does not deposit it; the person reconciling the account doesn’t write the cheques. Keep good accounting records and use an accounting system that is clear, simple and easily understood by executive members. Keep chequebooks, cash and returned bank statements with cancelled cheques under lock and key. Use the double entry method, an income statement and a balance sheet to keep track of all monies coming in to the organization and going out. If changes are made to signing authorities, ensure these are documented in bank authorization forms. Fraud can erode up to roughly six per cent of organizations revenue. From: RBC The Fraud Unit also offer a brochure "Is Your Treasurer Stealing" for public use. A sample set of bookkeeping records is also available by calling the Durham Regional Police Service’s Major Fraud Unit at (905) 579-1520.       Back
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