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You can’t have missed all the news coverage recently surrounding data breaches at Target, Nordstroms, and Michael’s stores. And they’re just the latest in a long line of security incidents at retailers. But what about the security of your church’s financial procedures? Do you have the same person doing your books as is depositing the offering? If you do, don’t throw stones at Target for their security procedures!

The fact is, most church fraud happens around the deposit process. Portions of your church’s money just doesn’t find its way into the checking account, but rather stays in someone’s pocket.

Concerned about financial fraud at your church? Want to be more proactive in preventing it? The following are 6 Ways To Prevent People From Stealing The Church Offering from Bryan Miles, CEO of MAG Bookkeeping.  If you are unfamiliar with MAG, they are America’s finest organization for church virtual assistants and bookkeeping.  Click here or on the image above for more information if you have a need.

Prevent Church Fraud

  1. Have two people deposit your money on the same day of the week, and make sure neither of them are your bookkeeper. Create a “sign off” sheet with deposit information that is handed in to church leadership each week.
  2. Track your donor/giving in a separate Church Management Software (ChMS) solution – not in your accounting package. We recommend CCB. This way, you can track individual deposits against your aggregate deposit.
  3. Do “spot checks” in the counting room.
  4. Look for areas of “opportunity” where your system/process could be compromised. Document your gaps and create deadlines to fix them, then report your findings to leadership.
  5. Review your financials every single month. It’s hard to believe, but we talk regularly with church leaders who really don’t review their financials each month. How will you know if something’s off with your finances when you don’t know what they’re supposed to look like?
  6. Don’t assume a “precious person” in your congregation would not steal from you. We’re all human, and subject to the same temptations.

The reality is this – if someone wants to steal from you, they’re going to try it. The key is to create enough security measures so this risk can be mitigated. Being a good steward of God’s money means creating appropriate systems and processes to protect against fraud and theft in your church.

To get more insight from Bryan Miles and the team at MAG Bookkeeping, click here.

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