All volunteers need oversight

Dear Editor:

Re: “Stealing from children” editorial (The Daily Courier, Jan. 9).

Apathy and trust encourages embezzlement of funds. All charities need to tighten their operations.

Audited annual statements of charities are just very simple audits that match outgoings to incomings. They are not designed to catch nefarious convoluted activities of members of boards or financial officers in charge of those funds.

Most volunteers make a valuable contribution to our society: Contributions that make a big difference to the people receiving assistance.

Unfortunately, it also draws those with a moral weakness that find it hard to resist that great corrupter — money.

Charities are responsible for the funds donated to them in good faith. That faith is abused when the membership fails to question and ensure sufficient oversight.

I have attended annual general meetings where the financial officer has read his/her report and ended it by saying that it is there for review if you want, but it has been audited so everything must be fine.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Yet this statement usually passes by the membership without anyone questioning it.

A list of approved vendors should be drawn up. No payment to any others unless they are tracked and verified. A consultation with a registered accountant should be able to help charities build failsafes into their system.

Boards can do much to control theft. Membership should know exactly what companies they are dealing with and exactly what is being paid for and why. It should be standard practice that cheques are questioned and phone calls made to ensure companies or people are legitimate.

General membership can do much to curtail this kind of theft by questioning the financial officer in public during the annual report.

This should be done in a courteous polite manner as 99 per cent of financial officers are volunteers giving of their time and effort on behalf of society.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the membership and the board to ensure annual reports are not taken for granted without sufficient oversight. They owe it to the taxpayers that donated to their charity.

Unless charities start picking up the slack, it is only a matter of time until this happens again.

That said, much is owed to the many selfless volunteers who give so generously of their time. They don’t deserve the abuse and suspicion generated by the corrupt. Elvena Slump, Penticton