Fraud

Finance Focus Spring 2025: A time of renewal and transformation
24 April 2025
Check out what's new in charity finance and beyond... Read the Spring issue of Finance Focus. 

New fraud prevention measures will impact larger charities
6 February 2025
The Charity Commission has issued a regulatory alert highlighting significant upcoming changes that will impact larger charities. Two key developments demand immediate attention from charity leaders and finance teams.

New Charity Commission fraud guidance
20 December 2024
The Charity Commission for England and Wales has produced updated guidance for charities on how to protect themselves against fraud.

CFG's highlights of 2024
18 December 2024
As the year ends, we wanted to share some of our community’s 2024 highlights. It’s fair to say we’ve had an impactful and busy year.

Inside job: Understanding and preventing insider fraud
22 October 2024
Charities are built on trust but, alarmingly, they are not immune to fraud, including from within. Sam Burne James unmasks the risks of insider fraud and shares expert advice on ...

The importance of internal controls – a real-life example!
16 September 2024
Sharon Martin, Chief Financial Officer at Born Free, shares her story of an attempt to defraud the charity of funds, highlighting the importance of rigorous internal controls. 

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill and internal controls
5 March 2024
New laws to prevent fraud have now come into effect. Helena Wilkinson from Price Bailey looks at what they mean for charities and shares an overview of updated Charity Commission ...

Information and cyber security webinar
29 August 2023
Protecting your organisation from cyber security breaches is vital. Experts from Adapta Consulting shared their insights and best practice guidance with CFG's Arts Sector Special Interest Group in July and ...

Part 2: Fraud - prevention is better than cure
5 June 2023
In our second and final part of Pesh Framjee's article on fraud prevention, Pesh explores lines of defence and appropriate controls, and shares a number of helpful fraud case studies.

Part 1: Fraud - prevention is better than cure
5 June 2023
CFG's Special Advisor Pesh Framjee provides practical advice on the issue of fraud. This two part series takes an in-depth look at what fraud is and isn't, the 'recipe for ...

Do you have cyber-security sense?
30 May 2023
What does the latest Charity Commission guidance on internal financial controls say about cybercrime, cryptoassets and public collections? Natalie Barbosa from Anthony Collins takes a look at the latest guidance ...

Act now to plug digital capability gaps
2 February 2023
John Fitzgerald, digital evolution manager for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), has some top tips for charities to enhance their cyber security capabilities.

Crowe and CFG annual round-up 2023
27 January 2023
On 12 January 2023, Crowe UK and Charity Finance Group ran an annual round-up event, highlighting key legal and regulatory changes and updates. This ever-popular event covered a wide range ...

Is internal fraud increasing? Insights from BDO's Charity Fraud Report 2022
13 December 2022
The risk of fraud from within is a growing concern for charities, with the cost of living crisis and economic downturn becoming catalysts for fraudulent behaviour. BDO and Fraud Advisory ...

CFG Guide for Small Charities: Fraud
20 October 2022
It's #CharityFraudAwarenessWeek! Check out our three-minute guide for small charities which provides an overview of the ever-changing topic of fraud.

Driving out scams and copycats
10 February 2022
In an honest account, Caron Bradshaw, CEO, CFG, shares how she fell foul of a copycat website scam and shares advice on how to avoid making the same mistake.

Finance Focus September 2021
29 September 2021
This month, we look at some of the issues charities are tackling post-pandemic, including flexible working and what's to become of the office. Also in this edition, interviews with National Children's ...

HMRC issues guidance on avoiding cyber and phone scams
21 September 2021
Online scams increase two-fold during Covid.

Finance Focus July 2021
29 July 2021
Inclusivity - why does it matter to finance professionals? We speak to charity leaders this month about equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI). We also meet a small member charity - Jodie ...

Finance Focus October 2020
23 October 2020
Welcome to the October 2020 edition of Finance Focus. Issues covered inside: Mental health; fraud; audits; training; Brexit and much more!

Now, more than ever, it pays to be fraud aware
19 October 2020
It's the start of Fraud Awareness Week! Claire Parris from the Charity Commission, explains why it pays to be fraud aware.

Finance Focus September
22 September 2020
Let's raise our voice to raise Gift Aid!

Charities – Changes to Anti-Money Laundering Regulations
24 February 2020
By Stephen Cole, Senior Associate at Hewitsons LLP 1.0.0.20 1.0.0.20

Regulation needed to protect customers
30 October 2019
By Alanna Patterson, Head Energy Specialist from Utility Aid 1.0.0.20

Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2019
21 October 2019
By Alan Bryce, Head of Development, Counter Fraud & Cybercrime at Charity Commission for England & Wales 1.0.0.20

Finance Focus Oct 2019
21 October 2019
Risk management in action 1.0.0.20

OSSIG roundup: The link between fraud, bullying, and safeguarding
24 July 2019
By David Ainsworth, Sector Specialist, CFG   If you have a problem with fraud, are you more likely to have a problem with safeguarding? The experts seem to think the ...

Impact of money laundering and counter-terrorism regulations on charities
1 March 2018

The Charities Counter Fraud Checklist
28 March 2017
Charity Finance Group has produced The Charities Counter Fraud Checklist. This checklist is designed to help charities to establish (or strengthen) their counter-fraud policy. The checklist asks ten essential questions ...

The Small Charities Guide to Preventing Fraud
1 March 2017
Charity Finance Group (CFG) has launched a guide to help small charities counter fraud. The guide, The Small Charities Guide to Preventing Fraud looks at measures that charities can put ...

Countering Fraud: A guide for the UK charity sector
1 March 2016
Charity Finance Group (CFG) and PKF Littlejohnhave launched a new guide to help charities proactively counter fraud. This guide will help finance professionals and trustees to identify areas for improvement ...

Avoiding Cheque Fraud
11 March 2014
The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company (C&CCC) has published a new fraud prevention guide to help charities safeguard themselves from fraud when paying by cheque.

World Vision UK - Anti-Money Laundering Policy
28 October 2011
World Vision UK's policy on Anti-Money Laundering

World Vision UK - Policy Statement on Bribery
31 July 2011
World Vision UK's policy statement on bribery.

The Resilience to Fraud of the UK Charity Sector
14 May 2011
This Report considers how well the UK Charity Sector protects itself against fraud.

World Vision UK - Anti-Fraud Policy
13 May 2011
This policy sets out WVUK’s attitude to fraud, explains its nature and allocates responsibilities for prevention and reporting of both actual and attempted incidences.

Fraud Response Plan
9 December 2009
Features detailed guidance on how to uncover and respond to fraud. Detailed breakdown of immediate action, chain of command, planning and preparation and appropriate responses from management.

BRCS Anti-fraud and Corruption Policy
9 December 2009
The document outlines how BRCS identifies and responds to fraud and corruption, including advice on working with partner organisations and reporting duties for staff members.

Authority Limits
2 October 2009
This policy names the Directors and Managers who have the authority to purchase goods and services and/or to make payments on the charity’s behalf.

Fraud - Prevention Better Than Cure
1 March 2000
Sets out the definition and the basic internal controls which should be in place to prevent the occurrence of fraud within a charity.

Our commitment on your data
1 June 2023
CFG's Director of Policy and Communications, Dr Clare Mills, explains CFG's commitment to data security and how we do and do not use your data.

CFG urges charities to sign the Fraud Pledge
21 October 2021
CFG urges charities and social enterprises to sign the Fraud Pledge during Fraud Awareness Week 2021.

Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2018 - Charity Fraud Out
22 October 2018
Alan Bryce of the Charity Commission talks about what’s in store for Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2018, and what you and your charity can to do get involved in this ...

Review: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing Report - Extremism in Charities
1 March 2018
Yesterday the Henry Jackson Society through its Centre for the Response to Radicalisation and Terrorism released a report on “How Islamist Extremists exploit the UK Charitable Sector.” 

What makes your charity attractive to fraudsters?
27 October 2017
Paul Ridout of IBB Solicitors looks at what makes charities a target for fraudsters. 

'Collecting bucket' fraud becomes more sophisticated
20 October 2017
 John Tranter, a CFG trustee explores how charities can communicate with their donors to help them avoid falling victim to these scams, and shares a case of how easily it ...

How safe is your charity from cybercrime?
20 October 2017
John Baker of Moore Stephens looks at what charities need to do to reduce their risks of becoming a victim of fraud. Cybercrime, including deviant phishing scams, ransomware, and mandate ...

Beware of snake oil pensions salesman
20 October 2017
Beware of scammers dipping into your pension says David Davidson of Spence and Partners'. Know what to look out for and remember, if it seems too good to be true it ...

Reflections on how organisations can implement new ways of thinking to combat fraud
20 October 2017
Following the development of new mitigation framework, Amnesty International’s Pascale Nicholls, reflects on how the organisation implemented new ways of thinking and working in relation to bribery, corruption and fraud. ...

6 simple steps your charity can take to help protect themselves from fundraising fraud
25 September 2017
Fundraising fraud is where a fraudster (who might be known) collects money on behalf of the charity but keeps some or all of the money and can be difficult for ...

Fraud and the 3 C's
25 September 2017
Throughout CFG’s Counter Fraud Campaign we have talked a lot about establishing controls, culture and communications, or the 3 C’s. It is important to also think about how these 3 ...

Do I need a fraud response plan?
25 September 2017

What can charities learn from the recent fraud cases?
27 July 2017
Unfortunately this week there have been two high profile cases of fraud being committed within a charity.

CFG launches Counter Fraud Campaign
12 July 2017

Celebrating small charities
21 June 2017

The Small Charities Guide to Preventing Fraud
21 June 2017
Charity Finance Group (CFG) has launched a guide to help small charities counter fraud. The guide, The Small Charities Guide to Preventing Fraud looks at measures that charities can put ...

What can charities learn from the international cyber attack?
16 May 2017
Following the widely reported cyber-attack over the weekend on the NHS, and over 300,000 computers in 150 countries, it is important to look at what charities can learn from this ...

Responsible Record Keeping: what do voluntary organisations need to know?
31 January 2017
In this guest blog, Dr Charlotte Clements, Research Assistant on the British Academy project ‘Digitising the Mixed Economy of Welfare’, writes about the need for charities to have good archives ...

Let's talk about the F-word
28 October 2016
So what do we mean when we say the ‘F’ word? Are we talking about watching Gordon Ramsay shout at helpless cooks for an hour or two on the TV? ...

EU Referendum: What could this mean for charities?
6 June 2016
As the 23rd June appears closer and closer this Europe's Final Countdown song has never felt more relevant as the UK public decides whether they will be voting to remain ...

Friday Afternoon Fraud
13 May 2016

What did the Romans ever know about data protection?
19 January 2016
As usual, quite a lot. Caesar famously used his cipher device to protect important and sensitive military data among his generals. So what can we learn from the famous Roman?

Be prepared: preventing fraud in charities
1 June 2015
This guest blog from Sayer Vincent considers some of the most common types of fraud in charities and how they can be prevented.

Assured Partners
We are a leading Chartered Insurance Broker specialising in the charity sector. Being a Chartered broker we uphold the highest professional and ethical standards, we are proud to be different ...

BDO LLP
We understand what sets charitable organisations apart – creating social value, not profit. BDO's national charity team has a comprehensive knowledge of charity finance, which is why many of the ...

Cambridge & Counties Bank
Owned by Trinity Hall and Cambridgeshire Local Government Pension Fund, we are the result of two well-respected institutions who joined together to create a responsible specialist bank. Our expert team ...

Co-operative Bank
Ethical banking since 1872. We share your values, supporting charities with lending, deposits and transactional banking from a bank that understands not-for-profit organisations. Proud to be the UK's best-rated high-street ...

Ecclesiastical Insurance
Ecclesiastical has been helping and protecting not-for-profit organisations for 125 years. The fact we’re owned by a charity and give a large proportion to our profit to charity only adds ...

Emailage
The UK charity sector loses approximately £1.65 Billion per year to fraud – according to the Centre for Fraud Studies at Portsmouth University and BDO. Our mission is to help ...

HaysMac
HaysMac is proud to be recognised as a leading advisor in the social purpose sector. We provide the dedicated specialists charities and social enterprises need to cover every scenario.

PIB Insurance Brokers
PIB Insurance Brokers specialise in providing forward thinking insurance and risk management solutions to charities. We act for a significant number of not-for-profit organisations throughout the UK. We seek to ...

WRS Insurance Brokers Limited
Are you looking for help and support with your charities risk issues? If so let Chris Chapman and his team come and listen to you and understand your needs.