Fraud Oversight in Nonprofits: From Volunteer Boards to National Bodies

Fraud in nonprofits rarely appears as a sudden crisis — it often develops quietly through limited resources, strong trust cultures, and fragmented oversight. This session explores how fraud risks emerge in lean nonprofit environments and what boards and audit committees can realistically do to detect, prevent, and respond more effectively.

Drawing on over 30 years of public sector and nonprofit governance experience, including audit committee leadership at USA Badminton, Philip Varghese, CPA, CFE, CGFO, delivers practical, field-tested insights into real oversight challenges faced by volunteer boards and finance teams. Using recent high-profile cases such as the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme and the Minnesota autism Medicaid fraud scheme, the webinar highlights how governance gaps and weak controls enable fraud — and what practical steps can strengthen accountability in resource-constrained organizations.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Fraud risk landscape in nonprofit and grant-funded organizations
• Governance challenges in volunteer-led boards and audit committees
• Conflicts of interest and decision-making vulnerabilities
• Expense approvals, procurement weaknesses, and payroll controls
• Grant compliance, reporting integrity, and sponsorship oversight
• Segregation of duties in small and mid-sized nonprofits
• Case study analysis: major nonprofit fraud failures and warning signs
• Strengthening whistleblower systems and fraud reporting pathways
• Emerging risks: AI-driven fraud and evolving regulatory expectations