Many not-for-profit youth sports leagues are at risk for fraud and don’t even know it. Cash transactions are common and leagues are typically managed by volunteers with little oversight, it’s easy for crooked individuals to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, sports league fraud is usually committed by well known and respected board members or officers. How then can your league prevent this crime?
Simple steps
By far the most important step you can take is to segregate duties. This means that no single individual receives, records and deposits funds coming in, pays bills and reconciles bank statements. Assign someone uninvolved in handling deposits and payments to receive and reconcile the bank statement. A different person should monitor the budget, and every payment (or at least payments over a certain threshold) should require two signatures. If your league has credit or debit cards, ask someone an unauthorized user to review the statements.
Also, your league should:
Mandate board review. Your board of directors should receive and review financial reports on a quarterly or monthly basis — including when the league isn’t in season. The treasurer should submit a report for every board meeting, with bank statements attached.
Require online registration and payment. A lot of leagues still use paper registrations and accept payment by cash or check. Cash can be pocketed and checks can be diverted to thieves’ own accounts. But with online registration, payments are deposited directly into the league’s account.
Rotate treasurers. Treasurers are the most likely youth sports league officials to commit fraud because they have the easiest access to funds and the ability to cover their tracks. Make sure no one person stays in the treasurer position for more than a couple of years. If funds are available, consider hiring a part-time bookkeeper who will report directly to your board.
Not all fun and games
Many youth sports leagues are ripe for fraud, in large part because of their lack of formality and their environment of trust. Structure may seem counter to the spirit of amateur leagues, but if your group doesn’t adopt some smart business practices, it could end up out of business. Contact us for more information.