An Investigation of Fraud in Nonprofit Organizations: Occurrences and Deterrents

Losses due to fraudulent activities are particularly troublesome in the nonprofit sector because they directly reduce resources available to address tax-exempt purposes. The ensuing bad publicity may also reduce contributions and grants in subsequent periods. This paper uses data provided by Certified Fraud Examiners to report on the types of fraud they identified in nonprofit organizations and the characteristics of both the victims and the perpetrators of the fraudulent activities. Based on the analysis of the data, the authors suggest ways that fraud losses can be prevented or mitigated. In particular, governing boards are urged to consider important controls in addition to the annual financial statement audit.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 35. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

Brushwork on bowls

I intend to develop a series of pieces involving brushwork. My primary investigation will be figure -ground, color, and abstraction from nature. Brushwork will be chosen as the technique of mark making, because of its physical properties, i.e. stroke depth, energy, shape creating ability, and line quality. It is also chosen for its potential to evoke a sense of lyricism

Longitudinal neuroimaging measures of volumetric change across the frontotemporal dementia spectrum

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a common cause of young onset dementia, encompassing several clinical, genetic and pathological subgroups. Currently there are no treatments, but there are promising candidates in development. However, proven biomarkers of disease progression in FTD are lacking and urgently needed to facilitate these trials. Investigating large sporadic and genetic FTD cohorts, this thesis provides a comprehensive comparison of longitudinal neuroimaging measures of structural change within the clinical, genetic and pathological FTD subgroups. Effect size and sample size estimates are computed to explore the feasibility of these brain measures as surrogate markers of disease progression in order to detect disease-modifying treatment effects. The first project compares 17 automated techniques for extracting whole-brain atrophy measures. Many of the techniques showed great promise, producing sample sizes of substantially less than 100 patients required to detect a disease-modifying effect. Significant differences in performance were found between both techniques and patient subgroups, highlighting the importance of informed biomarker choice in matching the optimal marker to the patient group to be enrolled in a trial. In the following chapters, I explored lobar and subcortical change across the disease spectrum. The different patient subgroups presented with unique profiles of change but, interestingly, automated measures of temporal lobe, caudate and thalamic atrophy proved to be particularly sensitive markers of change, producing low sample size estimates across the FTD subgroups. Importantly, I found significantly increased rates of amygdala, hippocampus, caudate and thalamic atrophy in differing patterns across presymptomatic mutation carriers, providing the first comprehensive assessment of the utility of such markers for early therapeutic intervention at this ideal stage before symptoms develop. In summary, this work expands current knowledge and builds on the limited longitudinal investigations currently available in FTD, as well as providing valuable information about the potential of non-invasive biomarkers for sporadic and genetic FTD trials

The Single Audit Act: How Compliant Are Nonprofit Organizations?

Audits are an important legal accountability tool used by resource providers (donors, grantors, and others) to assure that resources are spent by nonprofit organizations in accordance with the resource providers intentions. This paper reports on audits that are required by the government of the United States for organizations receiving large amounts of federal financial assistance. Since 1990, nonprofits receiving substantial federal funds are required to undergo this rigorous and expensive form of federal oversight. We report on 11,841 nonprofit entities that underwent such audits, and the 3,592 audit firms that conducted them, from 1997 to 1999. Overall, compliance with federal regulations appears to be high. Our study indicates that smaller nonprofits, those that are new to government grants, and those with prior audit findings have a significantly higher rate of adverse audit findings. Perhaps for cost or other reasons, these nonprofits are being audited by less experienced auditors. Current federal funding does not provide any additional funds for Single Audit Act compliance. One policy implication of our work might be to provide federal funding specifically for Single Audit Act compliance to these nonprofits.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 16. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

Measuring Operations: An Analysis of the Financial Statements of U.S. Private Colleges and Universities

As events in the business sector have highlighted, companies can play by the rules and yet produce misleading financial statements. This study examines the nongovernmental organizations that provide a substantial portion of higher education in the United States. We seek to determine whether private colleges and universities take advantage of the discretion available to them under accounting and auditing standards by presenting an operating measure in their statement of activities. We find that nearly 60 percent of schools report an operating measure but the items included or excluded from operations vary widely.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 17. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers