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

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

Assessing Financial Vulnerability in the Nonprofit Sector

Effective nonprofit governance relies upon understanding an organization's financial condition and vulnerabilities. However, financial vulnerability of nonprofit organizations is a relatively new area of study. In this paper, we compare two models used to forecast bankruptcy in the corporate sector (Altman 1968 and Ohlson 1980) with the model used by nonprofit researchers (Tuckman and Chang 1991). We find that the Ohlson model has higher explanatory power than either Tuckman and Chang's or Altman's in predicting four different measures of financial vulnerability. However, we show that none of the models, individually or combined, are effective in predicting financial distress. We then propose a more comprehensive model of financial vulnerability by adding two new variables to represent reliance on commercial-type activities to generate revenues and endowment sufficiency. We find that this model outperforms Ohlson's model and performs substantially better in explaining and predicting financial vulnerability. Hence, the expanded model can be used as a guide for understanding the drivers of financial vulnerability and for identifying more effective proxies for nonprofit sector financial distress for use in future research. This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 27. 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

Noise and its interference over students in a classroom environment: literature review

BACKGROUND: influence of the acoustic environment on learning. AIM: to analyze the possible alterations students of schools found under the impact of internal or external noises may present. METHOD: literature review on the following subjects: auditory processing, speech perception, acoustics of classrooms and basic notions about noise. CONCLUSION: schools are under the impact of varied noises that can become invisible opponents to the learning process, especially in a place where the listening situation must be privileged. Audiologists can be part of a multidisciplinary team, helping to monitor these areas and helping to implement hearing conservation programs.TEMA: a influência do ambiente acústico na aprendizagem. OBJETIVO: analisar alterações que podem ocorrer aos estudantes de uma escola que se encontre sob impacto de ruídos internos ou externos às suas instalações.Para isso, foi realizada uma revisão da literatura sobre temas: processamento auditivo, percepção de fala, acústica em sala de aula, noções básicas de ruído. CONCLUSÃO: a escola se encontra sob forte impacto de ruídos diversos, que se tornam opositores invisíveis à aprendizagem, em um local onde a situação de escuta deveria ser muito privilegiada, e que os Fonoaudiólogos podem auxiliar uma equipe multidisciplinar no monitoramento destas áreas e na implantação de programas de conservação auditiva.Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São PauloUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Campo FonoaudiológicoPontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo Departamento de Clínica FonoaudiológicaUNIFESP, Campo FonoaudiológicoSciEL

Development of a pressure stable inline droplet generator with live droplet size measurement

For the research on droplet deformation and breakup in scaled high-pressure homogenizing units, a pressure stable inline droplet generator was developed. It consists of an optically accessible flow channel with a combination of stainless steel and glass capillaries and a 3D printed orifice. The droplet size is determined online by live image analysis. The influence of the orifice diameter, the mass flow of the continuous phase and the mass flow of the disperse phase on the droplet diameter were investigated. Furthermore, the droplet detachment mechanisms were identified. Droplet diameters with a small diameter fluctuation between 175 µm and 500 µm could be realized, which allows a precise adjustment of the capillary (Ca) and Weber (We) Number in the subsequent scaled high pressure homogenizer disruption unit. The determined influence of geometry and process parameters on the resulting droplet size and droplet detachment mechanism agreed well with the literature on microfluidics. Furthermore, droplet trajectories in an exemplary scaled high-pressure homogenizer disruption unit are presented which show that the droplets can be reinjected on a trajectory close to the center axis or close to the wall, which should result in different stresses on the droplets

Surface hidrolysis of polyacrylonitrile with nitrile hydrolysing enzymes from Micrococcus luteus BST20

A new Micrococcus luteus strain BST20 was isolated with ability to metabolize PAN polymers as sole carbon source. Out of seven synthetized PAN copolymers containing different moieties of acrylic acid and/or vinyl acetate the polymer with lowest crystallinity (PAN with 5% vinyl acetate) was most easily metabolized. 13C labelled PAN was completely converted to the acrylic acid by this strain. M. luteus BST20 produced membrane-bound nitrile hydrolysing enzymes able to convert nitrile groups on PAN powder surface to the corresponding acids. Similarly, nitrile groups on PAN fabrics were transformed to the corresponding acid as indicated by an K/S increased after dying with Methylene blue and the released ammonia. On small soluble substrates the enzyme system showed a preference for aliphatic and aromatic substituted aliphatic nitriles.European Commission - GRD 2000-30110 “Biosyntex”, COSTD25/0002/0

Tag-Team Takeover: Usurpation of Woodpecker Nests by Western Bluebirds

Woodpeckers provide important ecological services by excavating nesting cavities that are used by many forest birds and animals. Black-backed woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) have been declining throughout their range and are now a threatened species. The failure of black-backed woodpeckers to reproduce can lead to a decline of nesting cavities, which in turn can lead to a decline in secondary cavity nesters. One of the challenges black-backed woodpeckers face is displacement from their nesting cavities by aggressive secondary cavity nesters.The western bluebird (Sialia Mexicana) is known to usurp nests, even from its own kind. However, the process by which bluebirds take over nests has not been well documented. In order to understand the process by which bluebirds take over woodpecker nests, we analyzed 112 hours of video footage from two different nests located in the Okanogan-Wenatchee forest in Washington. Usurpation first involves a short period of physical confrontation followed by a prolonged period of constant presence around the nest. The male and female bluebird apparently cooperate by taking turns harassing the woodpecker and guarding the nest. The entire takeover process seems to only require one day. This information will be useful to forest managers in charge of monitoring black-backed woodpeckers, especially in areas with high bluebird density