Comments for The Aronson Nonprofit Report

Comment on Give to the Max Lessons Learned by Give to the Max Lessons Learned | Razoo Media Room

Give to the Max Lessons Learned | Razoo Media Room — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:54:06 +0000

[...] Read the full article here [...]

Comment on Debt Ceiling, Cuts, and the Impact on the Nonprofit Arena by daryljames

daryljames — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:54:12 +0000

Unfortunately, the cuts have to come from somewhere. Let’s just hope that the changes are manageable for the coming year.

Comment on “World’s Largest Global Hack Ever” of Nonprofits and Governmental Entities by daryljames

daryljames — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:43:46 +0000

I honestly don’t understand why these hackers would target non-profits. Most non-profits are already stretched thin enough when it comes to resources and technology is rarely a focus, let alone a defensible strong point. This is truly sad.

Comment on Trend: Removing Religious References From Names by daryljames

daryljames — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:32:46 +0000

Somehow this feels a little bit deceptive. If you can’t stand up for what you believe in by using certain words in your title, then how strong are your convictions for your cause?

Comment on How to Account for Debt Securities (Everything You Are Dying to Know But Were Afraid to Ask) by Brobi Wan Kenobi

Brobi Wan Kenobi — Thu, 12 May 2011 21:11:34 +0000

I really was dying to know that. Thanks!

Comment on IRS Audits of Nonprofits Jump by Double Digits Again by Tweets that mention IRS Audits of Nonprofits Jump by Double Digits Again « The Aronson Nonprofit Report -- Topsy.com

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:19:53 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Center for Nonprofit, Russ Noble. Russ Noble said: IRS Audits of Nonprofits Jump by Double Digits Again « The Aronson … http://bit.ly/fC4Kcp [...]

Comment on Fraud and Corruption Hit Global Fund by Carol Barnard

Carol Barnard — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:27:07 +0000

I greatly appreciate the chance to post the Fund’s point of view directly.
My hope is that our readers will learn from this situation the following ideas:
-that you can’t always easily prevent someone from attempting fraud or missappropriation but good controls, such as the fund’s internal audit, can catch it;
-that monitoring subrecipients is crucial and maintaining a certain level of skepticism is important;
-that even the most honorable of humanitarian missions are not exempt from someone trying to take advantage;
-that the cost of fraud goes way beyond the loss incurred and cost of inspection and into potential loss of funding and potential misrepresentation to the public.

I think the fund catching the problem and making corrective and very public actions is commendable.

Comment on Fraud and Corruption Hit Global Fund by Carol Barnard

Carol Barnard — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:16:07 +0000

Aaron – I appreciate you taking the time to write. I think the fund’s quick response to the allegations is important and where I got a good portion of the information used to develop the blog post. I think the fund’s effort of transparency and shedding light on their own issues and corrective actions is commendable and positive. I recently wrote a post about the benefits of publicly admitting mistakes with the idea that we can all learn from them. I also recently wrote about the importance of monitoring subrecipients which I think this particular case highlights well.
The idea that the associated press may distort or misrepresent facts is also a great example of the larger costs of fraud and its ultimate impact. I think that Homi Kharas summed up the situation best with this statement: “Without a spotlight, without investigations, and without some sort of accountability, it’s impossible to root out corruption,” he said, “but simply withdrawing donations, I do believe, would condemn millions of people who are not involved in the corruption to terrible fates.”

Comment on Fraud and Corruption Hit Global Fund by Carol Barnard

Carol Barnard — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:00:57 +0000

Angela – I appreciate you taking the time to write and to present (RED)’s position. As an auditor, when I have a client whose own internal controls caught a problem, I commend them because it means their controls are working. I agree that it is a critical factor that it was the Fund’s own internal inspectors that found and reported the problem.
One of the aspects I do try to highlight in this blog is the importance of monitoring subrecipients and how frequently fraud is perpetrated using little things it is easy to brush off, such as expense reimbursement reports. I try to bring an awareness to our readers that good controls are worth the effort and that there are people out there that will take advantage of even the best humanitarian missions.

Comment on Fraud and Corruption Hit Global Fund by AngelaP

AngelaP — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:58:23 +0000

I work at (RED), and I wanted to address some of the findings reported by the Associated Press.

What needs to be stressed is that it was the Global Fund themselves who reported the findings of this alleged fraud, and that they are not new revelations. It’s because of the Global Fund’s transparency and their zero tolerance for corruption that these findings were made in the first place. Furthermore, they took immediate action – they suspended/terminated grants, fought to get the money returned (the bulk of it has been) and are working to bring those who committed the fraud to justice.

Also as the Fund’s own inspector general reported in the AP article, and as The Gates Foundation reiterated here, this fraud was found in just four countries – while the Global Fund works in more than 145 countries around the world — and the amount of money at question is a tiny amount of the more than 13 billion that is saving lives each day. And NONE of the (RED) money has been included in these reports of fraud.

This type of corruption is disturbing especially when its a matter of life and death, but we can’t let it derail the incredible work the Global Fund does on a daily basis.

The Global Fund remains the leading financer of global health programs in the world with with approved funding of US$ 21.7 billion. To date, programs supported by The Global Fund have saved 6.5 million lives through providing AIDS treatment for 3 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 7.7 million people and the distribution of 160 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria – they are truly making a difference. For anyone that would like to read more you can take a look at the Global Fund’s response to AP report on their website here http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/pressreleases/?pr=pr_110124 they are also accepting comments and questions on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/globalfund