Charities in England and Wales have been urged to report all frauds and thefts to the Charity Commission so the true scale and nature of risks facing the sector can be understood.
Although the number of incidents reported to the commission rose by 24% last year, the regulator believes serious incidents – those defined as risks or results in significant loss of a charity's money or assets – are underreported. This means some charities could be put at risk if the trustees do not get the assistance required, the watchdog said yesterday.
Serious incidents also include damage to a charity's property or harm to a charity's work, beneficiaries or reputation. The most common include fraud, theft and confirmed safeguarding issues.
In 2013/14, there were 1,280 serious incidents reported by charities to the commission. While this represents a 24% increase on the previous year, the regulator says its casework continues to find serious incidents that should have been reported but were not.
If trustees fail to act responsibly in relation to an incident, which include failing to report, or not reporting promptly when the incident occurred, the commission may take regulatory action, head of investigations and enforcement Michelle Russell said.
‘I urge trustees of all charities to read and follow the guidance we have issued and to report incidents to us as soon as they occur. Reporting incidents is a basic part of responding responsibly to a problem in a charity. We see cases where charities experience more serious problems down the line, including reputational damage, in part because trustees failed to report an incident to us in good time. So my message is: don't compound the problem that has occurred, help solve it by reporting it to the commission.'
