The not-for-profit sector plays a critical role in serving the community, but often lacks expert leadership at board and management level to address issues such as potential fraud, says BDO Tauranga managing director Fraser Lellman.
BDO Tauranga ran a seminar this week which drew around 50 local not-for-profits (NFP) which heard about the significant increases in compliance regulations, high competition for funding and the risk of online fraud that the sector faced.
Mr Lellman, who co-presented the seminar with BDO Waikato partner Bernard Lamusse, said there were many local not-for-profits covering a variety of church, marae, sports, welfare and community groups.
"Probably the single biggest issue to face NFPs in the next two to three years is the raft of new regulations they will need to comply with from financial reporting through to health and safety," said Mr Lellman.
"Most NFPs don't consider health and safety a major issue, but without reviewing the impact of their activities and condition of assets on health and safety, they could face serious consequences. This results in a tendency to rely on internal controls and trust as a form of prevention."