Salvation Army hit by two major frauds in Toronto and Ottawa

Over the last week the Salvation Army has told the media that they have fired one employee in Ottawa for allegedly stealing funds and an employee in Toronto for allegedly stealing over $2 million in toys.  The stories illustrate the importance of internal financial controls.  Apparently the Salvation Army had upgraded their internal controls after a large fraud a few years ago.  The Salvation Army quite notably went straight to the media when they learned of the problem.  That is very commendable.  Many charities prefer to ignore or hide situations of material diversion of assets and it is welcome that the Salvation Army acknowledged the problem and swiftly took action.  Hopefully something positive will come out of this difficult situation.  Perhaps there will be greater awareness for the need to have financial controls in charities.