WP_Query Object ( [query] => Array ( [name] => positive-pay [post_type] => resources [resource-type] => blog ) [query_vars] => Array ( [name] => positive-pay [post_type] => resources [resource-type] => blog [error] => [m] => [p] => 0 [post_parent] => [subpost] => [subpost_id] => [attachment] => [attachment_id] => 0 [pagename] => [page_id] => 0 [second] => [minute] => [hour] => [day] => 0 [monthnum] => 0 [year] => 0 [w] => 0 [category_name] => [tag] => [cat] => [tag_id] => [author] => [author_name] => [feed] => [tb] => [paged] => 0 [meta_key] => [meta_value] => [preview] => [s] => [sentence] => [title] => [fields] => [menu_order] => [embed] => [category__in] => Array ( ) [category__not_in] => Array ( ) [category__and] => Array ( ) [post__in] => Array ( ) [post__not_in] => Array ( ) [post_name__in] => Array ( ) [tag__in] => Array ( ) [tag__not_in] => Array ( ) [tag__and] => Array ( ) [tag_slug__in] => Array ( ) [tag_slug__and] => Array ( ) [post_parent__in] => Array ( ) [post_parent__not_in] => Array ( ) [author__in] => Array ( ) [author__not_in] => Array ( ) [search_columns] => Array ( ) [ignore_sticky_posts] => [suppress_filters] => [cache_results] => 1 [update_post_term_cache] => 1 [update_menu_item_cache] => [lazy_load_term_meta] => 1 [update_post_meta_cache] => 1 [posts_per_page] => 10 [nopaging] => [comments_per_page] => 50 [no_found_rows] => [order] => DESC ) [tax_query] => [meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object ( [queries] => Array ( ) [relation] => [meta_table] => [meta_id_column] => [primary_table] => [primary_id_column] => [table_aliases:protected] => Array ( ) [clauses:protected] => Array ( ) [has_or_relation:protected] => ) [date_query] => [queried_object] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9750 [post_author] => 43 [post_date] => 2023-06-20 22:35:42 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-06-20 22:35:42 [post_content] => If you run a political action committee, one of the worst things that can happen to you is an act of fraud. When money is stolen, it can shake donor confidence, rattle candidates, and erode credibility inside and outside your organization. And that’s not all. It can cause regulatory problems, too. The paperwork that follows a theft, which often includes replacement payments and other transactions, must be reported to the Federal Election Commission, where it can be considered a red flag. Too much of this activity can trigger an audit. “It becomes a very big deal and it is very stressful,” said Claire McDonough, former director of online advocacy for the National Association of Realtors and current senior account executive at Quorum. “The lawyers come in, the security people come in, and there are all sorts of disclosures that need to happen. Sometimes you can get the money back and sometimes you can't.” Fraud involving political organizations — PACs, candidates, and other groups — has increased in recent years. Roughly 180 incidents were reported in the 2022 midterm election cycle, more than twice the 83 incidents reported in the 2018 midterm cycle, according to a Daily Beast analysis of FEC data this year. Fraud involving PACs is also growing more sophisticated. In the past, most PAC fraud amounted to embezzlement enacted by insiders. Today, fraud is often perpetrated by outsiders who hack systems, steal checks, or otherwise gain access to PAC funds. The pandemic, which closed down offices and distributed the workforce, exacerbated the problem. Many organizations sent blank checks to employee homes and took other similar steps to ensure the PAC could continue to operate, even though such practices sometimes presented a security risk. “We all know that ‘hard dollars’ are called that because they are hard to come by,” said Carol Laham, a partner at Wiley Rein who has more than three decades of experience in campaign finance and election law. “And you don't want to waste those hard dollars on fraud.”

‘Positive Pay’ Can Protect PACs From Fraud

One strong defensive move that PACs are increasingly using to prevent fraud is known as “positive pay,” a system in which a PAC works with its bank to double-check transactions before they are enacted, ensuring that only valid payments get the green light. Campaign finance experts say that positive pay gives PACs solid protection and is quickly becoming standard practice in the industry, which has had its share of challenges in the last three years. As organizations realized they needed to tighten up, many turned to positive pay. These systems vary in detail but all have the same fundamental safeguard: banks will not process transactions until the PAC clears them. In some cases, this means the bank will text the PAC manager or treasurer to approve each payment, and those not approved will automatically be denied. In other cases, the PAC will provide the bank with a list of approved payments in advance. Some banks charge extra for positive pay services and some do not. “We saw a big uptick during the pandemic of PACs implementing positive pay, because their accounting departments knew they were going to have to put this back on track,” McDonough said. “Once everyone realized the pandemic was going to last longer than six months, they needed some protection. Positive pay started to get really popular.”

Making Positive Pay Work

PAC professionals who want to tighten up security measures can take these steps:

• Explore Positive Pay. Work with your leadership, your legal department, your accountant, and your bank to find out what it will take to launch a positive pay system in your organization. Experts recommend a three-point validation to clear each payment — check number, payee, and amount — and separate systems for checks and ACH transactions. Work with your bank to make the system as efficient as it can be so that valid payments are not delayed and additional work is minimized. If your bank’s system does not accommodate your needs, or it is not providing adequate service, talk to other banks.
• Automate Your System. One of the downsides to positive pay is that it can increase your workload. In a cumbersome system, approvals and manual processes can eat up time. One way to avoid this is to use automation. For example, Quorum’s PAC Classic can run a list of approved payments that can then be transmitted to the bank each day. “We can actually produce an automated file import, so that it does not become a cumbersome administrative burden for the PAC manager,” McDonough said.
• Tighten Your Internal Procedures. There are many security practices that PACs can embrace at the same time positive pay is implemented. For example, you can limit the number of people with financial access, require two signatures on checks over $1,000, perform monthly reconciliations, and take other measures to increase security.
• Understand Your Bank’s Rules. You should thoroughly understand what protection your bank offers in a fraud case, the circumstances required for reimbursement, your organization’s obligations, and any rules that apply. If you don’t know the answers to these questions, have a conversation with your banker and your legal team.
• Develop a Fraud Protocol. Do you know what to do if fraud does occur? A list that includes notifying internal stakeholders, contacting the bank, filing a report with law enforcement, and making the appropriate FEC disclosures can help. Include who will handle each task and how it will be performed.

Like many aspects of PAC management, a little planning can go a long way. A positive pay system can provide a firewall against theft. Additional security can provide even more protection, and a solid response if your organization does have an incident. But it requires a proactive approach. “If you're a PAC manager, you can take the lead,” McDonough said. “You can go to your accounting department or your legal team and say, ‘I would like to implement this.’ I think it is a really good safeguard and it makes you look good.” [post_title] => PACs Turn to ‘Positive Pay’ to Stop Fraud [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => positive-pay [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-06-26 19:24:10 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-06-26 19:24:10 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://marketing-staging.quorum.us/?post_type=resources&p=9750 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => resources [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [queried_object_id] => 9750 [request] => SELECT wp_posts.* FROM wp_posts WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.post_name = 'positive-pay' AND wp_posts.post_type = 'resources' ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC [posts] => Array ( [0] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9750 [post_author] => 43 [post_date] => 2023-06-20 22:35:42 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-06-20 22:35:42 [post_content] => If you run a political action committee, one of the worst things that can happen to you is an act of fraud. When money is stolen, it can shake donor confidence, rattle candidates, and erode credibility inside and outside your organization. And that’s not all. It can cause regulatory problems, too. The paperwork that follows a theft, which often includes replacement payments and other transactions, must be reported to the Federal Election Commission, where it can be considered a red flag. Too much of this activity can trigger an audit. “It becomes a very big deal and it is very stressful,” said Claire McDonough, former director of online advocacy for the National Association of Realtors and current senior account executive at Quorum. “The lawyers come in, the security people come in, and there are all sorts of disclosures that need to happen. Sometimes you can get the money back and sometimes you can't.” Fraud involving political organizations — PACs, candidates, and other groups — has increased in recent years. Roughly 180 incidents were reported in the 2022 midterm election cycle, more than twice the 83 incidents reported in the 2018 midterm cycle, according to a Daily Beast analysis of FEC data this year. Fraud involving PACs is also growing more sophisticated. In the past, most PAC fraud amounted to embezzlement enacted by insiders. Today, fraud is often perpetrated by outsiders who hack systems, steal checks, or otherwise gain access to PAC funds. The pandemic, which closed down offices and distributed the workforce, exacerbated the problem. Many organizations sent blank checks to employee homes and took other similar steps to ensure the PAC could continue to operate, even though such practices sometimes presented a security risk. “We all know that ‘hard dollars’ are called that because they are hard to come by,” said Carol Laham, a partner at Wiley Rein who has more than three decades of experience in campaign finance and election law. “And you don't want to waste those hard dollars on fraud.”

‘Positive Pay’ Can Protect PACs From Fraud

One strong defensive move that PACs are increasingly using to prevent fraud is known as “positive pay,” a system in which a PAC works with its bank to double-check transactions before they are enacted, ensuring that only valid payments get the green light. Campaign finance experts say that positive pay gives PACs solid protection and is quickly becoming standard practice in the industry, which has had its share of challenges in the last three years. As organizations realized they needed to tighten up, many turned to positive pay. These systems vary in detail but all have the same fundamental safeguard: banks will not process transactions until the PAC clears them. In some cases, this means the bank will text the PAC manager or treasurer to approve each payment, and those not approved will automatically be denied. In other cases, the PAC will provide the bank with a list of approved payments in advance. Some banks charge extra for positive pay services and some do not. “We saw a big uptick during the pandemic of PACs implementing positive pay, because their accounting departments knew they were going to have to put this back on track,” McDonough said. “Once everyone realized the pandemic was going to last longer than six months, they needed some protection. Positive pay started to get really popular.”

Making Positive Pay Work

PAC professionals who want to tighten up security measures can take these steps:

• Explore Positive Pay. Work with your leadership, your legal department, your accountant, and your bank to find out what it will take to launch a positive pay system in your organization. Experts recommend a three-point validation to clear each payment — check number, payee, and amount — and separate systems for checks and ACH transactions. Work with your bank to make the system as efficient as it can be so that valid payments are not delayed and additional work is minimized. If your bank’s system does not accommodate your needs, or it is not providing adequate service, talk to other banks.
• Automate Your System. One of the downsides to positive pay is that it can increase your workload. In a cumbersome system, approvals and manual processes can eat up time. One way to avoid this is to use automation. For example, Quorum’s PAC Classic can run a list of approved payments that can then be transmitted to the bank each day. “We can actually produce an automated file import, so that it does not become a cumbersome administrative burden for the PAC manager,” McDonough said.
• Tighten Your Internal Procedures. There are many security practices that PACs can embrace at the same time positive pay is implemented. For example, you can limit the number of people with financial access, require two signatures on checks over $1,000, perform monthly reconciliations, and take other measures to increase security.
• Understand Your Bank’s Rules. You should thoroughly understand what protection your bank offers in a fraud case, the circumstances required for reimbursement, your organization’s obligations, and any rules that apply. If you don’t know the answers to these questions, have a conversation with your banker and your legal team.
• Develop a Fraud Protocol. Do you know what to do if fraud does occur? A list that includes notifying internal stakeholders, contacting the bank, filing a report with law enforcement, and making the appropriate FEC disclosures can help. Include who will handle each task and how it will be performed.

Like many aspects of PAC management, a little planning can go a long way. A positive pay system can provide a firewall against theft. Additional security can provide even more protection, and a solid response if your organization does have an incident. But it requires a proactive approach. “If you're a PAC manager, you can take the lead,” McDonough said. “You can go to your accounting department or your legal team and say, ‘I would like to implement this.’ I think it is a really good safeguard and it makes you look good.” [post_title] => PACs Turn to ‘Positive Pay’ to Stop Fraud [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => positive-pay [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-06-26 19:24:10 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-06-26 19:24:10 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://marketing-staging.quorum.us/?post_type=resources&p=9750 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => resources [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) [post_count] => 1 [current_post] => -1 [before_loop] => 1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9750 [post_author] => 43 [post_date] => 2023-06-20 22:35:42 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-06-20 22:35:42 [post_content] => If you run a political action committee, one of the worst things that can happen to you is an act of fraud. When money is stolen, it can shake donor confidence, rattle candidates, and erode credibility inside and outside your organization. And that’s not all. It can cause regulatory problems, too. The paperwork that follows a theft, which often includes replacement payments and other transactions, must be reported to the Federal Election Commission, where it can be considered a red flag. Too much of this activity can trigger an audit. “It becomes a very big deal and it is very stressful,” said Claire McDonough, former director of online advocacy for the National Association of Realtors and current senior account executive at Quorum. “The lawyers come in, the security people come in, and there are all sorts of disclosures that need to happen. Sometimes you can get the money back and sometimes you can't.” Fraud involving political organizations — PACs, candidates, and other groups — has increased in recent years. Roughly 180 incidents were reported in the 2022 midterm election cycle, more than twice the 83 incidents reported in the 2018 midterm cycle, according to a Daily Beast analysis of FEC data this year. Fraud involving PACs is also growing more sophisticated. In the past, most PAC fraud amounted to embezzlement enacted by insiders. Today, fraud is often perpetrated by outsiders who hack systems, steal checks, or otherwise gain access to PAC funds. The pandemic, which closed down offices and distributed the workforce, exacerbated the problem. Many organizations sent blank checks to employee homes and took other similar steps to ensure the PAC could continue to operate, even though such practices sometimes presented a security risk. “We all know that ‘hard dollars’ are called that because they are hard to come by,” said Carol Laham, a partner at Wiley Rein who has more than three decades of experience in campaign finance and election law. “And you don't want to waste those hard dollars on fraud.”

‘Positive Pay’ Can Protect PACs From Fraud

One strong defensive move that PACs are increasingly using to prevent fraud is known as “positive pay,” a system in which a PAC works with its bank to double-check transactions before they are enacted, ensuring that only valid payments get the green light. Campaign finance experts say that positive pay gives PACs solid protection and is quickly becoming standard practice in the industry, which has had its share of challenges in the last three years. As organizations realized they needed to tighten up, many turned to positive pay. These systems vary in detail but all have the same fundamental safeguard: banks will not process transactions until the PAC clears them. In some cases, this means the bank will text the PAC manager or treasurer to approve each payment, and those not approved will automatically be denied. In other cases, the PAC will provide the bank with a list of approved payments in advance. Some banks charge extra for positive pay services and some do not. “We saw a big uptick during the pandemic of PACs implementing positive pay, because their accounting departments knew they were going to have to put this back on track,” McDonough said. “Once everyone realized the pandemic was going to last longer than six months, they needed some protection. Positive pay started to get really popular.”

Making Positive Pay Work

PAC professionals who want to tighten up security measures can take these steps:

• Explore Positive Pay. Work with your leadership, your legal department, your accountant, and your bank to find out what it will take to launch a positive pay system in your organization. Experts recommend a three-point validation to clear each payment — check number, payee, and amount — and separate systems for checks and ACH transactions. Work with your bank to make the system as efficient as it can be so that valid payments are not delayed and additional work is minimized. If your bank’s system does not accommodate your needs, or it is not providing adequate service, talk to other banks.
• Automate Your System. One of the downsides to positive pay is that it can increase your workload. In a cumbersome system, approvals and manual processes can eat up time. One way to avoid this is to use automation. For example, Quorum’s PAC Classic can run a list of approved payments that can then be transmitted to the bank each day. “We can actually produce an automated file import, so that it does not become a cumbersome administrative burden for the PAC manager,” McDonough said.
• Tighten Your Internal Procedures. There are many security practices that PACs can embrace at the same time positive pay is implemented. For example, you can limit the number of people with financial access, require two signatures on checks over $1,000, perform monthly reconciliations, and take other measures to increase security.
• Understand Your Bank’s Rules. You should thoroughly understand what protection your bank offers in a fraud case, the circumstances required for reimbursement, your organization’s obligations, and any rules that apply. If you don’t know the answers to these questions, have a conversation with your banker and your legal team.
• Develop a Fraud Protocol. Do you know what to do if fraud does occur? A list that includes notifying internal stakeholders, contacting the bank, filing a report with law enforcement, and making the appropriate FEC disclosures can help. Include who will handle each task and how it will be performed.

Like many aspects of PAC management, a little planning can go a long way. A positive pay system can provide a firewall against theft. Additional security can provide even more protection, and a solid response if your organization does have an incident. But it requires a proactive approach. “If you're a PAC manager, you can take the lead,” McDonough said. “You can go to your accounting department or your legal team and say, ‘I would like to implement this.’ I think it is a really good safeguard and it makes you look good.” [post_title] => PACs Turn to ‘Positive Pay’ to Stop Fraud [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => positive-pay [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-06-26 19:24:10 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-06-26 19:24:10 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://marketing-staging.quorum.us/?post_type=resources&p=9750 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => resources [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [comment_count] => 0 [current_comment] => -1 [found_posts] => 1 [max_num_pages] => 0 [max_num_comment_pages] => 0 [is_single] => 1 [is_preview] => [is_page] => [is_archive] => [is_date] => [is_year] => [is_month] => [is_day] => [is_time] => [is_author] => [is_category] => [is_tag] => [is_tax] => [is_search] => [is_feed] => [is_comment_feed] => [is_trackback] => [is_home] => [is_privacy_policy] => [is_404] => [is_embed] => [is_paged] => [is_admin] => [is_attachment] => [is_singular] => 1 [is_robots] => [is_favicon] => [is_posts_page] => [is_post_type_archive] => [query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 12625fb8f58a49940a4a5ddde00a2923 [query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => [thumbnails_cached] => [allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] => [stopwords:WP_Query:private] => [compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => query_vars_hash [1] => query_vars_changed ) [compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => init_query_flags [1] => parse_tax_query ) )

!!! 9750