World Athletics, the international governing body for athletics, has taken a groundbreaking step. Together, they have uncovered one of Britain’s largest financial frauds amounting to £1.3 million. This elaborate fraud scheme was carried out over a period of three or more years by two city employees and an outside contracted consultant. The resulting first annual audit, under a new financial leadership team, uncovered the fraud. This incident highlights the urgent need for strong watchdogging of fiscal shenanigans.
The internal investigation opened this up as a major finding. One of the employees implicated had left the organization prior to the fraud being detected. After the investigation was completed, the last employee left standing and the contracted consultant both had their contracts terminated. This bold move truly reflects World Athletics’ desire to do everything possible to promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in the conduct of their business.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe spoke to the organization’s commitment to regaining funds that have been lost. He stated, “We are determined to recover whatever monies we are able using the full force of the law.” This commitment represents a significant step toward the Society taking the financial misconduct seriously and committing to hold offenders accountable to the full extent.
Coe lamented a frequent reality when outside organizations investigate close to home but fail to cover this kind of misconduct. He remarked, “Too many organisations brush incidents like this under the carpet, terminating employment with limited information, which allows perpetrators to continue their scams and thefts within new organisations.” His comments underscore a much bigger issue — the need for transparency and accountability in corporate governance.
World Athletics likes to boast about the high rankings it receives for governance and transparency. Coe noted, “We are not that type of organisation. We have built a strong reputation for good governance, transparency and for defending what is right, even if it is sometimes a little uncomfortable. This is uncomfortable but it is important that we do the right thing.” This declaration serves to underscore the organization’s commitment to ethical practice and its willingness to address uncomfortable realities.
This breach repeatedly reminds us of the fundamental importance of rigorous financial accountability. To protect themselves from emerging fraud tactics, organizations need to be ever vigilant and proactive. Thankfully, this is something that World Athletics is looking to change. Equally important, they want to establish a high bar for accountability for any future sports governance underlings.