Where can you screw up for almost 10 years without facing any consequences? Government, of course. The latest audit of the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Teachers and State Employees Supplemental Retirement Plans, released earlier this week by the Department of Legislative Services, finds the agency once again did not properly control spending for administrative purchases.
The report found that three employees could purchase or dole out funds without a supervisor?s approval. It also found that one employee authorized $272,000 for all administrative expenses during 2006. That?s not billions, but neither is it chump change. We wonder who were the lucky recipients of those funds and their relationship to the employee. If that is not being investigated, it must. We?d like the names of the businesses and their owners.
If anything improper is found that employee must be fired. Immediately.
The pathetic thing is that audits dating to February 1998 found similar problems. Can you imagine any business that would allow random employees unfettered access to and authority to dispense $272,000? Anyone who has ever filled out an expense report knows that even the most minor discrepancies will be challenged by a company?s accounting office ? oftentimes with the employee having to the foot the bill if proper paperwork is missing.
The 2002 federal law known as Sarbanes-Oxley requires the officers of public companies to sign off on ? and be personally liable for ?every public financial report, among other requirements. Why shouldn?t the government live by the laws it creates? Gov. Martin O?Malley ? who as Baltimore?s mayor made government accountability a top priority ? should make Maryland an example of good government for the nation by holding agency heads and top executives personally liable for the financial statements under their watch.
If corporate heads can face criminal penalties for defrauding shareholders, shouldn?t government executives, who hold a much greater responsibility to all the state?s citizens, also be heldliable for their actions ? or inaction?
Perhaps then oversight by the Office of Legislative Audits might actually be worth more than the paper its printed on. And taxpayers might be able to trust those entrusted with our hard-earned funds.
