There are multiple lessons to be learned from the ethically challenged tenure of Lawrence Small as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, but none so important as this: Having top talent and layer upon layer of internal review are no match for power without accountability. This is true in the private sector, which is why independent auditors are essential to credible corporate governance. It is doubly true in the public sector. People sometimes forget that the Smithsonian — the congressionally chartered keeper of so many of the nation’s artifacts — has a $1 billion tax-funded budget.
Here’s the key observation of the just-concluded investigation led by former Comptroller General Charles Bowsher: “At a time when organizations are expected to operate with increasing transparency, the operation of the Smithsonian, and especially the actions of Mr. Small and those who reported directly to him, had become increasingly secretive. Mr. Small created an imperialistic and insular culture in the Office of the Secretary in which the Secretary, rather than the Board, dominated the setting of policy and strategic direction for the Smithsonian. The Board of Regents allowed this culture to prevail by failing to provide badly needed oversight of Mr. Small and the operations of the Smithsonian. The Board did not look behind the tightly controlled data provided by Mr. Small.”
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It’s bad enough that Small abused the powers and perks of his position at public expense. Given inadequate record-keeping, lack of review of Small’s expense reports, an apparently comatose accounting staff and an absentee chief operating officer, it is reasonable to think this week’s revelations only skim the surface. Whether the abuses that occurred at the Smithsonian under Small reached a criminal threshold can probably only be resolved by the legislative inquiry strongly recommended by the Bowsher investigation. Among the chief concerns of a legislative inquiry ought to be why the Smithsonian’s regents failed to ensure that recommendations of the outside auditor were implemented. Congress should also determine why the Smithsonian’s inspector general conducted no audits or reviews of any matters relating to executive compensation or expenses during Small’s tenure. It doesn’t matter that three different people had the job between 2000 and 2006. Such reviews should be done routinely. Congressionally sanctioned IGs are supposed to answer to Congress and be junkyard dogs, not lap dogs, no matter who occupies the secretary’s office.
