Student Loan Bureau

The recent revelations surrounding the Student Loan Bureau have once again highlighted the importance of having good internal controls.  There could be more than sufficient staff in the organization but without proper controls the company leaves itself vulnerable to fraud and corruption.  There is a story that surrounds the building of the wall of China.  The emperor wanted to protect China from invading armies of its enemies and commissioned the construction of the wall.  However, this did not prevent the eventual invasion of China as the enemies overran the country.  How did they accomplish this? – they simply bribed the guards that were at the gates to let them through.

A system is only as strong as the integrity of the persons in it and that is why there is the need to have effective controls.  I have said it before and I will say it again, companies are not paying enough attention to ensuring that proper controls are in place.  At this time of recession often times it is the controls that are cut as companies seem willing to take the risk that nothing will go wrong.  At the same time there is this acceptance of corruption in the workplace or in the country as being normal.  This is true to such an extent that particularly in the public sector it is not unusual for one to be approached for a bribe.

Good governance requires the need for proper management of resources and the facilitation of business transactions without the need for kick backs and pay offs.  This requires an organization to have good internal controls.  For too long government entities have been run inefficiently encouraging corruption to abound.  If proper procedures are in place and are followed promptly then persons will no longer see the need to pay someone to get it done.  We have already reaped the consequences resulting in substandard building, poor road works, lack of proper development and a general inability to get any service from the public sector.

It is time to restore confidence in the public sector and to provide an environment in which the workers can have pride in their institution and the satisfaction of a job well done.