Audits

by Mark A. Turner

In the program I am in, the agency decided to audit us. More than half a dozen to a dozen or more decided to retire. I remembered that over this past week. When people are audited and retire immediately, it’s interesting.

I was the alternate representative in my district. My district representative asked me to step in for him. I did. He also asked me to use my position when I could speak and complain about them auditing us. So I did. They reminded me when I did that they had the right to do so. That every one of us agreed before we took our positions. I remembered that they were right, and I agreed with them. In hindsight, I learned a lot about some of my fellow business owners.

I can give other examples in churches and businesses. The worst thing a person who is corrupt or fudging the numbers can ever do is to leave their position because whoever takes over might expose what he did not want to be exposed.

When I took over the cafeteria at one place, I found that hardly any safety precautions were being taken, that things were in disrepair, and that the state’s health department was seriously lacking accountability. They tried to blame me. The best thing I ever did was report all the problems on the first and second days of work. However, they still tried to blame the new guy for the old guy's ten years of mounting problems.

There are real-life experiences from the past that I am sure everybody can look back on. My father asked the congregation if we shouldn’t change the church treasurer now and then. The guy in that position took offense, quit being the treasurer, and quit the church. Yep, you guessed it. It was sad, actually. Dad did not know. He just knew it was a good practice not to put money in the same person‘s hands all of the time. One church I was at told me that every one of the men took turns counting the contributions and that it was my turn. I told them I was the preacher and would not get near the money. I wouldn’t touch it. I wouldn’t look at it. A separate person would write my pay, and everything was documented. But nobody would ever accuse the preacher of having anything to do with the money.

There always has to be accountability. When people are made accountable, they complain. They might as well step forward and confess. It seems to mean nobody is going to go to jail. Nobody will be held responsible, but at least we can stop the bleeding. We can stop the destruction. When people continue to steal from the business or entity they are part of, the business cannot continue to prosper, and it will spiral down. The more money you add to such agencies or businesses, the more it will hurt those agencies or businesses.

Now we understand why homeschool moms have raised some of the top students in major universities without government funding and why schools with little money did better than schools with much money.

Everyone needs to be audited at every level of government and institutional agency. Every office, official, church, and business, anywhere, everywhere, needs to be audited. Everybody in every institution needs to ask for an audit. It’s time to confess, get things right, and start over. No blaming. Let’s just come clean and start over.

"Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds; for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations. When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen, and the herbs of the mountains are gathered in, the lambs will be for your clothing, and the goats will bring the price of a field, and there will be goats' milk enough for your food, for the food of your household, and sustenance for your maidens" (Proverbs 27:23-27).