Does a Board and CEO really have any responsibility.....

For their Organizations well being?

In the Sentencing Report LHA told the court that I alone had SOLE responsibility for all of the school's finance's. And of course they believed that.....Really?

I was hired as the Business and Human Resource Manager not the Finance Manager. However, I was not solely responsible for the financial records/management of the organization. My responsibly was to work with the School Leader/CEO/Principal and Board Finance Committee (made up of the Board Chair and two Licensed CPA’s).
I believe the question is, how was I able to conceal my crime? To answer this, I believe, we must look at the financial responsibilities of all three parties.

In effective non-profit organizations it is the responsibility of the Board of Directors and Finance Committee for using resources to achieve the organizations objectives. They have to pay careful attention to financial affairs. They also have to make sure that senior managers take financial management seriously. Good financial management starts with the board. They are the final authority. They are supposed to focus on overseeing the organization, this includes:

1. Making sure that funds are used to help beneficiaries effectively;
2. Making sure that the organization has enough funding;
3. Making sure that the organization has effective senior management;
4. Making sure that the organization operates within the law;
5. Making sure that the board can handle its responsibilities effectively.

School Leader/CEO/Principal also has important financial management responsibilities because they are employed to use resources to achieve organizations goals.

They focus on actively running the organization:
1. Making sure that resources are used effectively;
2. Matching resources and activities;
3. Supporting staff / managers;
4. Ensuring that finance staff and program staff work together;

My responsibility as the Business and HR Manager was to help the Principal/CEO and Board Finance Committee meet their financial management responsibilities by:
1. Actively supporting the organization’s values and culture;
2. Setting up and running financial systems;
3. Helping employees and managers understand financial management issues;
4. Supporting relationships with partner organizations;
5. Supporting audits and meeting legal requirements.

I hope you understand that I am in no way pushing off my responsibility for my crime. I understand what I did was make a very poor decision…and in the end that is what really matters. I am, however, hoping to clarify my level of responsibility with the Langston Hughes Organization.

I have been asked several times how was it possible that I concealed my crime for such a long period of time. Here is the answer.

Although I know it was wrong, I was able to conceal my crime because my CEO and Board Finance Committee Members placed their jobs responsibilities on me. In other words, they did not do their jobs and expected me to compensate . After I was let go by the organization for not having the financial skills necessary to do my job adequately (see letter of termination) it only took the auditors a week to find out what I had done and they found out by looking at the bank statements. There was no deep searching necessary to see what had happened.

Fyi...I truly regret that I allowed my frustrations and inability to handle the pressure of doing the jobs of three people, to get the best of me. I wish I had used a different coping skill rather than gambling as a way of making the world and the demands that were placed on me stop…if only for a few hours.