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Meeting gone bad results in a failure of leadership
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NEW YORK --- On Thursday evening, Sept. 16, decorum at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center broke down during a general membership meeting of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) attended by representatives of some 34 member-organizations.
That wasn't supposed to have happened if Roger Alama, PIDCI president, knew how to handle a sensitive issue as Lolit Gillberg, 2003 auditor, was presenting her audit report. He must have been caught by surprise that he forgot Gillberg's role in the association.
As an auditor, Gillberg's report was subject to review by the Board before it was disclosed in a public forum. And whoever prepared the agenda that included Gillberg reporting her audit findings should have known better.
Was this the responsibility of corporate secretary Nelsie Parrado or was she instructed by Alama?
In fact Gillberg acknowledged in her report that “financial statements are the responsibility of the PIDCI Board of Directors.” Gillberg knew her place under the sun but since she was required to report as called for in the agenda, what else would have she done?
Hence, as a result of Parrado or Alama's gaffe, Gillberg's audit findings revealed there were some alleged improprieties in the disbursements of PIDCI funds that included “non-compliance with the existing laws, accounting rules and tax regulations.”
Nena Kaufman, 2003 overall chair, would understandably react to Gillberg's accusatory report saying at the same meeting that “Gillberg was no longer her auditor.”
“Would you believe all of these?” she asked when I called to get her side of the story. “This is personal vendetta,” she said.
I don't know if Gillberg and Kaufman were still at each other's throat following Kaufman's firing as 2004 parade chair days before the grand parade. These two used to be friends and I thought they were back in each other's shoulder when the two met for dinner in Manhattan. Maybe there are some people who are envious and not at ease seeing them chummy with each other? Which was what they apparently suspected that night they met.
I myself was wondering why Kaufman was in attendance when the meeting was meant to ratify the by-laws of PIDCI as was announced earlier. Was she representing a member-organization? Did someone tip her off that Gillberg would be presenting her audit report?
The more I examine the circumstances of their falling out as friends the more it gets complicated. Gillberg was Kaufman's internal auditor. Why did Kaufman convince Gillberg to run for the overall chair post knowing that Gillberg had a big task ahead to accomplish as an auditor? Why did Kaufman promise Gillberg she would help out during her term? Was this Kaufman's calculated move to avert any negative audit findings that may be uncovered?
When Gillberg won she appointed Kaufman as parade chair. Why did Kaufman want that committee? Is it true she didn't like her year's outcome and wanted to have a better and grander parade she could take credit for?
On the other hand, Gillberg may also have had a plan of her own. And yes, like anyone else running for overall chair, high visibility in the community is a strong enticement. Gillberg may not admit that but let's face it -- it is a natural frailty of anyone given the same opportunity in our community.
But I know that as a seasoned auditor, Gillberg has the knack for finding out inconsistencies in financial transactions and a stickler to following rules and regulations. To use an idiom, she can find a needle in a haystack and make it stick.
I am therefore not surprised if she found that in some cases, “some checks were personally endorsed by her (Kaufman) at the back of the cancelled checks” and concurred with the report of Sofia Abad, the accountant hired by PIDCI, that “payment vouchers were not properly approved and that cash received were not receipted and deposited to the bank. It was used to pay the expenses at once.”
I was able to obtain copies of cancelled checks and Gillberg's detailed findings of her audit. I called Kaufman again at her house but no one answered her phone. I could not leave a voice mail in her cell phone as her message box was up to capacity.
Gillberg's audit findings are serious; it shows her experience and yes, she enjoined board members that "the obligation rests upon you to pursue this in order to restore the integrity of PIDCI and regain the trust and confidence of the Filipino community.”
I give Kaufman the benefit of a doubt until she explains her side and let the PIDCI board take action. We all should remember that it was the same board that overruled Gillberg to audit the 2003 Grand Marshal fund-raising activities. The public would be watching them exercise their fiduciary responsibility.
Whether Gillberg considers herself as a friend to Kaufman that is not relevant at this point. She was simply doing her job. Whether Kaufman considers the report as a personal affront by one who she considers a friend is immaterial; she should just let the facts prove her innocence.
Gillberg may have erred in following protocol but Alama had a bigger responsibility. The buck stops with him.
Meeting gone bad results in a failure of leadership.
Send comments to rickyxpres@aol.com or visit Website at PinoyOnBoard.com.
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