More On the Subject of Self-Reporting
Another reason simple self-reporting may not always be the answer: sometimes employers lie. Obviously, this is a problem that's more pronounced with issues like occupational health and safety, where employers have an incentive to avoid fines, and in some cases, expensive upgrades to their workplace. Clearly, verification should be a principle for self-reported data. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration should be checking up on employer-provided data in the private sector. And GAO should continue doing its good work auditing agencies on their human capital goals and issues.
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Government Executive Editor in Chief Tom Shoop, along with other editors and staff correspondents, take a fresh look at news affecting the management and operations of the federal bureaucracy.
Paper audits definitely have their uses but limits. Many federal programs are contracted out to the private sector for implementation or state or local government. Self-reporting by state and local government is probably even worse than the private sector. The result, is that waste, fraud, and abuse results because self-policing under current systems almost never works.
William R. Cumming Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:46 AM