Preventing Fraud and Mismanagement in Government

Chapter 6Corrupt Policies and Actions

“Power doesn't corrupt people, people corrupt power.”

—William Gaddis, American novelist

Topics:

• Corruption: Agency Thinking and Inbreeding
• Corrupt Acts
• Limits on Corruption
• Public Policies That Encourage Corruption
• Regulation and Supervision

Key Questions:

• Do corrupt acts, rationalized behavior, or a combination of both breed fraud (and/or mismanagement) in the public entity?
• What is the appropriate level of thinking with respect to determining a corrupt act?
• Where are the potential overrides of the controls?
• Who are the enablers and detractors?

THIS CHAPTER EXPLORES the structural forms of corruption that can exist in organizations and how agency policies can help or hinder fraud and corruption. Patterns of behavior and policies that promote fraud are discussed as well as the regulatory structures that are intended to limit fraud. We break down the fraud risks that any government and/or public entity can face. Understanding how risk pressures can influence the systems within structures give the reader vital information to ask the right questions and avoid corruption. The 3 J method—Justification, Judgment, and Judicial—is a tool to keep in mind as someone trying to develop systems and structures to mitigate fraud and mismanagement in the public entity.

CORRUPTION: AGENCY THINKING AND INBREEDING

Fraud, in the minds of the authors, is all about greed. The 3 J approach is a helpful tool, as it develops an understanding of the ...