Devil's in the Details

Everyone should know this about me: I get into things as in really get into things---it's part of my nature. The picture above is telling.

First, the obvious---I'm a bit of a nerd. I love to learn and applying that learning with out-of-the box ideas that grow.

This explains why I’m so fired up about participating in local government. It’s a chance to really make a difference applying the knowledge and experience of a lifetime. And I mean a lifetime. More about that later...

While the City of Mount Dora’s fiscal budget is significant, throughout my 30 year career, I have run the financial operations of firms much larger and complex than the City of Mount Dora so it is not only second nature for me to dive into the city’s annual report, but to me, very crucial to the understanding of how to make the city better.

Like it or not, the devil’s in the details, and being nerdy about the financials is a handy trait to have.

And I confess. I would rather read these reports than fiction. Some things are stranger than fiction.

For example. Here’s what I’ve been noodling around...

At the most recent council meeting, there was the selection of the independent fiscal auditor for the coming years.

In this case, the city council deferred to the city’s finance team recommendation and voted unanimously for it.

That makes no sense me.

The idea of the audit is to provide validation that the city’s finance department is free of any impropriety. The concept of independent auditors is to have them not only BE as impartial as possible, but to be VIEWED as impartial as well.

You can never have that impartiality when the people in charge of the financial reporting make the final recommendation of who the auditor should be. That puts too much responsibility in the hands of the people being reviewed.

Many corporations have an audit committee at the board level whose purpose is to make sure the independent auditors are indeed independent. This protects the integrity of their own internal team to prove to the public that the process was completely objective.

I have to be clear here...I’m not saying there is, was or will be any impropriety, rather I’m saying a more objective approach to the process would help ward off any future questions regarding the integrity of the audit and the city’s financial department.

In the future, I'd recommend that the top 3-4 firms that meet the requirements--- which can be reviewed by the Finance Department---are forwarded to the City Council for final interviews and selection.

Look, I might be making your eyes glaze over so I won't continue on this, but know this---I’m into all of this detail, from the exciting to the boring.

I’ve built a whole career working in financial and operational management. This has included the most prestigious audit/consulting firms (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) in addition to Walt Disney World Resorts. And at the same time, for over 20 years, I've even taught graduate and undergraduate finance, economics and accounting.

I get this stuff.

I believe in asking lots of questions before settling on an answer. You might say that I 'subject' my employees, students and even family to the Socratic method of learning--where the goal of inquiry is understanding. In that, the best answer usually presents itself.

Too often in city government, people come in with a position and only spend time trying to find data to support that position.

Rather, I devour doing the homework required to ask the questions needed to allow the process to present the best answer.

A little more about how I tick...

So back before the internet, which now exponentially quenches my thirst for learning, we had no idea how elusive information was in comparison. But when I was about 10 years old, thanks to Santa, I was in information heaven. We got a beefy new set of the World Book Encyclopedias which opened me to a world of wonder, curiosity and a plethora of seemingly useless facts.

This was probably one of the few sets of encyclopedias on earth that was read cover to cover to cover. I read them all the time. Everyday. In the bathroom. On the couch. In my room. Outside. I’d randomly pick a letter, open a random page and feast.

That has never changed. Even today in the internet age.

In our early years of marriage, my wife Maria picked up a set of World Books at a garage sale for me---that's love, for sure. Later, she picked up a set of Encyclopedia Britannica. To this day, if you came to our house, you’d see a random A, M or other letter lying around our house on nightstands, couches, in the bathroom and every other place imaginable.

I'm surprised at how often I’ve been able to use the wealth of information I’ve amassed from my encyclopedia obsession before the google effect started plaguing us all. Being able to access so much of this random knowledge has not only inspired me to ask a lot of questions to help make informed decisions, but I’ve also become a pretty skilled Trivial Pursuit player.

This is the kind of “stuff” we should require of our city council members. The stuff of inquiry. The stuff of understanding. The stuff of reason. The decisions they make affect all the citizens of Mount Dora on every level, not the least of which is at our pocketbook.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do.