Internal controls are activities or procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurance operations are “going according to plan” and they rely on all employees’ contributions as members of “The Team.” Success in establishing an effective internal control system starts with “the tone at the top” that is associated with the governing board and executive management. It is also essential that a culture of high expectations is engrained in all employees who understand that everyone directly or indirectly benefits if things “go according to plan.” Although the tone at the top and the culture in an organization are absolutely essential, a school district’s ultimate success pivots on training. In today’s increasingly complex and higher-paced operational environment, training is more important than ever because things can spiral “out of adjustment” at a faster pace than ever before, meaning remediation will likely be more costly than in prior times.
Training programs should be provided to all classifications of employees, in addition to the board. A best practice is to ensure appropriate and sufficient training is provided to three levels of staff: front-line or operational staff (no supervisory or policy making roles), middle managers and executive management. Essential communications from one or more members of “The Team” about apparent issues, needed corrections and/or training opportunities are absolutely dependent upon providing training to all employees. In this regard, essential communications need to be up, down and across the organization.
Increasingly rapid change has become the norm in all areas of our work and personal life, and as result, learning is a life-long endeavor and reward. Sometimes we observe that school district officials rarely seen in training events attended by their peers become the subject of front-page news. We all need to attend training so we can hopefully minimize the amount of time spent reacting to or correcting issues, especially issues that could reasonably have been prevented.