Thursday, June 25, 2009

WHY CHECKS, BALANCES AND OVERSIGHT IS SO IMPORTANT ...

A Well-Planned Retirement.....From “The London Times”, May 15, 2009

Outside the Bristol Zoo, in England, there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 coaches, or buses.
It was manned by a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars 1 pound (about $1.40) and coaches 5 (about $7). This parking attendant worked there solid for all of 25 years.


Then, one day, he just didn't turn up for work.


"Oh well", said Bristol Zoo Management - "we'd better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant..."


"Er ... no", said the Council, "that parking lot is your responsibility."


"Er ... no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn't he?"


"Er ... NO!" insisted the Council.


Sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain, is a bloke who had been taking the parking lot fees, estimated at 400 pounds (about $560) per day at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years.


Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over 3.6 million pounds ($7 million)!


And no one ever knew his name.