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Home |   About Us |   Contact Us |   Members |   Search |   Subscribe |   Disclaimer |   THE GUARDIAN CONSCIENCE, NURTURED BY TRUTH LAGOS, NIGERIA.     Wednesday, July 21 2004   news   editorial/opinion   policy & politics   focus/record   business   sports   capital market   metro   arts   money watch   energy   maritime   Guardian Chat Click to join the chatroom Internal control systems and the Nigerian worker By Lanre Abati THESE days I get amused when directors and managers of private companies talk about internal control issues in their organisations, and the possible ways of resolving them. Why Various methods adopted to achieve good internal control system have often failed. Let me start by describing what internal control is. Internal Control System in an organisation is the system put in place to ensure that tasks are carried out in an orderly manner. Internal control system involves approving and authorising transactions, use of passwords, reconciliation, segregation of duties, reviewing operating performance, securing assets, monitoring, analysing, comparing, reporting, observing and communicating. In execution of daily activities, employers put in place checks and balances to curb excesses of employees, to avoid derailment from policies of the organisation. Internal control system seeks to harmonise the interests of various stakeholders to achieve a common objective. Good internal control system secures the assets of the organisation. The various processes we talk about include: the process of purchasing an item, cash collection, custody and lodgments, debt recovery drive, customer relationship, recruitment and termination of appointment, production process, documentation etc. Internal control may be preventive, detective or corrective in nature. Preventive controls are better than the other two. Poor internal control system can lead to loss of major customers, and / or suppliers, decline in productivity, drop in output and sales, liquidity problems, difficulty in sourcing for funds, regular court cases, contingent losses, unexpected exposures, threats from creditors, huge bad debts, stolen stocks and cash and eventual collapse of the company. When an auditor comes for his assignment, the first thing he checks is the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control system. If the system is weak, he carries out substantive tests including analytical reviews, that is detailed work. In cases of distressed companies, evidence shows that weakness in the internal control systems was the immediate cause of mismanagement, frauds and misappropriation of funds. The shareholders' funds must be secured; they must get adequate returns for their investments. An employee is expected to document and track his performance. He is expected to be efficient and effective in the execution of his work. But, the main astonishing problem with most Nigerian private companies (the so called multinationals) is that, the more they work on control, the more they achieve little results. The truth is that the internal control measures are adequate but the people to execute these controls are not happy. The average Nigerian worker is not happy in his work-place. The working conditions are very bad. His salary is meagre and oftentimes paid in arrears. The salary cannot sustain him. He is expected to do extra work (overtime) before he can earn reasonable income. The salary structure is not in his favour. The basic salary, on which other allowances are computed, is small, thereby making his total take-home pay to be small. His final entitlement on retirement, or on retrenchment as the case may be, is nothing to write home about. He retires into hunger, ill-health and abject poverty. A Nigerian worker is hardworking; he works Sunday to Sunday. He is a visitor within his family and to his neighbours; he is a stranger. The beginning of workers' woes is that foreigners own the multinationals. The annual profits are repatriated abroad with little percentage paid to Nigerians. Can we call this modern day slavery This is exploitation and oppression. The Nigerian worker is cheated, which is why when you see him, the expression on his face is that of sorrow, disappointment, regrets and lost hope. Yet, this is the same man that is expected to perform wonders in his workplace. His productivity is expected to be above ninety percent. The salesman is expected to meet his sales target. One thing we must remember: for a man to achieve his goal, he must be mobilised to excel. He must be provided with adequate working tools. He must be encouraged. The happiness of workers is often not on the priority list of the employer. The so-called upward salary review is a sham. The increment is small and cannot be compared with what obtains abroad. I hear on several occasions how things work out abroad. They say they are highly productive; they work four days in a week. The man delivers, I am not surprised, he is adequately paid, and he is motivated. And his working condition is good. While doing his work, he does not about his sick child, his troublesome landlord, traffic hold ups on his way back home and his wife that is waiting for her monthly allowance. Material, money and machinery without manpower cannot yield the expected result. The capitalist had provided material, the machinery (though old type, scrap in his home country) have been installed, and adequate fund is provided. But, the man to combine these resources together is not financially empowered. The Nigerian worker can achieve the same result like his counterparts in the United States and Europe or anywhere else. A Nigerian worker is hardworking, brilliant, though he schooled in Lokoja, Ife and Kontagora. If given the same exposure and training like the white man, he can perform excellently. Karl Marx had warned the capitalists long time ago, that labour will one day take over the means of production. They do not believe Marx. But, something close to it is happening today. Regular labour strikes and picketing are attempts to sabotage the employer, to halt the means of production. And if labour can disrupt production, it means they have certain powers, which make the employer to beg for consideration, negotiation and compromise. Tell me, has labour not taken over Close to it. For Karl Marx's theory to be a total failure, rewards must be commensurate to work. Exploitation must stop. The workers want some respect, not abuse and threat of retrenchment. The agony of a Nigerian worker is enormous. He cannot do it alone; his employer must come to his rescue. Adequate remuneration will go a long way in solving his problems. He had for long resigned to fate. He had taken his case to the Almighty God. No wonder Nigerians were declared the most religious people on earth. Nigeria and other Third World countries will cease to lag behind in output, quality, sales and profits, once the average worker is adequately remunerated. He will perform wonders, output will jump up, machines will perform at full capacity, sales team will meet targets and everybody will be happy for it. We cannot continue to deceive ourselves; we have to come to terms with realities. The employer should realise that an average Nigerian is a workaholic; he will produce results. I hope this article will not be misconstrued as anti-foreign, rather, as an attempt to draw the attention of employers of labour to the plight of Nigerian workers in their organisations. Let the profits be ploughed back into the business, not total repatriation. Let them pay more; let them expand their operations in Nigeria. They should take care of the environment and the people in their immediate community. The companies should recycle wastes and make them harmless to the environment. They have the means and wherewithal to do this. Our government is already doing something in this direction; they should not relent in their effort. Our environment must be safe, just as Nigeria is a haven for foreign investments.  Abati is a company executive in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. � 2003 - 2004 @ Guardian Newspapers Limited (All Rights Reserved).  Powered by dnetsystems.net dnet�

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