Description: Does personal example from our executives and leaders matter? This past week in New Brunswick people were talking about the spending of the Province’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Yennah Hurley, and her $77,710 in travel expenses. Though details in the online record of Hurley’s spending – and that of Tourism Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace – were somewhat scant, Hurley’s total for the year exceeded that of the Premier, Blaine Higgs. Some New Brunswickers might take umbrage that the Tourism officials stayed at the Trafalgar St. James, an expensive hotel in London. Further, the fact that the public purse picked up Hurley’s bill for tours of Versailles and Stonehenge may not have set the best of examples. Since the government stated that “the purpose of the mission was to discuss opportunities with international tour operators for visits to New Brunswick,” one would hope that someone is keeping track of the return on investment.

Date:  April 22, 2024

Source:  cbc.ca

 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/yennah-hurley-tourism-deputy-largest-expense-1.7179159

Discussion points:

1) Why do you think stories like this one seem to grab headlines?

2) As a citizen and a taxpayer, what impact does this story have for you?

3) In section 3.7 of Wiley’s Auditing: A Practical Approach we read about how an auditor is to appraise an auditee’s corporate governance. Would you see having clear rules and processes around executive travel as part of effective governance?