Alberta Health Services CFO let go over spending issues
bootlegga @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 7:53 am
$1:
The expense account of a former top AHS executive will be getting a closer look after documents revealed over $300,000 in questionable spending.
AHS Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Allaudin Merali was let go on Wednesday after documents from years ago surfaced, indicating high tabs for travelling and entertaining.
Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne says that he will be having some serious discussions with the board of the Alberta Health Services over the spending.
"I don't want there to be any doubt that I am outraged and the government is outraged by what has been revealed here."
Horne says some serious questions will need to be asked with respect to the expense claims of senior management, with regards to hiring practices of the AHS, and with respect to many other matters.
AHS received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP) for records related to expense claims by Mr. Merali earlier this year.
The claims included travel costs, while he was Executive Vice-President and CFO with the former Capital Health Region from January 2005 to August 2008.
The documents requested relate to 146 claims totaling $346,208.
“Mr. Merali’s responsibilities in previous roles in health care included developing relationships with external partners, businesses and service providers and acting as an official representative in numerous meetings and functions. This included hosting events as well as representing the organization locally, nationally and internationally. These were an integral and necessary part of his duties,” said Acting CEO Chris Mazurkewich, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer.
AHS says that Merali didn’t do anything wrong, but felt that the public wouldn’t be as forgiving with his practices.
Among the costs:
$1,600 for a meal at an Edmonton restaurant
$10,000 trip to Spain
$2,300 for a phone for his Mercedes
Documents also indicate that he submitted two dollar parking receipts for reimbursement.
Merali also worked as a consultant in Ontario, earning a salary of $750,000.
While there, he racked up more trips, hotel stays, and entertainment expenses and made the province foot the bill.
The AHS says they knew about his spending in Ontario when they hired him.
“We went through a search process; it took a number of months. We felt Mr. Merali was the most qualified candidate. We explained our current practices and policies and he was following them.”
Opposition politicians can’t believe that Merali was allowed to work again in Alberta’s health system.
“It seems absolutely excessive and the fact that this was known for years, these were the spending habits. They knew that yet they decided to hire him on anyway. It’s clear there is zero accountability in the system right now,” says Jeff Wilson of the Wildrose.
While Merali wasn’t available to comment on the issue, Health Minister Fred Horne says things are going to change.
Horne said in a statement:
“I am satisfied with the action that has been taken today and I support the decision by AHS to ask the auditor general to validate their current processes and their commitment to make public all future expense claims of executive officials.”
According to contract, Merali is entitled to severance pay, but that amount has not been disclosed.
To see the full list of Merali's spending, click here.
http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/rls ... sition.pdf
AHS Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Allaudin Merali was let go on Wednesday after documents from years ago surfaced, indicating high tabs for travelling and entertaining.
Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne says that he will be having some serious discussions with the board of the Alberta Health Services over the spending.
"I don't want there to be any doubt that I am outraged and the government is outraged by what has been revealed here."
Horne says some serious questions will need to be asked with respect to the expense claims of senior management, with regards to hiring practices of the AHS, and with respect to many other matters.
AHS received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP) for records related to expense claims by Mr. Merali earlier this year.
The claims included travel costs, while he was Executive Vice-President and CFO with the former Capital Health Region from January 2005 to August 2008.
The documents requested relate to 146 claims totaling $346,208.
“Mr. Merali’s responsibilities in previous roles in health care included developing relationships with external partners, businesses and service providers and acting as an official representative in numerous meetings and functions. This included hosting events as well as representing the organization locally, nationally and internationally. These were an integral and necessary part of his duties,” said Acting CEO Chris Mazurkewich, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer.
AHS says that Merali didn’t do anything wrong, but felt that the public wouldn’t be as forgiving with his practices.
Among the costs:
$1,600 for a meal at an Edmonton restaurant
$10,000 trip to Spain
$2,300 for a phone for his Mercedes
Documents also indicate that he submitted two dollar parking receipts for reimbursement.
Merali also worked as a consultant in Ontario, earning a salary of $750,000.
While there, he racked up more trips, hotel stays, and entertainment expenses and made the province foot the bill.
The AHS says they knew about his spending in Ontario when they hired him.
“We went through a search process; it took a number of months. We felt Mr. Merali was the most qualified candidate. We explained our current practices and policies and he was following them.”
Opposition politicians can’t believe that Merali was allowed to work again in Alberta’s health system.
“It seems absolutely excessive and the fact that this was known for years, these were the spending habits. They knew that yet they decided to hire him on anyway. It’s clear there is zero accountability in the system right now,” says Jeff Wilson of the Wildrose.
While Merali wasn’t available to comment on the issue, Health Minister Fred Horne says things are going to change.
Horne said in a statement:
“I am satisfied with the action that has been taken today and I support the decision by AHS to ask the auditor general to validate their current processes and their commitment to make public all future expense claims of executive officials.”
According to contract, Merali is entitled to severance pay, but that amount has not been disclosed.
To see the full list of Merali's spending, click here.
http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/rls ... sition.pdf
http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/alberta-healt ... s-1.901335
Unsound @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 8:27 am
Shocking! No, not really. just more corruption and entitled attitudes from a government that's been in power for too long. If they keep this up, and Danielle Smith keeps her crazy pastors muzzled, it'll be Wild Rose winning next time for sure.
Freakinoldguy @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 8:38 am
Who trained him for his former postion.................Bev Oda. 
Xort @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 8:54 am
Cries that we can't find good people if we don't offer these packages is just stupid. I bet they could have found a person just as good at the job internaly and only had to offer a slight pay raise.
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But that seems to be the trend these days top level gets a crap ton of money while everyone else must buckle down.
bootlegga @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:16 am
Xort Xort:
Cries that we can't find good people if we don't offer these packages is just stupid. I bet they could have found a person just as good at the job internaly and only had to offer a slight pay raise.
~
But that seems to be the trend these days top level gets a crap ton of money while everyone else must buckle down.
~
But that seems to be the trend these days top level gets a crap ton of money while everyone else must buckle down.
Nope, these positions pay grades are set by the government, irregardless of where they are hired from.
Secondly, for these senior positions, there simply aren't that many people with his qualifications and his experience - and many that have them work in the private sector making a lot more than the government is willing to pay.
Xort @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:00 am
bootlegga bootlegga:
Nope, these positions pay grades are set by the government, irregardless of where they are hired from.
And if the government desided that it can get similar quality work out of people being paid less and not given such lucrative deals, the cost would go down. Which is why I'm speaking as a hypothetical.$1:
Secondly, for these senior positions, there simply aren't that many people with his qualifications and his experience
I would suggest that their is only one person with his qualifications and his experience, but word games aside I bet they could find a senior manager to take his position that grew up from the department he was running. $1:
and many that have them work in the private sector making a lot more than the government is willing to pay.
Which ties back to my statement that the trend is the top gets very rich compensation while everyone else is forced to fight to the death Amok Time style for the crumbs.
bootlegga @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:40 am
Xort Xort:
bootlegga bootlegga:
Nope, these positions pay grades are set by the government, irregardless of where they are hired from.
And if the government desided that it can get similar quality work out of people being paid less and not given such lucrative deals, the cost would go down. Which is why I'm speaking as a hypothetical.
Sure you can hire a low level person to do his job.
The problem is said low level person probably doesn't have the experience or education to make decisions at that level. You can take anyone out of the mailroom and make them a CFO, but odds are, unless that person is incredibly savvy and/or lucky, that department is going to make a lot of bad decisions.
And each one will cost money - money that was supposed to "saved" by hiring the lower level guy.
Xort Xort:
$1:
Secondly, for these senior positions, there simply aren't that many people with his qualifications and his experience
I would suggest that their is only one person with his qualifications and his experience, but word games aside I bet they could find a senior manager to take his position that grew up from the department he was running.
Are you trying to be thick-headed or is that just your nature?
I don't know what his resume reads like, but I'm willing to bet he probably has at least a decade of accounting experience (likely closer to 2 or 3), another of management experience (with some at a high level) and probably some education in the field - some combination of MBA, CFA, CMA, CGA, or CA.
And again, you could put a lower level manager in there - say someone with a CA and a decade of experience - but how comfortable is he/she going to be with making huge financial decisions for AHS - which has a budget of about $15 BILLION? There is a reason you hire seasoned, well-educated people for such positions.
And what about if he/she makes a mistake? A screw-up on a major project can be cost millions of dollars. I don't think it's worth it to save $100k (or even 200k) per year if there is a risk using unqualified candidates.
People might not have liked Duckett after his "cookie" remark, but he did a lot of good things at AHS before that.
The numbers of people like that in Edmonton are few and far between, mostly because Edmonton isn't a head office town. I bet there are more people with that type of qualifications in say Calgary or Toronto, but Edmonton has a shallower talent pool simply because it is largely a blue collar town, not a white collar town.
Xort Xort:
$1:
and many that have them work in the private sector making a lot more than the government is willing to pay.
Which ties back to my statement that the trend is the top gets very rich compensation while everyone else is forced to fight to the death Amok Time style for the crumbs.
Just like it is everywhere else in life.
Private sector, sports, arts, etc, the top 20% always seem to make more than the masses.
andyt @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:44 am
bootlegga bootlegga:
Private sector, sports, arts, etc, the top 20% always seem to make more than the masses.
By definition. The question is how much more and how much more is enough? BC has just come out with a reduction in top position pay, because they realize it's getting out of hand. Unfortunately it will take years to show results, because they can't arbitrarily change the contracts in place now. Or, they can, and did, with the unionized workers, but got their fingers rapped by the courts.
How is it we had a perfectly well functioning society when the top 20% made a lot less more (it's poor grammar but accurate) than the scummy 80%, but now that the difference between the groups keeps growing we just throw up our hands and say it's the way of the world?
bootlegga @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:02 pm
andyt andyt:
bootlegga bootlegga:
Private sector, sports, arts, etc, the top 20% always seem to make more than the masses.
By definition. The question is how much more and how much more is enough? BC has just come out with a reduction in top position pay, because they realize it's getting out of hand. Unfortunately it will take years to show results, because they can't arbitrarily change the contracts in place now. Or, they can, and did, with the unionized workers, but got their fingers rapped by the courts.
How is it we had a perfectly well functioning society when the top 20% made a lot less more (it's poor grammar but accurate) than the scummy 80%, but now that the difference between the groups keeps growing we just throw up our hands and say it's the way of the world?
I don't really have a problem with the top 20% earning a lot, as long as they're willing to pay higher taxes. Frankly, if high earners pay a fair share in taxes like everyone else, I say let them earn a billion dollars a year for all I care.
The big difference between then (1950s/60s) and now is that there seems to be so much more money. Things like national TV contracts and sponsorship deals help athletes earn way more than athletes just a couple decades ago. Same with cross-promotional deals for artists - authors selling books for movies, TV shows, toys, etc. Companies these days make tons of money in international markets, new products, etc.
In this case, the government will never be able to compete with the private sector, simply because the private sector has more money and can afford more.
For example, the former head of AHS, Stephen Duckett made $600,000 per year, with about another $100,000 in benefits and bonuses. That sounds like an awful lot, but he was in charge of a $15 BILLION organization - any CEO in charge of something similar makes in the MILLIONS per year, not $700k or so.
andyt @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:23 pm
There you go - the govt can't compete, so shouldn't even try. And from what I've seen in BC, paying high salaries and bonuses doesn't necessarily translate into results. We've seen that in the private sector too, where execs take companies into bankruptcy and still walk away with a huge package. It's just a con game that's played with shareholders playing along.
bootlegga @ Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:53 pm
andyt andyt:
There you go - the govt can't compete, so shouldn't even try. And from what I've seen in BC, paying high salaries and bonuses doesn't necessarily translate into results. We've seen that in the private sector too, where execs take companies into bankruptcy and still walk away with a huge package. It's just a con game that's played with shareholders playing along.
That's the point - they're not. But they have to pay people something to get them to work for them, and this is about as low as you can go before you wind up with unqualified candidates.
I could care less what GE or RBC pays their CEO - but I do care that the person in charge of ALL HEALTH CARE in Alberta knows what he is doing and is not going to screw everything up.