Subject: My reply to SVC (II): some notes on the record of the whole process

From: [email-masked]
Date: 18 Jan 1994 12:25:39 -0500 (CDT)

My reply to SVC (II): Some notes on the record

Yungui Ding

1. The whole process: A simple thing is not simple

Should it have been a simple thing from the very beginning? Yes, it should.

The Council's Finance Committee (FC) proposed a bill to the Council to conduct
an inspection of the HQ's financial record and property list in order to
asses the current situation of IFCSS' management and to submit to the Council
any recommendations to professionalize IFCSS's accounting practice.

It is a normal internal auditing procedure, it is a normal business, and it
is a normal operation. Normally, the bill is passed or rejected. If the bill
is passed, the FC would be authorized to conduct the inspection. If some 
FC members are too busy to go, others could help. If the FC considers 
necessary to have someone in the team having experience/expertise in accounting
it would be fine to call for and invite some more volunteers. It would not
be hard for the HQ to cooperte: just open the accounting books to the
Council' tema for inspection. Nobody would expect it to be perfect considering
that most workers of IFCSS are on volunterr or partial-volunteer basis. 
The FC then would give its report to the Council after the inspection process
is finished and probably some recommendations on how to improve the current
system and practice. Then the Council may consider the results and the 
suggestions, and may further pass some bill on financial regulations.

It could be so normal, and it could be so simple.

It was actually so normal a business that in the first session of the
Council's first Tele-Conference that most of the Council members did not
even pay much attention to the bill, which was initiated by Council FC
Chair Shen Tong and sponsored by the FC, although there was a
good debate on it. The bill was NOT passed due to too many absteins, with
very few strong yeah's or nay's.

The bill was reconsidered one week later (8/21/93) in the second session of
the Conference, and it was easily passed this time. Of course the more time
for the Council members to digest the bill and the whole situation helped
the re-consideration and the passing of the bill, but some political
manuvour that was intended to block the bill's reconsideration might have
contributed more to the situation.

Things seemed to become not that simple.

The bill was not passed without expense. The FC Chair, the initiator and
advocator of the bill, Council member Shen Tong had to ask to resign from
both the FC and the Council. She only agreed to stay in the positions upon
the request of many Council colleagues. 

Even so, things could still have been as simple as the business is.

Unfortuantely, what has come out is not what we could have imagined. 
The date of the on-site inspection had to be postponed again and again
due to the difficulty the FC had encountered to get needed materials
from the HQ. 

The inspection team (IT) finally got to the HQ offics on 11/6 to conduct
the on-site inspection. It could not start the work at the beginning due to
the questioning and blocking of an invited volunterr Bai Yan by President
Lin Changsheng and SVC Coordinator Mr. Luo Li-Shi. The disagreement was 
resolved on site after the communications among the Council Chair, IFCSS
President, IFCSS SVC Coordinator and members of the IT.

However, this issue somehow came up alive again and again later in the
process, being used as an excuse to block any further progress of the 
inspection, and finally making things into an extreme case.

Why and how did such a normal operation become so complicated?

2. Who is doing the work, who is making trouble

Thess questions are for the SVC and the CSS community to answer.
Take a look of the whole procedure, and note the key difficult 
points along the way. I believe you will find the answer.

>From the side of the Council's work, I just notice this:

   Shen Tong, initiator of the bill,
              was somehow forced to withdraw from the front line;

   Zhou Hongguang, 
              FC/IT member, coordinator of IT,
              was charged of "dishonesty" among other allegations;

   Ding Yungui
              was appealed against because of making a progressive 
              update of FC' work on behalf of Zhou Hongguang.
              
I would believe these were coincidences. However, it it unfortunate that
these "coincidences" could only be very effective to stop or slow down the
inspection process, which by no means will help IFCSS to anywhere.

Yungui Ding
IFCSS Council member
from Mid-West region

========================================
For your reference: My reply to SVC (I): 

--------------- an unofficial record of the whole issue ---------------------

August 14, 1993 Council Teleconference, 1st session
   Resolution on Financial Inspection of HQ, sponsored by the Council
   Finance Committee.

   Not passed. 

August 21, 1993 Council Teleconference, 2nd session
   The resolution was reconsidered, and passed.
   (Council Resolution CP5020).

   After the first sessioin, the HQ lobbied the Council members, trying
   to block the reconsidering of the resolution, on some occation in
   some unethical ways.

   As a result of a lot pressure, the Finance Committee Chair Shen Tong
   asked to resign from the Committee and from the Chair position in the
   second session. Requested by many, she agreed to remain in the Council,
   but she since then did not want to participate in the financial 
   inspection, which she had initiated and been advocating for.

The Finance Committee began to work on the inspection after the 
   Council's first Teleconference. An Inspection Team was formed with
   Mr Zhou Hongguang as the coordinator.
   
   The IT sent the inspection agenda to the HQ on September 7, 1993.

September 22, 1993
    
   The Council sent a memo to the HQ with the signatures of Council chair
   Dong Liqun, Co-chair Ding Yungui, and IT coordinator Zhou Hongguang (DDZ).
   The memo reiterates the IT's agenda and the request for needed accounting
   records. The HQ is extemely slow to give out the record.

October 7, 1993
   The Council sent a memo to the HQ, asking the required documents,
   and informing the HQ of the delay of the on site inspection due to the
   fact that the IT lacked of needed records. 

October 24, 1993
   Zhou Hongguang sent a memo to the HQ treasurer further asking documents.

October 28, 1993 

   The HQ sent a memo to the Council, claiming that the HQ had sent
   the listed documents to the IT.

   The Council replied right away with a memo signed by DDZ, stating it
   has not received the claimed documents and asking the HQ to cooperate
   with the Council by providing needed records. A detailed list of
   requested materials was sent alnong with the memo.   

October 20, 1993
   Council Chair Dong Liqun informed all Council members of Bai Yan's
   involvement in the IT work in his message updating the Council
   work. 

October 29, 1993
   The Council issued in its newsrelease to the CSS community a call for
   expertise in accounting and financial management, to help the Council
   in the course of professionalize IFCSS's finance system. Two responses
   (including Bai Yan's) were received.

   Bai Yan, was invited to join the IT. Council chair and co-chair were 
   informed of such arrangement, and they agreed with Bai Yan's going to DC. 

November 5-7: 
   The Council IT consisting of Council members Liu Chen,
   Qi Bing, and Zhou Hongguang, and invited volunteer Mr Bai Yan,
   were in the HQ to conduct the inspection. 

   President Lin Changsheng  and SVC Coordinator disagreed with Mr. Bai Yan's 
   participation in IT and therefore access to the accounting record. 
   Their refusal reason is that HQ was not informed of in advance.  

   The Council issued another memo to HQ, signed by DDZ, on Nov 6,
   reconfirming Bai Yan is authorized to be a member in the IT, and asking
   the HQ to give him the approriate previliges as other members
   according to the IFCSS Council Financial Regulations

   After the memo and communications between the Council Chair and Mr. Lin
   and Mr. Luo, President Lin Changsheng and SVC Coordinator Luo Li-Shi
   agreed to let Bai Yan participate in the inspection. IT started its work. 

   Because most of the financial records at the HQ is in chaotic states, 
   the IT had to do bookkeeping for the treasurer. IT did complete aduditing
   on site.

   On November 7, when the IT left HQ office, a memo was left to the 
   the IFCSS treasurer, asking her to continue to provide the necessary
   materials to the Council. 

Nov 8, 1993

   Council member Ren Songlin sent a message to the Council-l, complaining
   about not being aware of Bai Yan's joining the IT. Apparently, he forgot
   the notice from Dong Liqun regarding Bai Yan's participation in IT. 
   Ding Yungui replied.

Nov ?, 1993 

  Instead of complying to the Council's Finance Committee's request, the
  treasurer chosed to send a rebuttal to the Council on November ? on 
  public net, which was later carried by CCF with a rebuttal from FC.

  The IT sent out a long progressive report to the Council-l net,
  reporting their progress in inspection.

Nov 20, 1993 Council's second Teleconference
  The Finance Committee made a progressive report of the inspection.
  Jian Zuihong was asked to explain.
  Supervisory Committee Coordinator Luo Lishi rudely questioned and
  attacked Bai Yan's personally integrity and academic qualification.
  The normal proceeding of the meeting was interrupted.

  The Finance Committeee concluded that it would continue to work on it.

December 1993, after the Teleconference:
  Ding Yungui announced FC's progress, including the intention to extend
  IT into a taskforce, on behalf of Zhou Hongguang. 
  LJH appealed against Ding Yungui in regard to task force formation.

  HQ appealed against Zhou Hongguang about the inspection issue, charging  
  Zhou Hongguang of dishonesty, and questioning Bai Yan's qualification;

  HQ publicly attacked Zhou Hongguang's personal integrity in its news
  release.

  HQ announced its plan to invite external CPA to compile IFCSS' accounting
  record. Council FC released a memo to welcome
  the positive move of HQ, and required the HQ to submit to the Council
  a timetable of the bidding and inform the Council of the procedure.

  FC announced its plan to have a second on-site inspection.

  HQ openly refuses to receive Council IT, violating the IFCSSS By-laws and
  challenging the authority of the Council.
 
  On behalf of the Financial Committee and on behalf of the Council
  Chair, Zhou Hongguang travelled to D.C. alone in the hope to
  exchange views and reach a comprimising solution.

January 1994 
  Council Finance Committee released an Open Letter about the irregularities
  exsisted in IFCSS accounting record, and urge the Council members and
  CSS' to pay attention to the IFCSS financial situation in order to 
  make the HQ open its accounting record to the Council's auditing.

  Council Finance Committee appealed to SVC on Lin Changsheng's blocking of
  financial inspection.

  SVC begins to investigate on Bai Yan's joining IT and Ding Yungui's
  announcement of the taskforce. 
  
  Li Jinghong sent more appeals to SVC on the Open Letter.

  ...