I honestly think at times rules can be bended, or broken. Humans create the rules, but rules can be relaxed according to situation, right? Of course, if you kill someone, then no matter how you argue, a life is a life, then one just need to have the appropriate punishment, be it accidental or deliberate.
But if it is not a matter of life and death, why not be a bit more flexible? Last week, I was trying to get some petty cash claims for my outgoing boss. Our Managing Director was away, so he was not around to sign the petty cash approval, and my boss reported directly to him, so there was no one else who could sign for him.
Anyway, it was not a big amount - less than fifty. So I called the colleague in charge and told her the situation. She initially agreed to give me the cash, with the promise that I would give her the slip after the Managing Director had signed it.
However, when it got to her supervisor, he refused. He said no petty cash could be claimed without the approval of the authorised signatory, otherwise our Internal Audit colleagues will give us a hard time. I explained the situation to him, saying it was my boss' last week in office and the Managing Director was not able to come back on time, so could he just claim first? I will give the signed slip to them later on.
Okay, perhaps to a Finance person's point of view, that is the regulations. But to any common sensical person's point of view, it made more sense to just claim the cash, rather than waiting for signature, then waiting for processing, and issuing the cheque, getting the cheque signed by the authorised signatories then sending the cheque over to him.
As I said, it is not a big amount. Taking the cash immediately and then getting the slip signed will take about a week the most. Going through the entire procedure and sending out the cheque in the end will take about another month. Just bending the rules a bit make more sense in this case, is it not?
But if it is not a matter of life and death, why not be a bit more flexible? Last week, I was trying to get some petty cash claims for my outgoing boss. Our Managing Director was away, so he was not around to sign the petty cash approval, and my boss reported directly to him, so there was no one else who could sign for him.
Anyway, it was not a big amount - less than fifty. So I called the colleague in charge and told her the situation. She initially agreed to give me the cash, with the promise that I would give her the slip after the Managing Director had signed it.
However, when it got to her supervisor, he refused. He said no petty cash could be claimed without the approval of the authorised signatory, otherwise our Internal Audit colleagues will give us a hard time. I explained the situation to him, saying it was my boss' last week in office and the Managing Director was not able to come back on time, so could he just claim first? I will give the signed slip to them later on.
Okay, perhaps to a Finance person's point of view, that is the regulations. But to any common sensical person's point of view, it made more sense to just claim the cash, rather than waiting for signature, then waiting for processing, and issuing the cheque, getting the cheque signed by the authorised signatories then sending the cheque over to him.
As I said, it is not a big amount. Taking the cash immediately and then getting the slip signed will take about a week the most. Going through the entire procedure and sending out the cheque in the end will take about another month. Just bending the rules a bit make more sense in this case, is it not?
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