Firing employees is always a responsible step that usually causes rather unpleasant emotions. However, in some circumstances, delays only exacerbate the problem, and the CEO must decide to fire the employee immediately. Scientists note that the United States has positive statistics, as the official rate of layoffs is one in 100 employees per year (Elling & Thompson, 2017). The country has an employment-at-will system, which is optimal for a healthy labor market (Moriarty, 2018). This paper aims to develop a plan to fire a financier in an educational institution and communicate this news to the school board and service providers.
On the eve, it became known that funding for the educational institution where I work as a CEO has decreased by 10%. The funding cut is likely related to the failures of the finance department. According to information provided by the audit, the in-house financier did not accurately document the current year’s spending, leaving investors with a false impression. In particular, the audit revealed inconsistencies in the final quarterly and annual financial statements and current documents.
Therefore, as a responsible leader, I decided to fire the financier. Under US law, government employees do not have exclusive advantages over other employees. The only key difference is the need for a probationary period of one year, during which new employees show their professional suitability (Longley, 2020). In part, I understand that the current situation results from my mistake and the responsibility for correcting the case lies with me. Experts note that sometimes managers fail to pay enough attention to the quality of work of the new employees during the probationary period. As a result, incompetent employees pass the probationary period and gain trust that they do not meet (Longley, 2020). I will admit this mistake in front of the team, but I will also have to find a replacement for the financier I intend to fire.
Outsourcing accounting services today is a popular way of working and solving issues related to financial reporting. Cullinan & Zheng (2017) note that accounting outsourcing can be a good solution in some cases, as it “reduces the risk of a misstatement by reducing the amount of audit effort required and thus reducing audit latency” (p. 276). Moreover, outsourcing accounting often reduces the organization’s costs since the company does not have to pay the full salary to the employee (“The complete guide to outsourcing,” 2019). Therefore, outsourcing can be considered an optimal temporary solution for fulfilling the duties of a financier while looking for a new employee.
Even though employees do not sign contracts at my institution and are employed at will, as a responsible leader, I must comply with ethical and fair standards when I fire employees. In this situation, the financier’s guilt is fully proven; therefore, I would have reason to terminate cooperation even if the contract was signed. Before deciding to dismiss the financier, I conducted an internal investigation. This investigation’s results indicate the financier’s unprofessional actions, which led to a decrease in school funding by 10%.
The action plan to fire the financier and communicate information to the team and suppliers is as follows. First, I will prepare a short speech on my intention to fire the financier and the reasons for this decision, including the investigation results. The speech will communicate that I have made a final decision, which is not discussed. Then I will contact the HR department and ask them to provide me with information about why I should not fire the financier. For example, he may be the sole guardian of a seriously ill relative or bear some financial responsibility to loved ones, which we, as a humane organization, must consider. Another example of the importance of a complete picture might be an impending retirement or another status or receiving health insurance treatment provided by an employer.
I will ask HR to be present during the conversation with the financier so that HR can guide him through the termination process and resolve current issues with the payment of unused vacation and other benefits. I decided not to fine the financier since I should have paid more attention to monitoring his work, and part of the responsibility lies with me. After discussions with HR, I will hold a meeting with the financier, during which I will inform him about the dismissal, mentioning the results of the internal investigation. I will not go into details to not provoke unnecessary discussion since the employee’s incompetence was too expensive for the organization. Then I will listen to the financier’s comments, answer his questions, and ask HR to guide him further through the termination process.
After that, I will call the suppliers of food, electricity, telephone, and Internet and explain to them the new format of cooperation with the school through representatives of the outsourcing agency, who will perform the functions of the fired financier. I will then hold a student council meeting with all school staff in attendance and briefly explain the funding cuts. I will also mention that financier N was fired, and his responsibilities are outsourced while looking for a new full-time employee.
Thus, a plan for firing a financier in an educational institution was developed. Firing employees is not an easy task and must be done ethically. The results of an internal investigation showed that the financier was incompetent, and his incompetence led to a 10% loss of funding, which is sufficient reason to terminate cooperation. The financier did not sign a contract with the school and worked on the terms of employment-at-will, so legally, his departure cannot be challenged. The situation with the reduction in funding will affect all school employees. Therefore, dismissing the financier should be commented on by the management, and a plan for further action should be discussed.
References
Cullinan, C. P., & Zheng, X. (2017). Accounting outsourcing and audit lag. Managerial Auditing Journal, 32(3), pp. 276-294.
Elling, R. C., & Thompson, L. (2017). Dissin’ the deadwood or coddling the incompetents? Patterns and issues in employee discipline and dismissal in the states. In American Public Service (pp. 195-218). Routledge.
Longley, R. (2020). The complicated process of firing a government employee. ThoughtCo. Web.
Moriarty, J. (2018). Employee ethics and rights. In The Routledge Companion to Business Ethics, Abingdon (pp. 474-489). Routledge.
The complete guide to outsourcing finance and accounting. (2019). Web.