Scottish official resigns after spending taxpayer money on Harvard Business School course | News

A senior Scottish government official resigned last week after revelations that he had misused public funds, including $108,000 for a Harvard Business School program for one of his employees.

Donald MacRae, Chairman of the Water Industry Commission of Scotland, wrongly paid the tuition fees of Michelle A. Ashford, Chief Operating Officer of WICS, who was undertaking an HBS Advanced Management Program from January to May 2023. The Times, a UK-based newspaper, first reported MacRae’s resignation.

The backlash over potential misuse of public funds at WICS first began after a public audit in December 2023 found that “financial management and governance issues identified at the Commission fall well short of what would be expected of a public body.” The audit led to the resignation of then-CEO Alan Sutherland.

A WICS spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement that the agency “has made the necessary changes to our governance and controls to ensure that all future training demonstrates value for money.”

In an interview with The Crimson, Ashford said she had “completed all required approval paperwork.”

“It was my chairman who signed off on the payment, who did not seek to seek government approval for it,” Ashford said.

MacRae and Sutherland did not respond to requests for comment.

Ashford, who wrote in a follow-up text that she was “currently laid off from work by her doctor,” also told a Scottish government panel in May that WICS knew she was paying her tuition fees.

But last month in a meeting with the Scottish Parliament, MacRae told members that he was “surprised” by the Harvard payment, according to the Times, adding that the board had “not been presented with the proposed spending or even the business case.” be.

In an email from Ashford to MacRae and two other senior WICS officials in March, obtained by The Crimson, Ashford wrote that she was “concerned” that the public portrayal of the spending suggested it was “moving forward without appropriate authorizations.” ” have.

Ashford wrote that Sutherland, then WICS CEO, had suggested that she take part in the HBS program for her professional development and that “the Scottish Government sponsorship team knew that I was taking part in the HBS program”.

“I was aware that these expenses had been recovered by the Audit Scotland team, but this did not concern me as I had followed the processes put in place by Finance,” she wrote.

Still, Ashford insisted it was appropriate to spend public money on her HBS program, saying the course was critical to her professional development and her ability to tackle “unprecedented challenges” in the water sector.

“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result,” Ashford said. “Spending £80,000 on me going to Harvard to drive this change is necessary.”

“Despite everything that has happened, and despite this being probably the worst time of my life in terms of the media attention and the damage that comes with it, I would do it all again,” she said.