Understanding the concept
Its interesting to read the news, see discussions of COI, and how often people misunderstand this concept.
In a Washington Post letter to the editor about the direction of a D.C. Public Charter School Board, a reader critiques WP reporting:
The allegations made in the article are basically as follows: (1.) Mr. Nida is chairman of the D.C. Public Charter School Board. (2.) He works for United Bank. (3.) United Bank makes loans to D.C. public charter schools. (4.) Mr. Nida’s bonus is based partly on the loan business he generates. (5.) Therefore he is deriving “private gain” from his volunteer work. Presumably, the only ways Mr. Nida could be purified in the eyes of The Post would be for him to resign from United Bank or for the bank to stop doing business with D.C. charter schools.
But the fact is, Mr. Nida is at least in an apparent COI. As Director of a School Board that is receiving loans from the Bank where Mr. Nida works — in the loans dept — it is easy to imagine instances where his role as Director and loan officer conflict. Add to it that Mr. Nida also receives some bonuses based on the amount of loans he makes, and the COI becomes very real.
This is not to impugne the charitable work being done by Mr. Nida, in his capacity as volunteer Director of a school board. But it is important to note that the conflict in which Mr. Nida finds himself seriously undermines the trust that other members of the School Board can have in Mr. Nida’s direction, and the objectivity of his decision making.