Treasurer's overcharge error in a youth league
- Kind
- Ethical dilemma
Prompt
You are the volunteer treasurer of a youth hockey league with 120 families. While preparing this year's budget, you discover that a formula error you made in last season's spreadsheet charged 40 families $60 more than they should have paid, a total of $2,400. The money has already been spent on new equipment that every team uses. Nine of the 40 families have since left the league. The league president, a friend who recruited you, suggests quietly lowering the remaining families' fees by $60 next season and saying nothing. He argues that an announcement would embarrass you, make parents doubt the league's finances and might lead other volunteers to quit. What would you do?
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After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it
What this question tests
- Professionalism and integrity
- Ethical reasoning
- Communication
How to approach this question
This MMI station tests whether you'll own an honest mistake when a friend offers you a quiet way out, and whether you can weigh your own embarrassment against what 40 families are owed. Name who is affected: the families who overpaid, the nine who have left, the president, and the volunteers whose credibility rests on the league's books. Point out that the quiet fix leaves the departed families out entirely and depends on nobody ever finding the error. Weigh the risks the president raises against what disclosure and repayment to every family would cost and protect. If the station adds pressure from someone the league depends on, hold your reasoning steady and look for ways to keep the league running without trading away honesty.
More on honesty and disclosure of error
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