Of course, separating duties can help a lot by decreasing the opportunity for, and temptation to, wrongdoing. But regulations don't, and can't, solve the basic problem.

If one defines "human nature" as "what humans do naturally, i.e. when they think no-one is looking / in private / anonymously / if they think there will be no inconvenient consequences", the need for allegiance to a higher ideal than mere self is obvious.

And regarding the Romans, it wasn't as if they weren't aware of the problem. As Juvenal remarked: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Who, indeed?

Mark Dalley