The integrity of senior PAs has been under the spotlight in recent weeks, following the extraordinary story of Joyti De-Laurey, the secretary who plundered the accounts of her bosses to the tune of £4.4 million.

For those of you who haven't seen reports of her court case, the 35 year-old secretary faces 10 years in jail for forging the signatures of two of her bosses - both senior members of investment bank Goldman Sachs - and relieving them of a staggering £4.4 million. One million pounds has yet to be recovered.

De-Laurey spent the cash enjoying an ultra-extravagant lifestyle, with executive jets to the States, Cartier jewellery, flying lessons, and new cars. Her defence appeared to centre on the fact that her bosses were so rich they didn't notice the theft, which - to her strangely warped view - was tantamount to saying they deserved to be robbed.

Considered utterly trustworthy, De-Laurey - now nicknamed "Mrs Golden Sacks" - apparently made herself indispensable to her bosses, rising from a lowly temp position to chequebook-holding senior PA in four years. A spokesperson at Goldman Sachs was unwilling to comment on the case in detail, telling ON! Office Networks only that "this was a gross abuse of trust and an extremely unpleasant incident for all those affected".

Since the case came to light, media reports have raised questions about the power and access enjoyed by many senior PAs. The revelations about De-Laurey's extreme dishonesty risk denting the reputation of the profession as a whole. In the Observer (April 25), Conal Walsh asked: "Is your PA a bloodsucker?" and suggested that City bosses were now secretly asking themselves this question. Journalist Melvyn Howe, writing for PA News (April 20) reported, "She embarked on a 'massive' betrayal of trust that shocked the City and made uneasy reading for bosses the world over".

And it's not only bosses who should be uncomfortable about De-Laurey's audacious swindling - serious, career PAs will also be concerned about the light this casts on their profession. Honest, conscientious secretaries need to take every opportunity in the current climate to demonstrate their integrity and trustworthiness to their senior team. They should perhaps also take heed of one of Goldman Sach's own guiding principles, trumpeted with rather unfortunate timing on the firm's website - "Complacency can lead to extinction."

Congratulations to European Management Assistants (EUMA), which this month celebrates its 30th anniversary. In honour of this auspicious birthday, EUMA will be holding a day long training event followed by a gala dinner party at the exclusive Horsley Management Centre, Surrey under the banner "Star Quality - have you got what it takes?"

The UK group of European Management Assistants was founded in 1974 and, in fact, was one of the founding associations. This international network of management support professionals is currently represented in 26 countries, including Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

The team at ON! Office Networks would like to take this opportunity to wish EUMA a very happy birthday, and in answer to the question, "Have you got what it takes?", we'd say they certainly have! Thirty years? Not bad going!

For more details on the association visit www.euma.org

The DeskDemon travel team, headed by new Travel Editor Bev Wright, is looking for Hotel Reviewers to report back with their views on venues from across the length and breadth of the UK. If you fancy passing on your opinions to fellow PAs on the location, friendliness, business facilities, cleanliness, and professionalism of establishments you work with, please email the Editor at editoruk@deskdemon.com with the following details:-

Full Name
Job Title
Company
Address
Post Code
Telephone Number

To find out what new resources Bev has in store for travel bookers, see her article in this issue of ON! Office Networks.

The handy website for all business travellers, Global Hotspots, has changed its web address. It can now be accessed at www.airsecurity.com/hotspots/Hotspots.asp/ Travellers use Global Hotspots in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office site, to discover the security risk of going to certain countries. If you or your boss are ever in doubt about the advisability of travelling to a particular area, a visit to Global Hotspots is always recommended.

If you travel on business, or if the executives for whom you book trips are women, this could be for you. Expotel, the UK leader in hotel, conference and event reservations, co-ordinates a scheme called "Woman Aware", which rewards those British venues which take particular care of their women guests. And as women now make up around 40% of business guests, the hotel industry is wising up to the increasing female spending power.

Expotel instigated the Woman Aware campaign in response to feedback received from female clients regarding their stays at various hotels. The firm found that many women travelling alone on business were made to feel unsafe and vulnerable at hotels, suffering negative experiences which could have been avoided.

Expotel devised a list of ten criteria that hotels must fulfil in order to become "Woman Aware". When hotels have been voted suitably “female friendly” by three independent female travellers, they are awarded a "Woman Aware" certificate.

To find out more about the "Woman Aware" scheme, and how to become a member and give your views on hotels as you travel, visit www.expotel.com

And if you’ve ever needed to book a hotel night, meeting or conference and found yourself flummoxed by the sheer volume of hotels vying for your business, look no further than Dial magazine. The quarterly publication of Expotel Hotel Reservations, Dial aims to cut through the froth and give readers a clear understanding of who is doing what and where. As well, as being stuffed to the brim with all the essential hotel info, Dial also offers a healthy diet of business travel features, personal development, office life, careers, money advice, and health & beauty.

To get a copy, email Sharon Smith at Expotel on ssmith@expotel.co.uk

If your executives are not travelling first or business class, you may find they're not entitled to the relaxing environment provided by airport lounges. Now, a new scheme called Lounge Pass could give them access to the same superior amenities as VIP travellers, from as little as £15. With over 100 airport lounges worldwide - including seventeen in UK airports - you can add an extra touch of luxury to your exec's next trip and make the travel experience a whole lot better. Visit www.lounge.com for full details, and to book online.

If your executives are rarely in the office these days, they are typical of a trend across British firms - business travel is on the increase. That's according to the latest survey by Company Barclaycard, the company credit card firm which quizzes globetrotting execs annually about their travel habits.

For details of the report, check out www.companybarclaycard.co.uk

Business travel is up for the second year running, says the report, with nearly half of respondents saying they are travelling more than they did in the previous year, mainly due to business expansion in the UK and overseas. In the air travel market low cost airlines have become a staple means of travel for execs, with two low cost airlines featuring in the top three business travel airlines for the first time. British Airways remains firmly at number one, although its overall lead has fallen compared to last year's survey.

Booking travel online continues to grow in popularity, rising again this year both for flights and trains. However, online sites haven't replaced business travel agents, which are still used by over half of business travellers. They cite specialist knowledge and out of hours assistance as important features which aren't yet fulfilled by online services.

For the first time, the survey asked for opinions on hotel standards in the UK and abroad and in general the hotels abroad fared better. This was particularly true for factors such as value for money, food and waiter service. Business travellers believe that the technology that will have the biggest impact on business travel in 2004 is the 'ability to access email on the move', because it increases efficiency.