Whilst this discussion is a little 'above' me, my personal experience of both military and civil flying anecdotally supports the original statement.
Certain companies actually falsified documentation in order to satisfy regulations (on several occasions).
Airlines that use 'Standard Weights' when we all knew they were wrong. I asked for a check weigh at Manchester once . . . - guess what.
When I flew with Biman Bangladesh there were appalling levels of incompetence, once more 'covered up' and even though I reported officially, it was still covered up.
I would love to believe 'Safety is our Prime Concern', my own experience doesn't support the assertion.