FRAUD DETECTOR

Th e Association of Fraud Examiners refers to payroll fraud as “any scheme in which an employee causes his or her employer to issue a payment by making false claims for compensation.” Th is means that every organization that pays employees can be a victim of fraud. Who are the culprits? It is oft en the person you would least expect -- the long-term, trusted employee. One of the best prevention measures is having solid internal controls, which includes monitoring your employees. How do you do this without upsetting folks? It is easy. You just explain that you are instituting the policies and procedures to ensure public resources are safeguarded at all times and to protect employees from false accusations. Several common forms of payroll fraud: • Falsifi ed wages • Mid-month draws • Ghost employees • Benefi t schemes We will describe each type of payroll fraud and what you can do to prevent and detect it. • Falsifi ed wages: Th is is one of the easiest schemes to execute. Employees claim hours they did not work or falsify their time sheets or timecards in some fashion. People with access to the payroll system may be able to manipulate information in the system to pay themselves compensation they did not earn. • Mid-month draws: Some organizations that pay employees once a month allow employees to receive part of their salary in the middle of the month. Th is is called a mid-month draw and the draw payment is deducted from the main payroll run at the end of the month. In this form of scheme, the mid-month payment is not deducted from the normal salary, giving the employee compensation he or she did not earn. • Ghost employees: In some cases, organizations are defrauded through payments to employees who do not exist or to former employees. In some cases, current or former employees have access to the payroll system. Th is fraud usually occurs in organizations that have a large number of employees and weak internal controls. • Benefi t schemes: Several schemes involve benefi ts, but they all boil down to an employee receiving benefi ts or extra compensation they did not earn, such as excess leave. In addition, employees oft en attempt to hide fraudulent payments in benefi ts expenditures. Payroll Fraud Risks Reporting fraud online The Washington State Auditor’s Offi ce has a tool for reporting suspected misappropriation online at: www.sao.wa.gov Our mission: The State Auditor’s Offi ce holds state and local governments accountable for the use of public resources. Independence • Respect • Integrity AUDITOR OF STATE WA S H I N G T O N NOV 11, 1889 Washington State Auditor’s Office Troy Kelley Payroll Fraud Risks :: 2014 | 2 What you can do Th e best defense against payroll fraud is a good off ense. Having strong internal controls with suffi cient monitoring is the key to preventing and detecting payroll fraud. Here is some guidance for preventing and detecting payroll fraud: • Establish and follow solid internal controls, including monitoring. Be sure to question items that do not meet your expectations. • Ensuring employees, especially those who process payroll, take vacations. Th is requires another employee to perform the payroll function and is a common way that organizations fi nd out a fraud is occurring or has occurred. • Periodically review fi nal payroll reports to ensure the information meets your expectations. • Review employee addresses and bank account numbers to determine if multiple payments are going to the same address or bank account. Th is is a common way organizations are defrauded when family members work for the same organization. • Review benefi t reports to ensure they are accurate. Look for items that do not meet your expectations, such as employee paid benefi ts being paid by the employer, deductions that do not make sense, etc. • Review budget reports to ensure benefi t expenditures are where they should be. If costs are not where they should be, review the transaction support to ensure they are legitimate. • Review the vendor database for payroll vendors to ensure those expenditures are legitimate and supported. • Departments should review payroll distribution lists for reasonableness. • Monitor overtime payments. Are they supported and approved? Are they reasonable? • Review leave accruals for reasonableness. Have employees taken leave? Do you know of employees who have taken leave, but reports don’t show a decrease in the accrual balance? If so, follow up to fi nd out why. • Do you have employees who earn compensation or exchange time? Ensure you have policies and procedures to monitor the time. Ensure employees are following the policies. Th e key to preventing and detecting payroll fraud is adequate monitoring. You can have the best internal controls in place, but you must monitor them to ensure they are being followed. Without monitoring, chances are the policies are not being followed. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

SAY NO TO OVERTIME FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO

These actionable steps will help you to avoid working overtime

I recently published an article on working overtime is pointless. The response was overwhelming. It was pleasing to know that so many people could connect with the issue; the article received more than 100,000 views in just a couple of days.

‘Want to get things done quickly and go home on time? Stop relying on emails to manage projects and start using a project management tool.’

Continuing the topic, I am going to share some actionable steps that will definitely help you to step out of the office on time. So, without wasting too much time in the prologue I’d like to get straight to the topic.

Here are some actionable steps you can take to finish things on time -

1) Be realistic with deadlines

There are two things to keep in mind when you are setting deadlines for your work. Number one is the amount of work you already have, assigned to you. Number two is the time estimate that the new work is going to take, which has been assigned to you now. You need to set a deadline with due consideration to these factors.

After all there is no point in having set a deadline, which you are unable to meet and it might impact the overall project progress. So it is better to set a realistic time-frame based on the two factors mentioned above and ensure that nothing slips through the crack and you can easily get things completed without having to stay late at work.

2) Say NO, wherever needed

Another possible scenario in the case mentioned above could be when you don’t have the power to set a deadline for your work, i.e. the manager has already assigned you the work, without even asking.

This is where you need have to keep a straight face and tell the manager about your pre-occupied work schedule. This will lead to two outcomes - either the manager will understand the scenario and prioritize your work so that the important things get done first. Or, he will simply delegate the task to someone else. And this will avoid the instance of something unwanted, like missing deadlines, from happening.

You can follow some quick tips mentioned in this post that will help you to become adept at the art of saying no, gently.

3) Embrace the right technology

Automation has taken almost every industry like a storm. With technology bringing so much advancement in every facet of work, there is no denying the fact that processes have become faster. The challenge lies in not just embracing technology, but embracing the right one.

For instance, if you are finding it difficult to meet constantly changing project requirements, team meetings, tasks and deadlines using emails, then switching to a software like ProofHub can be the best thing for you. This will not only save you time which was earlier wasted on managing multiple activities, but also help you to get things done on time.

This is just one of the countless examples where technology can be of great help in getting rid of the problem of working overtime.

4) Limit distractions

We live in a work culture surrounded with demons of distraction. From the constantly buzzing chat notifications and emails, to social media updates, whatsapp messages and never ending meetings, all these things eat up a big chunk of your productive time. Some of these are simply unavoidable, but some are.

For instance, you cannot simply part ways with office meetings but you can avoid whatsapp notifications, checking emails constantly and more. Once you switch on the working mode, keep all these distractions as far as possible so that you can meet the deadlines. And you will get to know that getting things done on time is lot easier than you ever thought!

On a concluding note I’d like quote the words of Tony Robbins - the path to success is to take massive, determined actions. If you really want to get rid of the struggle of having to work overtime every day, then these simple steps will help you achieve that with ease.

Give them a try and I’m sure you would see a positive change in your life, within a matter of days!

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The death of Uganda police spokes person killed

Uganda Police Spokesperson Felix Andrew Kaweesi has been gunned down, Chimp Corps report.

A close relative told us that Kaweesi was shot dead as he left his home in Kulambiro, a Kampala suburb.

Kaweesi was being chauffeured in a black Land Cruiser car when unknown gunmen killed him.

Police have heavily deployed in the area to investigate the shooting that will shock the nation.

The murder raised concerns about the growing insecurity in the country.

It remains unclear whether Kaweesi’s bodyguards were also taken out of action.

More details will be posted as events unfold.