Fraud & Forensics
Is Stealing Time Harder Than It Used to Be?
The Daily Record, August 11, 2009
by Gina Bliss
If your employer provides you with a vehicle, it’s possible they know where you are whenever you use it.
A construction superintendent told me he received a call from his home office one day, wanting to know where he was. He told them he was at the job site. The office had follow-up questions and it became clear it was felt he was lying. Finally, his truck was mentioned. His truck was at home in his driveway, and those in the home office knew it. The construction supervisor had taken his motorcycle to work that day, instead. Employers seem to be more and more concerned today about whether they receive all the employee time for which they are paying. Good managers used to be the first line of defense for such a problem. It was a manager’s job to bring out the productivity of other employees.
That probably remains true in a manufacturing environment. It’s easy to see who is not producing, or which employee slows down a production process.
It’s a more complex problem when the product is intellectual and employees produce billable hours. Time tracking and attendance software is a common tool. Employee Internet management is a growing field in order to monitor “cyberslacking.” Employers have rules concerning Internet usage, personal calls, e-mails and texting at work. The more technology we have, the more ways there are to use company time for personal purposes. We can work from home, but how does the employer know whether that time is used productively?
Of course, all of the old ways by which company time can be stolen still apply. Some people still call in sick, even though they’re not. Employees sometimes come in late and leave early. Or maybe an employee is always there all of the required time, but doesn’t start work right away, or quits early. Some employees chat with their co-workers for part of every day. Some take long lunches or breaks.
All of the time adds up. I’ve seen numerous calculations. Consider salary and benefits, the amount of time lost each day and then calculate the annual sum for just one employee: It’s an astounding amount. Employers really are losing out, or are they? It seems to me there is a counter argument that could be made. For professionals, especially, there is a blurring of the line between company and personal time. Employers often provide laptops, cell phones, Internet connections and Blackberrys with the expectation that employees will be available at home. Many employers routinely expect salaried employees to put in up to 90 hours a week if a project is hot. It’s expected professional employees often will have to work at home during personal time.
As the line between company time and personal time continues to blur, it will become more common for employees to do some personal business during work hours. It still should be kept to a minimum, and an effort still should be made to do personal business only when it is necessary.
There are plenty of real frauds perpetrated by stealing time. One made the news here in Rochester in December. Workers were performing work at private homes on the county’s time, the county paid for that time, and the workers also collected from the homeowners for that time. A county manager was overseeing the fraud.
Not many employees could perpetrate such large scale theft without getting caught. In that case, there was collusion, which made its detection more difficult. But the workers were caught, and were prosecuted along with the county manager. A federal fraud investigation of the case is ongoing.
Employers want a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. There’s a fine line, however: It’s good for an employer if employees make personal connections with each other and the office is a pleasant place to work. Employees should enjoy their work. Professionals generally want their company to succeed and are dedicated. They are trustworthy and should not have someone monitoring their every activity. They want to work hard and advance in their careers. When an employer does not exhibit trust, such success can backfire. The construction superintendent whose truck was in his driveway really was upset, and not only about being questioned on his whereabouts. He was stunned to realize his employer was monitoring him.
Gina Bliss, CPA, CFE
Gina is a senior manager at EFP Rotenberg who specializes in internal audit, fraud audit, and forensic accounting. Article reprinted courtesy of The Daily Record.