ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – The Minnesota legislative session is set to adjourn in a little more than a month, and the debate about creating an Office of Inspector General continues.
That would be an independent office to investigate and prevent fraud in Minnesota, likely one of the biggest factors in Tim Walz not seeking a third term for governor.
Will fraud impact Governor’s race?
What they’re saying:
Political analyst Blois Olson joined the FOX 9 Morning News Sunday with Leah Beno, and talked about how the ongoing fraud could impact the governor’s race. He said Republicans will use the fraud issue to turn voters who might lean Democratic.
“It’s natural. Anybody running for office uses their current office to highlight things they want to talk about on the campaign trail,” Olson said. “So this last week, (Lisa) Demuth and Republicans announced a massive proposal for tax…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.