Mathew Vroman wrote about the “mess in our elections” (“Murkowski’s stance on the SAVE Act leaves her leadership in question,“ March 20) without citing any proof that such a mess exists.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, recently wrote, “Every study, every lawsuit, every audit, every recount has reached the same conclusion: You are about 13,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to find a fraudulent vote by an undocumented immigrant.”
King documents his claims and points out that not only is the SAVE America Act attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, but that it would make registering to vote more difficult for citizens. Would supporting this act really meet Pastor Vroman’s goal of “truth, honesty and standing up for what is right”? Certainly not for rural states and especially not for Alaska.
King concludes: “The health of a democracy rests on a shared commitment to…
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.