How Variance Reports Caught Unauthorized Changes and Saved Thousands
A transportation company uses MicroPay's audit trail to detect and prevent payroll fraud
Industry
Transportation & Logistics
Company Size
200+ employees
Solution
MicroPay with Audit Trail
The Challenge
An unauthorized rate change had gone unnoticed for several months, costing the company thousands in overpayments. The payroll team had no way to track who made changes to employee data or when those changes occurred. This lack of visibility created vulnerability to both honest mistakes and intentional fraud.
Discovery
During a routine review, supervisors noticed discrepancies in payroll costs. Using MicroPay's variance reports, they were able to identify unusual changes in employee pay rates. The audit trail feature revealed exactly:
- Which employee's rate was changed
- What user account made the modification
- The exact date and time of the change
- The previous rate versus the new rate
The Solution
MicroPay's comprehensive audit trail and variance reporting provided the transparency needed to catch the unauthorized change. The company implemented additional security measures:
- User Group Security: Implemented separation of duties with customized access levels
- Regular Variance Reports: Established monthly reviews to catch changes early
- Audit Trail Monitoring: Set up processes to review all rate changes before payroll processing
- Limited Access: Restricted who could modify sensitive employee data
Related Case Studies
Additional Security Examples:
Pharmacy chain (450 employees)
Employee received an incorrect increase. MCS directed them to audit reports to verify who made the error and when it happened, enabling quick resolution.
Retail Company
Staff member created a fictional employee profile and paid additional funds to themselves. Caught when supervisor checked the NIS report showing 31 employees instead of 30.
Financial Services Company
Attempted fraud: Staff member tried to change someone's bank details to their own account. Audit trail caught the change before payment processing.
Results
$10,000s
Recovered and future fraud prevented
100%
Visibility into payroll changes
"MicroPay's variance reports helped us catch an unauthorized rate change that had gone unnoticed for months. The audit trail showed exactly who made the change and when—saving us thousands."