Ethical dilemma - should I leave or tolerate

[PriyaPT]

The dilemma: I’m no.3 in a tiny finance team at my employer, and I’ve become aware that there’s low-level fraud of company expenses throughout the management team. I noticed because I was covering review of expense claims while someone was off sick.

I raised it with my two senior managers (one is the FD) and the HR director but it’s a small “family feel” company (< 250 employees) and they have just got used to spending the extra £100 here or there on expenses. Nearly all the managers do it, one person even seems to have booked a cheap holiday and charged the company! The FD is lovely but weak and feels we should treat people well and we get it back in effort and staff loyalty.

I’m in my 50s and have lots of experience; I don’t “need” this job. I took the job because it seemed like a nice atmosphere and not too challenging. I’m menopausal and not thick skinned any more. I just don’t need drama. I feel uncomfortable with the expenses situation - it’s fraud, and I’m a professional with integrity. Also - The company was recently purchased by a huge foreign company who largely ignores us, but would NOT approve of the situation if they found out. That somewhat scares me.

I do not want to whistleblow (we don’t have proper global internal controls and no safe place to whistleblow to) over something that is relatively trivial - the UK people would hate me and I’d probably feel I have to leave anyway. If they had to justify and repay expenses it would be really unpleasant.

If i stay silent and it comes to light later, it could cause a stink, and I could definitely be blamed for it (it would be extremely hard to say I didn’t know, and that would be a lie).

Our auditor, by the way, is a personal friend of the FD and doesn’t audit anything properly.

So, do I leave and say it’s just not the role I hoped it would be, or blame the menopause? Or do I take a chance that the I can influence the policies positively once I’m more embedded in my role?

There is nothing I especially love about this job and I’d only stay to finish a project I’m working on.

I just want to say thank you everyone. If you ever watched the film Being John Malkovic…I feel like I’ve gone into a different world where things that are not right are just accepted as perfectly normal and fine.

It’s weirdly seductive when everyone else is saying “chill - it’s all perfectly ordinary, nothing to see here.”

I thought the role was overpaid, maybe that’s why.

@tribpot when I raised it, FD said that company culture is “not to argue” about trivial amounts, and that previous senior management “tried to impose” stronger expense controls but they simply never followed the requirement and so now it’s just a grey area.

HR director basically just said “hmmm we don’t really have written policies so it’s hard to do much about it with some of the people who have been working this way for many years, if we rock the boat it would damage the team so we just let it slide.”

How on earth the auditor hasn’t flagged it is beyond me.

I would leave if personal circumstances allow it. Life is too short to be stressing about these issues and you wouldn’t want to be associated with them if it gets out.
I would be honest about why you’re leaving although I am also in a predicament I’m not happy with and am tempted to make up an excuse to make life easier!

@PriyaPT
Thank you... yes, he was happy to leave and he's in a different field now but it changed him- I doubt he'd do the same again.

Which is why they get away with it 😕

I totally know the feeling. I've worked in similar companies. But I would strongly suggest you don't whistle blow or alert the parent company or anything like that, it's absolutely not your place to do so IMO.

What would be reasonable would be to ensure you've noted your concerns in writing to someone who IS responsible for them (presumably the FD) and leave it at that. They don't care, the company doesn't care, it's not up to you to care.

You're an employee, not an owner or auditor, your role is to flag it and take action if they want you to, not to get het up about something that is undoubtedly wrong but is custom and practice.

Send the email and let it go, move on with your life and job! That's what I would do (and have done in similar circumstances, I've written papers saying "I wouldn't advise this" and so what if they're ignored, my integrity is still intact).

Also, don't blame the menopause, it's nothing to do with that, it's your professional integrity. But if you've brought it to someone's attention, given your view and it's been ignored, so what? Are you really going to affect your own livelihood because of the actions of others? If you were the newly appointed FD I'd say you had to do something but you're not. And you were only covering the role so you're not responsible for something that has been going on for years and years and not on your watch.

@TheStroppyFeminist to an extent I agree - it’s why I’ve been agonising over it. I only ever worked in one company that I think would protect and thank you for speaking out, and make sure you felt safe at work afterwards.

But ethically have I truly acquitted myself if I carry on. It seems the vast majority of MN responses think I have to take some of kind of action - either leave or speak out.

And that's fine, you must do what is right for you. It's all very well all of us sitting here telling you what we would do but we're not you. I have been in your position though and I took the action I described: documented it, gave my view, got on with my life. Bigger companies absolutely accept that it's fine to raise concerns, small companies, not so much. good luck whatever you decide.

Also, will anyone at your company thank you for it? I doubt it! Not that doing the right thing always needs thanks but not only will you not be thanked, I doubt it'll actually achieve anything. I think your integrity is intact if you've brought it to the attention of the person who is responsible (the FD) and that's all you need to do. You're not responsible.

That sucks. But the police will not be knocking on your door. You have had the discussion, you have your answer.

I left a job many years ago, in a listed company in a regulated industry. My boss wrote in my last appraisal that I needed to have a better understanding of nuance and business needs.. None of the business partners ever had a problem with my support or the financial decisions I made or advised them to make. The country FD, however, along with many others I have worked alongside, was intent on obscuring the truth, hiding war chests and in other years, hiding poor performance.

I have a strong sense of right and wrong.... but even in my early years as an auditor, I was counselled to not always tell the truth.

Don't let this hurt you. If you like the job, like the team, can make things better, fight fires and be thanked for it.. do it.. and ask not to go anywhere near expenses, ever again!

Take your time, look around, if there is something better on the horizon, go for it.. if not, don't let this hurt you. Flag questionable things as requiring high approval and leave them to it.

I would leave and tell them in my letter of resignation exactly why. I would protect my integrity.

Make sure you don’t sign anything off. Document it so if they do get caught out then you have raised it. Paying for a holiday and subscriptions is ludicrous

You have to leave. Financial fraud is serious regardless of how small and can result in criminal charges. Leave and put your discomfort with the situation as the reason in your resignation to protect yourself. That way it’s on record that you told your superiors when you became aware and they did not act.

I work in finance too and I think that you have a responsibility to do something here.

In my opinion the biggest problem is that your finance director is incompetent. Lots of fires, no policies, a mate auditing etc etc. I suspect that the more settled you get the more other things like this you will find.

I think that you did the right thing reporting your concerns to the two directors. If there aren’t any minutes of that meeting I’d email them to confirm what was discussed. Finishing up with something like “I understand from our conversation that you want me to take no action here, and that you yourselves will be taking no action to regularise this situation “

I would job hunt, find something else that I liked, and get settled into that job comfortably. Once safely moved I would write to the cfo of the parent company outlining your concerns and your reasons for leaving, and attaching a copy of your email with the meeting minutes.

I left an organisation where I was senior after becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the direction it was taking. If you have integrity then it's deeply uncomfortable to stay somewhere that doesn't adhere to those rules.

The owner company will undoubtedly get to grips with this at some point too, however complacent the directors are about it at the moment

Make a SAR report to the NCA to cover yourself and report to the auditor. I know the auditor is pally with the FD, but they will have a responsibility to follow whistleblowing procedures and you can report them if they do not follow these. Make clear they do not have your permission to disclose anything to the management and they have a responsibility to ensure they do not reveal any details you have told them and they will find ways to “find” the false expenses through their audit procedures. Any expenses that come to you you should question with the people involved and tell them factually that their expenses are not wholly and exclusively for work and therefore you will have to make sure the expenses would have to be deducted from their next payroll. Post any expenses to a staff loan account, not an expense account. Do not facilitate any fraudulent expenses or you could be liable.