When Accounting Goes Rogue: How $154 Million Disappeared Faster Than Your Lunch Break

Letā€™s face itā€”sometimes in HR, we donā€™t know whether to cry or laugh. Personally, I choose laughter (itā€™s cheaper than therapy). The recent headline-grabbing situation at Macyā€™s, where an employee allegedly concealed up to $154 million in delivery expenses, offers a perfect mix of drama, shock, and ā€œhow did no one notice this for three years?ā€ energy.

Before you start clutching your pearls (or your quarterly budget report), letā€™s break down what happened. One employeeā€”yes, just oneā€”apparently went rogue in the accounting department, hiding hundreds of millions of dollars in small package delivery expenses. Itā€™s like a real-life episode of Office Scandals Gone Wild. Macyā€™s had to delay its earnings release, conduct an independent investigation, and, of course, terminate the employee responsible.

What can HR professionals learn from this fiasco? Oh, plenty. Letā€™s dive into some key takeaways that will hopefully keep your own organization off the front page.

1. Trust, But Verifyā€”And Then Verify Again

Sure, we all want to believe the best in people, but this situation is a prime example of why internal controls are non-negotiable. Macyā€™s trusted one employee to manage a massive expense category, and it cost them dearly. HRā€™s role in this? Partner with finance and leadership to ensure proper oversight mechanisms are in place.

Lesson:

  • Audit processes should be as routine as morning coffee.
  • No single employee should hold that much unchecked power.

As HR professionals, weā€™re often the ones stuck with the fallout, cleaning up after an “oops” moment. Letā€™s make sure ā€œoopsā€ doesnā€™t become a line item on your P&L.

2. Culture of Accountabilityā€”or Lack Thereof?

How does someone hide $154 million for nearly three years without raising a single eyebrow? The answer likely lies in a culture where accountability was either missing or overlooked.

Red flags for HR:

  • Employees working in silos with little to no oversight.
  • A culture where people hesitate to question or report inconsistencies.

What HR can do:

  • Foster a speak-up culture where employees feel safe pointing out issues.
  • Train managers to spot irregularities (and not just in timesheets).

Also, letā€™s normalize asking questions without being labeled a tattletale. After all, thereā€™s a difference between collaboration and turning a blind eye.

3. The HR/Finance Love Affairā€”Itā€™s Time to Commit

Too often, HR and Finance operate in separate bubbles, only crossing paths when somethingā€™s gone terribly wrong (cue panicked phone call about a ā€œdiscrepancyā€). This Macyā€™s situation is a glaring reminder that HR and Finance should be BFFs, not just acquaintances.

Ideas for collaboration:

  • Joint training sessions on risk management and compliance.
  • Cross-departmental audits to catch irregularities early.

Because letā€™s be honestā€”if the HR and Finance teams at Macyā€™s had been collaborating more closely, someone mightā€™ve noticed the $154 million black hole a lot sooner.

4. Donā€™t Forget the Human Side of Fraud

While the numbers in this case are jaw-dropping, thereā€™s a human story behind every fraud. What motivated this employee to go rogue? Desperation? Arrogance? Pure chaos? As HR professionals, weā€™re in a unique position to dig deeper into the ā€œwhyā€ behind these actions.

What HR can do:

  • Provide ethical training to remind employees that honesty is, indeed, the best policy.
  • Monitor for burnout or stress that might push someone toward poor decisions.

Weā€™re not just gatekeepers of policies; weā€™re also the ones who can help create an environment where employees donā€™t feel the need to ā€œget creativeā€ with the companyā€™s finances.

5. Laugh Through the Chaos, but Learn

If nothing else, this story gives us a moment to pause and reflect (preferably with a strong cup of coffee in hand). Yes, itā€™s absurd. Yes, itā€™s a little funny in a ā€œthis could never happen hereā€”wait, could it?ā€ kind of way. But itā€™s also a wake-up call for HR professionals to take a proactive role in safeguarding their organizations.

Because letā€™s be real: if Macyā€™s had leaned a little more on HR to strengthen their culture of accountability and partnership with Finance, we might be laughing at something else entirely.

So, HR friends, letā€™s laughā€”but letā€™s also take notes. Because the next time someone asks, ā€œWhatā€™s the worst that could happen?ā€ you can now answer, ā€œOh, just a cool $154 million mistake.ā€ And with that, back to work we go.

Elga Lejarza

HRTrainingClasses.com

HRDevelop.com

Lejarza HR Consulting