HR & Payroll
Payroll Exceptions Dashboard
Payroll is the largest recurring cash outflow in most public bodies, which makes it the highest-value target for error, fraud and ghost employees.
Why Payroll Exceptions Matter
Compensation of employees typically dominates an entity's operating budget, and the MFMA and PFMA require effective controls over it as part of the accounting officer's internal control duty. Anomalies such as duplicate banking details, employees without valid identity numbers, and pay outside approved bands are classic indicators of ghost employees or unauthorised payments that the AGSA tests directly. AuditPro Core runs exception analytics across each payroll cycle so these red flags surface for investigation before the payment run is released.
The Numbers
AuditPro Core renders this view from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records. The figures below are illustrative sample data.
Exceptions raised
643
this cycle
Value at risk
R 4.2m
Resolved
71%
▲ 9 pts
Duplicate accounts
34
Exceptions by category
Highest-value exceptions
| Type | Count | Value (R) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allowance overrun | 156 | 1820000 | Review |
| Out-of-band pay | 121 | 1340000 | Review |
| Terminated paid | 19 | 610000 | Recovery |
| Duplicate banking | 34 | 290000 | Investigate |
| No tax number | 88 | 140000 | Correct |
Figures shown are illustrative sample data for demonstration. AuditPro Core renders these views from your own tenant's live, tamper-evident records.
Ghost employees
A ghost employee is a record that draws a salary without a real person behind it, often created by colluding staff. Detection relies on cross-checks — shared bank accounts, missing biometric or leave activity, and identity numbers that fail validation.
Duplicate banking details
Two or more employees sharing one bank account is a strong fraud indicator and is rarely innocent at scale. The same account receiving multiple salaries warrants investigation before, not after, the payment is made.
Out-of-band pay
Payments that fall outside an employee's grade or approved band signal override, error or manipulation. Each exception must reconcile to an authorised instruction or be reversed and reported.
How AuditPro Core Bridges the Gap
- Exception analytics: each payroll run is screened for duplicate accounts, invalid identities and out-of-band pay before release.
- Reconciliation: flagged payments are matched back to approved appointment and remuneration instructions.
- Exception workflow: unresolved anomalies route to HR and investigations with a documented disposition.
- Audit-ready export: the exception register and resolutions export as evidence for the payroll and consequence-management files.
Key Takeaways
- Payroll's size makes even a small leakage rate a material rand exposure.
- Shared bank accounts and invalid identity numbers are leading ghost-employee indicators.
- Screen the run before payment — post-payment recovery is slow and often incomplete.
- Every exception must resolve to an authorised instruction or a documented reversal.
See This on Your Own Data
AuditPro Core renders this dashboard from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records — every figure traceable to source.