THE TWILIGHT last January brought two things to Bali: light drizzle and the calculation of annual bonuses. For “Kunavastu Tours” employees, December is the harvest month. High season means non-stop hard work, but also the promise of tempting bonuses. However, the smiles on the employees’ faces began to fade when rumors spread: that the total handling pax (the number of guests handled) in December, which was printed on the final resume, had somehow mysteriously decreased.
Doubts and Union Meetings
“This doesn’t make sense!” shouted Made, a senior reservation manager, in a heated union meeting. “We all know how busy December is. The numbers on my final report are much higher than what appears in the system.”
The union chairman, Mr. Wayan, banged the table. “Management said no one knew. The accounting department didn’t admit it, either. But the numbers can’t change by themselves, right?”
Unrest spread. The bonuses they were entitled to, the hard work of overtime amidst the hustle and bustle of the holidays, were threatened to shrink. Meetings with management were fruitless. “The numbers recorded in the system are final,” management said coldly, refusing to take responsibility for the discrepancy. They hinted that there might have been a “technical error” or “unsynchronized recalculation.” However, all of that sounded like empty excuses.
A Silent Investigation Behind the Scenes
Mr. Wayan quietly approached Putu, an IT staff member who was also a union member. Putu was known for his calm expertise and intelligent brain.
“Putu, we need your help,” whispered Mr. Wayan. “This is about our bonus. There is something wrong with the pax handling numbers in accounting.”
Putu nodded, his eyes showing understanding. “What should I look for, Sir?”
“Everything related to accounting data. CCTV footage in the office, door access data to the accounting room, time keeping history, and most importantly, file backup history and data recovery on the server. I’m sure our server is connected to at least nine workstations in accounting.”
For the next three days, Putu was like a digital detective. He worked outside office hours, sneaking into the server room, and copying the data requested by Mr. Wayan. So, it was not obvious because it was his job. While checking for corrupted files, he also checked for changes made towards the end of the month. His monitor glowed dimly in the darkness of the night, line after line of code and activity logs flowing across his screen.
A Bright Spot on a Sunday Afternoon
On the third day, early in the morning, Putu found something. “Mr. Wayan, I found it!” his voice trembled over the phone.
“What is it, Putu? What did you find?” asked Mr. Wayan, impatiently.
“The change in the total number of pax handling was made after the final printing of the total pax handling resume towards the end of December. To be precise, on Sunday, at 3 pm.”
Mr. Wayan frowned. “Sunday? But none of the accounting staff came to work on Sunday, right? The attendance registration definitely didn’t record it.”
“That’s right. There was no record in the attendance. That’s what makes it strange.
However, I checked the recording of the access card to the accounting room. There was one access card used to enter at around 2.45 pm and exit at 3.15 pm.”
Mr. Wayan’s heart was beating fast. “And on the server?”
“On the accounting workstation or computer number 5, sir, there were data modified that afternoon. The timestamp matches the time of the door access.” Putu added. “I also found CCTV footage of the accounting room at that time. There was an accounting staff who entered the room.”
“Who?” Pak Wayan insisted.
“That…” Putu hesitated. “Just Mr. Wayan to confirm with the person on duty for the reservation shift on Sunday.”
Mr, Wayan immediately contacted Ayu, the reservation staff on duty that Sunday. “Ayu, remember last Sunday at the end of December? Someone entered the accounting room at around three in the afternoon?”
“Oh, yes! I caught a glimpse. It seems like Pak Made is from accounting. I didn’t pay much attention because I was busy with a last-minute booking.” Ayu answered innocently.
Confrontation and Confession
With all the evidence in hand—CCTV footage, door access data, server backup and recovery history, and Ayu’s testimony—the Union created a strong legal construction. They copied all the data many times, anticipating the possibility that the data would be deleted or removed.
A second meeting with management was arranged, this time with a much different atmosphere. Pak Wayan sat before them, accompanied by Putu and several other union members.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have conducted an internal investigation,” Pak Wayan began, his voice calm but authoritative. “We have evidence. Digital and visual evidence.”
He explained Putu’s findings in detail: the date, time, door access, data modifications at the accounting workstation as we monitored on the server, and CCTV footage. When the CCTV footage was played, it showed one of the accounting staff—Pak Made—who was indeed recorded entering accounting room on Sunday afternoon, the management’s faces turned pale.
Mr. Made, who was also present at the meeting, initially tried to evade it. “I… I just took the files that were left behind.”
“The files that were left behind needed to modify the total handling pax data on the server, Mr. Made? On Sunday?” Putu replied calmly. “And it’s not on your attendance?”
The pressure grew stronger. Finally, Mr. Wayan took a deep breath. “We don’t want to prolong this problem, but if there is no satisfactory explanation and resolution, we have no choice but to report this finding to the authorities.”
The threat worked. Mr. Made’s face turned red, he lowered his head. Finally, he confessed. “Okay, I… I did it. On orders…”
The management, especially the owner, who had been silent, finally spoke up, his voice soft and restrained. “Yes, we… we ordered the changes.”
A mixture of relief and anger enveloped the room. Their reason, as later explained, was to reduce bonus costs because the company’s profits in December were considered “not as optimal as expected.” A bitter confession that confirmed the employees’ suspicions.
Justice and Learning
The police were then contacted to handle the case further because this was a case of data manipulation involving fraud. The investigation will be developed to see if there is a connection with potential theft or similar data manipulation in the past, or even the possibility of tax evasion.
Although the controversial bonus was finally paid according to the actual initial figure, this incident left a scar. However, there is also a valuable lesson: that honesty and transparency are the main foundations of a company. And that in this digital era, every trace, no matter how small, can be the key to uncovering the truth. This story is a warning to anyone who intends to play around with integrity, that technology is a double-edged sword: protecting what is right, and exposing evil.(*)
