Previously on Foreign Exchange Rate - Zack and Sydney meet their match in Portage la Prairie and are rebuffed when they try to conduct an audit on the foreign currency.
Joey stood on the forty-first floor of his building and watched downtown Toronto get washed by the rain. The soaked window blurred the lights and the dark blues and greens below. Tiny people toting umbrellas were barely visible, but it was comforting to capture as much nature as he could while he was in his office.
As a kid, Joey showed an aptitude for math, and when he solved his cousin’s calculus when he was in grade nine, the Elders told him that he needed to go to school. Get off the reserve and do something great.
Joey sighed. He had achieved a lot: gotten his CPA and graduated with a doctorate in forensic accounting, but he missed being on the land. Following game trails to see where they went, or hunting with his friends.
He walked back to his desk and pulled up the weather. “Is it pouring back home?” he mumbled to himself.
There was a knock at the door.
Joey straightened, tucking his long black hair behind his ears. “Enter.”
Garrett, one of the managers of the auditing teams, leaned in to Joey’s office. “Hey. Did you authorize an audit on foreign currency systems in Portage la Prairie?”
Joey frowned. A foreign currency audit? They hadn’t authorized any foreign currency audits since they looked at American currency last autumn. “No. Why?”
Garrett rubbed his hands together and tilted his head as he walked into the office. His tie was askew, but he was always more focused on the work than he was on his appearance. “That’s weird. Param got a call from her old friend Chelsea—manager at branch zero-nine-five. She said one of our agents showed up to conduct an audit of their foreign currency storage. Something about revamping foreign currency storage systems. That wasn’t you?”
Now Joey’s attention was focused. He strode out from behind the desk. He pointed for Garrett to lead him back to the bullpen. “You’re sure nobody else authorized this? Was this the only audit conducted? Show me what you have.”
Garrett bumped into the glass coffee table in Joey’s office as he back-pedalled. “Uh…I’m just coming into this now. I don’t have a lot of information.”
Joey motioned for him to lead on. “Well, let’s find out.”
He followed Garrett through the grey, bland interior of the audit compliance floor of the True North Canadian Bank building. Joey always wished that they made the building a little more dynamic. Maybe adding some colour, or some interesting artwork.
They arrived at Garrett’s desk and Garrett typed into the company messaging system as Joey reviewed the paperwork that Garrett had pulled. It looked like the last time they had conducted a foreign currency storage audit was…more than eighteen years ago? “Wow. It looks like we are due to review the foreign currency storage systems.”
Garrett nodded. “I know, right?”
His computer beeped. “Anything?” Joey asked.
Garrett shook his head. “No. Nobody here in corporate authorized an audit in Portage.” He scrolled through some files and double-checked something. “We didn’t have any third-party audit companies in Manitoba, either.”
Joey grunted. “Then who took the cookie from the cookie jar?”
Garrett laughed. Then he grew serious. “Param said that the auditor looked professional. Had credentials, uniform, insider knowledge of our systems.”
“Huh. That’s worrisome. Have you contacted any other branches in the province to see if anyone else has been audited by this mysterious auditor?”
Garrett reached for the keyboard, then hesitated. “How wide do you want this net to go?”
Joey patted him on the back. “Great question. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Let’s say Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Western Ontario.”
Garrett’s face paled. “That’s a big region. We have…forty-three branches in that area.”
“I know. If someone is stealing from us, wouldn’t you like to know?”
Garrett sighed. “But—”
“Do it, Garrett.”
Garrett slumped, but he tapped on the keys and sent a message to the banks in question using the bank’s internal instant messaging system:
***Urgent Audit Compliance Request***
If your branch underwent a compliance audit related to foreign currency in the past month, please reply with your branch number, the date, and recorded name of the audit officer.
They watched as many “nos” populated the chat.
Joey straightened and brushed the hair out of his eyes. “Well. If you get any—”
“Oh, shit.”
Joey bent back down, reading the screen over Garrett’s shoulder.
Ryan Clements.
Ryan Clements.
Ryan Clements.
After about ten minutes, most of the banks had answered. A total of fourteen had answered in the affirmative and each bank had been visited by the compliance officer known as Ryan Clements.
Joey’s hand had made its way up to his mouth. “Pick one of the banks that answered in the affirmative. Have they gone over the contents of their foreign currency room?”
Garrett looked over his shoulder and eyed Joey. Then he picked up the phone next to his monitor. Joey could hear the phone ring. “Yes, hello? Bank number one-zero-eight? This is Garrett Pelletier, Audit Compliance Manager for TNCB. My verification code is four-eight-four-one. Can you verify?”
Joey chewed on the nail of the finger that had unconsciously found his mouth.
“Thank you. We are reviewing the audit completed by Audit Officer Ryan Clements last week. Have you gone through the contents of the foreign currency locker since the audit was completed? No? Could you please complete that now? Yes, I’ll hold.”
Joey felt his blood run cold. How could they have missed this? Fourteen? That was inexcusable.
“Hmm. Is there any indication of who might have withdrawn those funds? Nothing in the logbook? Okay. Thank you for your time. No—we will contact you if we need further information. Right. Okay, bye.”
Garrett placed the phone receiver gently back into the cradle. “The foreign currency room was empty.”
Joey reeled. Someone was robbing their banks.
“We need to notify the branches.”
“Notify? Are you serious? We’ve just identified fourteen—fourteen—branches that have been…” Garrett looked around the bullpen. Nobody was listening. “—audited. If we let the cat out of the bag, they’ll have our asses. You can say goodbye to that cushy new promotion. We’ve got to be smart about this.”
Joey weighed Garrett’s thoughts. He was right, there could be some blowback on their department for gross negligence. But knowing and not acting was another level. “Expand the search. If—”
Joey’s phone buzzed loudly in his pocket, interrupting him. He paused and pulled it out of his pocket. The banner across the phone screen said Outlook - New Message: PCross@TNCB.ca - Surprise Audit - Wanted to let you know we just concluded the surprise foreign currency audit conducted today. Thx, Pauline.
Joey nearly dropped his phone. Pauline was the manager of the Steinbach, MB branch. The audit just finished? Ryan Clements was robbing their banks as they spoke.
“Notify the damned branches.”
“Are you su—”
“Now, Garrett.”
Joey stormed back to his office and slammed the door. He stared out at the grey clouds and fumed.
Who was Ryan Clements?