OT: Thread About Nothing (TaN #...lost count)

[MartyOwns]

I don't mind Audits.

It means I don't have to work and get to sit in a conference room and answer questions all day


I have only been involved in technical audits. But they typically have focused on Security, Personal Privacy, Segregation of Duties and that sort of stuff...Most auditors have no idea about the nitty-gritty technical aspects so they essentially rely on Standard Operating Procedures documents that my team writes...and it basically comes down to are you doing what you say you are doing.

And they will always find something...Always! No matter how tight your documentation and processes are... Auditors will ALWAYS finds something to write about in their Final reports.

22 years of playing this game I have never gone through an audit without a "finding" - Some years they have written a "finding" with a corrective action plan only to call the very exact item that they recommended as "finding" in following years.

I used to get frustrated by it until I realized it is a great "make work" activity that gets a lot of attention from very high-level people.

If done right, it becomes a big "lets pat ourselves on the back" exercise that gets presented to higher ups in a nice neat report

is it kind of like this?

 

[JimEIV]

is it kind of like this?

I am a people person damnit.

 

[JimEIV]

I have to go back to work Thursday and I realized none of my clothes fit me. I've been wearing shorts and hoodies for almost two years straight now.

 

[Saugus]

I have to go back to work Thursday and I realized none of my clothes fit me. I've been wearing shorts and hoodies for almost two years straight now.

My clothes still fit when I went in yesterday. It's right back to a hoodie and sweatpants today though.

I actually didn't gain weight during lockdown, I lost almost 15 lbs. Of course, this year being able to go out to eat and drink again, I promptly gained 10 lbs back. Oh well.

 

[JimEIV]

My clothes still fit when I went in yesterday. It's right back to a hoodie and sweatpants today though.

I actually didn't gain weight during lockdown, I lost almost 15 lbs. Of course, this year being able to go out to eat and drink again, I promptly gained 10 lbs back. Oh well.

Still 5lbs to the good...That is success!

 

[Saugus]

Still 5lbs to the good...That is success!

Ya, but it's not trending the right way.

I'm hoping it's sympathy weight for my wife's pregnancy, and I'll lose it once she gets back in shape. But I also know that dad bod is a real thing. Trying my best to avoid it.

 

[njdevils1982]

I don't mind Audits.

It means I don't have to work and get to sit in a conference room and answer questions all day


I have only been involved in technical audits. But they typically have focused on Security, Personal Privacy, Segregation of Duties and that sort of stuff...Most auditors have no idea about the nitty-gritty technical aspects so they essentially rely on Standard Operating Procedures documents that my team writes...and it basically comes down to are you doing what you say you are doing.

And they will always find something...Always! No matter how tight your documentation and processes are... Auditors will ALWAYS finds something to write about in their Final reports.

22 years of playing this game I have never gone through an audit without a "finding" - Some years they have written a "finding" with a corrective action plan only to call the very exact item that they recommended as "finding" in following years.

I used to get frustrated by it until I realized it is a great "make work" activity that gets a lot of attention from very high-level people.

If done right, it becomes a big "lets pat ourselves on the back" exercise that gets presented to higher ups in a nice neat report

well said…it all becomes doublespeak from the ones who want to manipulate the message or impression
AND the facts

"finding" …that's a good laugh on this fine wednesday morning….but ya, let them have their fun like you said

 

[My3Sons]

I have to go back to work Thursday and I realized none of my clothes fit me. I've been wearing shorts and hoodies for almost two years straight now.

Ugh. Do you have to wear a suit or just pants and a collared shirt?

 

[None Shall Pass]

I don't mind Audits.

It means I don't have to work and get to sit in a conference room and answer questions all day


I have only been involved in technical audits. But they typically have focused on Security, Personal Privacy, Segregation of Duties and that sort of stuff...Most auditors have no idea about the nitty-gritty technical aspects so they essentially rely on Standard Operating Procedures documents that my team writes...and it basically comes down to are you doing what you say you are doing.

And they will always find something...Always! No matter how tight your documentation and processes are... Auditors will ALWAYS finds something to write about in their Final reports.

22 years of playing this game I have never gone through an audit without a "finding" - Some years they have written a "finding" with a corrective action plan only to call the very exact item that they recommended as "finding" in following years.

I used to get frustrated by it until I realized it is a great "make work" activity that gets a lot of attention from very high-level people.

If done right, it becomes a big "lets pat ourselves on the back" exercise that gets presented to higher ups in a nice neat report

For my masters I took an Information Systems Auditing class over the summer. It's a lot more interesting for the auditor

 

[JimEIV]

For my masters I took an Information Systems Auditing class over the summer. It's a lot more interesting for the auditor

I learned over the years how to make the interaction with the auditors much less contentious...I think IT people naturally come into an audit too defensive and feel like they are in for an inquisition.

I sort of have learned to think of it as it is my role is to explain my existing processes and risk mitigation plans that I have in place and that it is their roll to find gaps and make process improvement suggestions...that way it becomes more of a partnership to improve rather than a conflict.

It has worked out well and most of the auditors like working with me.

 

[Saugus]

Ugh. Do you have to wear a suit or just pants and a collared shirt?

Does anyone wear suits to work daily anymore other than politicians, lawyers, and bankers? I usually wear business casual, unless we have a conference, in which case I wear a suit.

Our office has moved to "dress for your day". If you have a meeting with external people, dress appropriately. Otherwise do whatever you want within reason.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

For my masters I took an Information Systems Auditing class over the summer. It's a lot more interesting for the auditor

I'm in a unique position where I play an important role while we are being audited but also get to audit our suppliers. Auditing is absolutely better than being audited.

I learned over the years how to make the interaction with the auditors much less contentious...I think IT people naturally come into an audit too defensive and feel like they are in for an inquisition.

I sort of have learned to think of it as it is my role is to explain my existing processes and risk mitigation plans that I have in place and that it is their roll to find gaps and make process improvement suggestions...that way it becomes more of a partnership to improve rather than a conflict.

It has worked out well and most of the auditors like working with me.

Simply answer the question that is asked. We have a great relationship with our auditor, even though this was his last year :'(, and it's a great opportunity to learn and improve. And that's always how we look at it. It's never been contentious. But that doesn't make it less stressful. I think those of us in the QA field are obsessive compulsive perfectionists by nature so we stress ourselves out thinking about all the things we know could be better instead highlighting the things we're good at. Additionally, a lot of what we present during an audit are not things we are in full control of individually like production records and various other inspections. It's less stressful when it's something you as an individual are in full control of.

Anyway, though, as usual we freaking killed it and got a great score. The team here is really great and people really do care about what they do. It always shows during the audit.

 

[devilsblood]

So my boss got scammed for $3G's yesterday.

They called up saying they were from JCP&L that we were in arrears and if we didn't pay up immediately the power would be shut off in 30 minutes. We are a retail business, that would not be good.

On it's surface you might say you would never fall for that, except when he looked through recent bills there were none from JCP&L going back to June. We also have this thing where there is an identical street address in a neighboring town with the same zip code, so our mail(and often our deliveries) go to this other address, so it was possible that we weren't getting the bills and we were way in arrears. Throw in the pressure of the a potential shut off and he was scrambling.

When he tried calling JCP&L he was put on hold.

Now I'm in agreement with his wife, that when they demanded payment via Western Union I probably would have drawn the line. Apparently Bitcoin came up in the convo, and I def think I would have snapped out of it at that point, but I can see getting caught in the vortex.

Posting this as part of a public service announcement. Keep on your toes. But also like the dig on the boss.

 

[njdevils1982]

So my boss got scammed for $3G's yesterday.

They called up saying they were from JCP&L that we were in arrears and if we didn't pay up immediately the power would be shut off in 30 minutes. We are a retail business, that would not be good.

On it's surface you might say you would never fall for that, except when he looked through recent bills there were none from JCP&L going back to June. We also have this thing where there is an identical street address in a neighboring town with the same zip code, so our mail(and often our deliveries) go to this other address, so it was possible that we weren't getting the bills and we were way in arrears. Throw in the pressure of the a potential shut off and he was scrambling.

When he tried calling JCP&L he was put on hold.

Now I'm in agreement with his wife, that when they demanded payment via Western Union I probably would have drawn the line. Apparently Bitcoin came up in the convo, and I def think I would have snapped out of it at that point, but I can see getting caught in the vortex.

Posting this as part of a public service announcement. Keep on your toes. But also like the dig on the boss.

 

[devilsblood]

Wait, it was you?

 

[JimEIV]

Wait, it was you?

No reply because he's out spending his three grand.

 

[Saugus]

So my boss got scammed for $3G's yesterday.

They called up saying they were from JCP&L that we were in arrears and if we didn't pay up immediately the power would be shut off in 30 minutes. We are a retail business, that would not be good.

On it's surface you might say you would never fall for that, except when he looked through recent bills there were none from JCP&L going back to June. We also have this thing where there is an identical street address in a neighboring town with the same zip code, so our mail(and often our deliveries) go to this other address, so it was possible that we weren't getting the bills and we were way in arrears. Throw in the pressure of the a potential shut off and he was scrambling.

When he tried calling JCP&L he was put on hold.

Now I'm in agreement with his wife, that when they demanded payment via Western Union I probably would have drawn the line. Apparently Bitcoin came up in the convo, and I def think I would have snapped out of it at that point, but I can see getting caught in the vortex.

Posting this as part of a public service announcement. Keep on your toes. But also like the dig on the boss.

That sucks. These types of scams work by creating a sense of urgency and forcing the victim to suspend their sense of reason.

Where did they ask him to send the WU transfer? If it's a person outside the country he's probably shit out of luck, but if it's someone within the US doing the scam or acting as a money mule, law enforcement might be able to go after that.

 

[devilsblood]

That sucks. These types of scams work by creating a sense of urgency and forcing the victim to suspend their sense of reason.

Where did they ask him to send the WU transfer? If it's a person outside the country he's probably shit out of luck, but if it's someone within the US doing the scam or acting as a money mule, law enforcement might be able to go after that.

I didn't get too into the details. Like I said, I heard a rumor about bitcoin being involved.

The cops are involved, it didn't sound like there was much hoping of cracking the case.

 

[Saugus]

I didn't get too into the details. Like I said, I heard a rumor about bitcoin being involved.

The cops are involved, it didn't sound like there was much hoping of cracking the case.

No, there usually isn't. Local law enforcement usually doesn't have the resources or interest to go after these relatively small scams. That's too bad.

 

[devilsblood]

No, there usually isn't. Local law enforcement usually doesn't have the resources or interest to go after these relatively small scams. That's too bad.

Something like this seems like an FBI issue because it most likely an out of state homebase, but as you mention it's $3G, FBI is not going to chase that(though I do imagine there is a larger pot at the end of that rainbow).

 

[Saugus]

Something like this seems like an FBI issue because it most likely an out of state homebase, but as you mention it's $3G, FBI is not going to chase that(though I do imagine there is a larger pot at the end of that rainbow).

Oh no doubt. These scams are a volume game. They probably call a ton of people with the same script, and it only works a few times, but that's enough for them.

And it is likely an organized group behind it too. Individual scammers can and do pull similar schemes too, but they generally target individuals. Going after a business requires more organization and sophistication.

 

[HyperX]

Not to be a downer but - what is it about crying and 'letting emotions out' that makes you feel better afterward/going forward (most times)?

Is it some sort of chemical reaction or a release or something else? Curious

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

 

[JimEIV]

Ugh. Do you have to wear a suit or just pants and a collared shirt?

I totally missed this.

It's business casual - men have to wear collars. But there is still an old school mentality that are sticklers for dress code. When I started here it was suites only...we had a guy who walk around and if your tie was pulled down a little with top button undone he would walk up to you button the top button and fix your tie ...it used to crack me up and freak out all the younger guys... but I did 12 years of Catholic school so it was totally normal for me. 2001 they started casual Fridays, 2003 summer casual, 2004 business casual full time.

In hindsight I liked wearing suites...it was pretty easy. We have dry cleaning service in our office/building and you could drop your suites off Wednesday and have everything ready for you Friday or Monday.

A lot of the perks have disappeared over the years...we used to have a carving station in our cafeteria every day, hair salon and car detailing service... seriously was why I took the job 22 years ago. None of that stuff exist anymore.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

I totally missed this.

It's business casual - men have to wear collars. But there is still an old school mentality that are sticklers for dress code. When I started here it was suites only...we had a guy who walk around and if your tie was pulled down a little with top button undone he would walk up to you button the top button and fix your tie ...it used to crack me up and freak out all the younger guys... but I did 12 years of Catholic school so it was totally normal for me. 2001 they started casual Fridays, 2003 summer casual, 2004 business casual full time.

In hindsight I liked wearing suites...it was pretty easy. We have dry cleaning service in our office/building and you could drop your suites off Wednesday and have everything ready for you Friday or Monday.

A lot of the perks have disappeared over the years...we used to have a carving station in our cafeteria every day, hair salon and car detailing service... seriously was why I took the job 22 years ago. None of that stuff exist anymore.

Our CEO is in the facility most days of the week wearing jeans and a turtle neck. I wear the company issued uniform which my boss gives me crap about since I'm not an hourly employee, but I never have to think about what to wear to work and they have a cleaning service, which is more my speed. When I'm visiting suppliers I usually wear slacks and a collared shirt. Our Director generally wears jeans, a fleece or long sleeve shirt and crazy Doc Marten's or Birkenstocks I don't think she cares at all how we dress.

We still have a completely free kitchen with all kinds of good stuff. Wegmans bagels, Panera soups, sandwiches, etc. Every Friday is soft serve Friday which is also nice. We have a pretty good ice cream bar setup.