SWIFT Update March 13, 2025

Signs of Suspicious Fraud Activity

Reporting suspicious activity is crucial to safeguarding state resources. By being vigilant and promptly reporting unusual behaviors, you can play a vital role in protecting our community.

What are signs of suspicious activity?
It is important to familiarize yourself with the signs of suspicious activity to ensure you can act effectively when necessary. These indicators can often signal potential fraud, waste, or abuse of public resources.

Here are common red flags to watch out for.

• Unusual Transactions. Be aware of transactions that deviate from normal patterns, such as unusually large payments, frequent transfers to unknown accounts, or payments to unfamiliar vendors.
• Unjustified Expenses. Be alert to expenses that seem excessive, unnecessary, or unsupported by proper documentation.
• Unauthorized Access Attempts. Pay attention to people trying to gain access to restricted areas without proper identification or clearance.
• Conflicts of Interest. Be mindful of situations where employees could have personal interests that could influence their responsibilities.
• Falsified Records. Be alert to any discrepancies or inconsistencies in official records, such as missing documents, altered data, or forged signatures.

Reporting Mechanisms
You can help protect state resources by reporting instances of potential fraud, waste, and abuse of State resources. There are several ways to report suspicious activity. The State’s Whistleblower statute protects state agency workers who in good faith report actual, suspected, or planned violations.

Resource	Fraud Reporting Details
Agency -Specific	Each agency has their own designated reporting channels and mechanisms. It is important to familiarize yourself with your agency’s processes and feel confident in sharing this information with others at your agency. In some cases, hotlines or other anonymous channels exist, or employees can report concerns to supervisors, senior management, and human resources. Management must be ready to assist.
MMB Internal Controls	Fraud Reporting Resources for employee fraud, consumer fraud, and cyber fraud are available on MMB’s Internal Control & Accountability Fraud Reporting webpage.
MN Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA)	The Office of Legislative Auditor’s website offers an online or printable allegation form to report possible misuse of state money and other public resources such as computers, equipment, telephones, or work time. They also receive allegations regarding noncompliance with state law.
Financial Crimes and Fraud Section at Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA)	The Financial Crimes and Fraud Section provides several options for reporting suspected fraud: Email: MNfraud.Bureau@state.mn.us Phone: 651-793-3750 or Toll-free: 1-888-372-8366 Fax: 651-539-1551 Or by mail: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Financial Crimes and Fraud section 1430 Maryland Ave. E. St. Paul, MN 55106

You can contact the MMB Internal Control and Accountability Unit for more information on trainings, risk assessment development, control activities, monitoring ideas, and other key information.

Know Who to Talk to about SWIFT

Experiencing a SWIFT issue or have a question about SWIFT transaction? Do you know who to contact?  SWIFT users should know that there is a dedicated SWIFT Help Desk that is not a part of Minnesota IT Services. The SWIFT Help Desk is your first point of contact for any of the SWIFT Support teams. SWIFT Accounting support is maintained by Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB). SWIFT Procurement support is maintained by the Department of Administration.

You can contact the SWIFT Help Desk at: Email: SWIFTHelpDesk.MMB@state.mn.us Phone: 651-201-8100, option 2 Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (closed holidays).

Notice on New Local Taxes

The Minnesota Department of Revenue will be administering the following new/increase City sales and use taxes effective April 1, 2025:

• Blackduck 0.50% Sales and Use Tax
• Chanhassen 0.50% Sales and Use Tax           
• Detroit Lakes  0.50% Sales and Use Tax         
• Dilworth 0.50% Sales and Use Tax                       
• Henderson 0.50% Sales and Use Tax
• Hibbing 0.50% Sales and Use Tax
• Monticello 0.50% Sales and Use Tax
• Richfield 0.50% Sales and Use Tax 
• Stillwater 0.50% Sales and Use Tax                         
• Woodbury 0.50% Sales and Use Tax

The Minnesota Department of Revenue will be administering the following new County sales and use taxes effective April 1, 2025:

• Jackson County   1.00% Sales and Use Tax
• Stearns County 0.375% Sales and Use Tax
• Winona County 0.25% Sales and Use Tax            

The sales and use tax rate changes apply to sales made on or after April 1, 2025. They will be in addition to all other taxes in effect. Local sales tax applies to retail sales made and taxable services provided within the local taxing area (county/city limits). The tax applies to the same items that are taxable under the Minnesota sales and use tax law.

Purchase orders entered in SWIFT on or after April 1, 2025, will calculate the new tax rates for each county/city. Existing purchase orders and/or their vouchers will need to be adjusted to pay the correct tax if delivery occurs after various dates. Please note that the dates will be different based on whether goods or construction materials are being delivered. Check the tax notice for the affected city for the correct dates.

For assistance in changing the sales tax on a purchase order, please consult the Update the Sales Tax Settings on an Existing Purchase Order quick reference guide. You can also view the Update Sales Tax on an Existing Purchase Order video.

SWIFT Module Training and EPM Data Warehouse Training

The SWIFT Training team offers training through a variety of methods at no cost to the employee. There are SWIFT training guides and training videos, EPM training guides, webinars, labs, eLearning, and individual sessions (by request through the SWIFT Help Desk).

Find current SWIFT training in Learning Management. Enter "SWIFT" in the Find Learning text entry box.

MODULE	WEBINARS/LABS/eLearning Sessions run 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., unless otherwise noted	DATES
INTRO	Introduction to SWIFT Navigation webinar	4/8/25
INTRO	Overview of SWIFT Reporting webinar	3/19/25, 4/17/25, 5/15/25, 6/12/25, 7/17/25
AR	SWIFT Account Receivable Part A: Direct Journal Deposits webinar	4/8/25
AR	SWIFT Accounts Receivable Part B: Apply Payments to Invoices webinar	4/9/25
AR	SWIFT Accounts Receivable Part C: Maintenance Worksheets webinar	4/10/25
AP	SWIFT Create Vouchers Overview in Accounts Payable webinar/	4/2/25
BI	SWIFT Billing Part 1 webinar	3/26/25, 6/25/25
BI	SWIFT Billing Part 2 webinar	3/27/25, 6/26/25
EPM	Create a SWIFT All Expenditures Report in EPM lab	5/6/25
EPM	Create a SWIFT All Receipts Report in EPM lab	6/18/25
EPM	Introduction to the EPM Data Warehouse for SWIFT webinar	4/9/25
EPM	SWIFT EPM Create and Save a New Analysis lab	6/5/25
EPM	SWIFT EPM Formatting Your Report lab	5/22/25
EPM	SWIFT EPM Manager's Financial Report lab	4/16/25
EPM	Use SWIFT Standard Reports in EPM lab	4/16/25
EPM	Understand the SWIFT Data in the EPM Data Warehouse webinar	4/15/25
EPro	SWIFT Create a Catalog Punchout Requisition webinar	3/26/25; 4/17/25
KK	SWIFT Budget Journal Administration webinar Part 1 webinar	5/7/25
KK	SWIFT Budget Journal Administration webinar Part 2 webinar	5/8/25
PO	SWIFT Create Purchase Orders Overview webinar	4/3/25
SC	SWIFT Create a Supplier Contract Shell webinar Time: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.	4/1/25
SS	SWIFT Strategic Sourcing eLearning	Anytime

SWIFT Help Desk

Contact the SWIFT Help Desk for any SWIFT-related questions or issues.

Email: SWIFTHelpDesk.MMB@state.mn.us

Phone: 651-201-8100, option 2

Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (closed holidays)

When contacting the SWIFT Help Desk, make sure to include details about your question or issue, including:

• Your Business Unit
• Description of the issue/question
• SWIFT Module (Accounts Payable, Purchase Orders, etc.)
• Transaction ID (Voucher ID, PO ID, etc.)
• Error message print screen

Additional assistance can be found on the SWIFT Training Guides and Resources page.

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