Gold Winner: Cindy Mascadri, Accounting Technician, Fort Knox

Cindy is a seasoned employee at Fort Knox with over 20 years of experience on site. She has built a reputation for consistency, reliability and cross-functional expertise, becoming a go-to resource not only in the Accounts Payable (AP) department but across Kinross Alaska. Through her role on the AP team, Cindy is responsible for ensuring invoices are processed in an accurate, timely manner to support the continuity of operations while maintaining strong relationships with our business partners. Her proactive approach helps to keep payments on schedule, and contributes to a consistently low ‘Goods Received, Not Vouchered’ (GRNV) balance, a key financial metric monitored by Corporate which supports the high perception of the Fort Knox AP team across the organization. Cindy’s proactive approach was most notably exemplified through her identification of a phishing attempt involving a major business partner. She received a request to change payment information for this particular supplier during the department’s hectic year-end processing period. Despite the pressures of the season, Cindy identified inconsistencies in the request and followed proper verification protocols that resulted in confirmation that the supplier’s email system had been compromised, and the request was in fact fraudulent. As a result of Cindy’s actions, a US$7.3 million fraudulent payment was avoided, leading to an investigation by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to identify those responsible. Her diligence highlights the importance of human oversight, sound judgement and adherence to processes to protect our Company assets. In addition to her high performance and technical expertise, Cindy constantly shares her knowledge with her peers and takes the time to teach colleagues how to navigate complex processes and reduce errors to strengthen both internal controls and the financial discipline of Fort Knox. “Cindy is a resource for all employees at Fort Knox where her depth of experience and ability to troubleshoot issues makes her irreplaceable to the team. She has had a positive impact on our processes, and our employees, passing on her commitment to excellence to everyone who interacts with her,” said a colleague. Cindy Mascadri, Accounting Technician, Fort Knox Cindy and her colleagues at a holiday event Cindy and a colleague work together at Fort Knox