I’ve been doing accounting in Udon Thani for years. I’m 44, been at a mid-sized company in the industrial estate for 12 years. Main stuff is payroll, tax returns, AP/AR, that sort of boring-but-precise work. I’m proud of my attention to detail — I started working when my kid was in kindergarten and now they’re in Year 8. Work–life balance is okay, but what happened yesterday was just... beyond me.

Confused. Scared. Can’t handle it.

Quick summary: We had a team meeting at 4:15 pm. The finance head (a man about my age) came over with this weird look and told me to “tidy the numbers up, make profits look a bit higher, executives are coming tomorrow.” I said I needed to check the books first. I opened a pile of files and found some receipts in another staff member’s drawer that had dates backdated to next month and some expense items had their dates changed. I saved copies to a black flash drive and a copy on my computer, then messaged the people involved for about 15 minutes. The whole thing ended with a stern text from the boss: “Don’t talk about this with anyone. Get it sent today.” His tone was super pressuring. Really weird.

This is not right. I actually studied accounting properly, know tax law fairly well, and I care about accounting ethics. But if I refuse, I’m afraid I’ll be accused of being slow, or get moved, or be bullied. My kid has online school some days, I pay for tuition, food, utilities — so many responsibilities. It’s all very messy and stressful.

There’s a small detail that’s bugging me: the cashier who delivers petty cash bills at the factory gate usually gives me a petty cash bill every time. When I checked there were small amounts missing even though I saw the cash handed to that staff member last week. He said he accidentally put it in the old account and would recheck, but acted like he didn’t care. I feel like something odd is changing around the company but no one wants to talk about it seriously.

In the afternoon I tried to explain politely that this risks the company and me, but the reply was “I’ll talk to A.C. and explain,” and he repeated not to tell anyone. Meanwhile the HR assistant walked by smiling like nothing was wrong, which made me feel lonely and not trusting anyone at work immediately.

I really need advice. Accountants or anyone who’s been through this — have you seen this before? What should I do? Should I insist on not changing the numbers, or find a middle ground like writing a short note of explanation and keeping it in the file, and send a copy to the company’s legal department first? I’m planning to talk to the external auditor tomorrow morning — or should I consult a labor lawyer?

I don’t want to cause trouble, but I don’t want to break the rules either. This anxiety has kept me up many nights. I feel like I’m standing at a crossroads and don’t know which way to go. Tomorrow I’ll print the copies I saved and give them to the company legal team first, and maybe see the external auditor, but I’m still scared.

What do you all think? Please give me advice. I want a safe solution for me and the company. T_T