A big pharmaceutical company installs a new payroll system and rolls it out in January — just in time for payday, reports a pilot fish on the scene.

“We had the war room ready for any calls related to issues with the first payroll for the year,” fish says.

“Come Friday morning, we got a call from the CEO’s admin saying the CEO’s check was wrong.

“Immediately, the top three project team members ran up to his office. CEO said the salary was correct, but the deductions were too high.

“After they examined his previous check stub from the end of December, they explained, ‘We do have to take Social Security and Medicare out of your first check of the year.’”

Sharky can’t wait until January for your true tale of IT life. Send it to me at sharky@computerworld.com. You can also subscribe to the Daily Shark Newsletter and read some great old tales in the Sharkives.