American Samoa's Treasurer says widespread abuse of the timesheet system by government employees has prompted a change to using a time clock.
Magalei Logovii says from May the 31st staff of all government departments are required to start using the punch card system.
He says a federal audit found recently that many government workers were not signing their own timesheets and getting others to sign them in and out of work.
Mr Logovii says the abuse led the audit to identify the government as high risk.
"I don't like to make these dirty works but I have to in order for us to be in a good sound financial audit thing. If we don't comply then their grants or their funding source will be in trouble and I'm not going to fund them on local funds so that's why I'm trying to explain it to them."
Magalei Logovii says the federal government is tightening its control on funding and carrying out more regular audits on the government of American Samoa.
