Corporate Investigations
What Exactly is a Corporate Investigation?
A Corporate Investigation is a thorough investigation of a corporation, organization, or business with a view to finding what (if any) wrongdoing has been committed by employees, management, or third parties. Corporate Investigations usually take place after someone reports an issue (like a whistle blower), and aims to answer these 4 pressing questions:
- What happened?
- Who is responsible for what happened?
- Why did this happen (or alternatively, how was this allowed to happen)?
- Are we liable or at risk?
Corporate Investigations are usually conducted by trained investigators (who are often licensed private investigators). Investigators know how examine financial accounts, analyze communications, interview employees, and even go undercover. Depending on the nature of the investigation, private investigators will work with lawyers to gather and examine evidence.
Sometimes, an organization will attempt to conduct and internal organization on it’s own. This is generally a bad idea. No matter how well that organization attempts to manage the resulting (and inevitable) conflicts of interest, it’s unlikely that running the investigation this way will be satisfying to external stakeholders.
Organizations start a corporate investigation not only to stop wrongdoing that’s in progress, but to show employees, the board, customers, and the authorities that they are taking the issue seriously, and will not condone this behavior or protect bad actors. By identifying the key individuals, terminating them, and offering the information from the investigation to the board or even the authorities, organizations can salvage reputation, restore integrity, and get back to work.