Internal Investigation

Over the past several years, the number and scope of such investigations have been growing for a number of reasons, including new whistleblower protections, enhanced law-enforcement activities, and more assertive independent auditors.  Even so, board members and corporate representatives tend to view a whistleblower complaint or government investigation as an unexpected event. Thus, many are left unprepared when a genuine crisis hits.

Several factors are contributing to this trend:

• New whistleblower protections make it easier for employees to report potential wrongdoing.
• Regulators and law-enforcement officials are devoting more attention and resources to alleged corporate misconduct.
• Audit committee members and other directors, fearful of personal liability, are watching management and auditors more carefully.
• Independent auditors are spending more time on the audit process and are questioning management more often.
• Attorneys have new professional responsibilities to report evidence of wrongdoing.

If internal investigations are done properly, they either can aid employers in taking action that avoids lawsuits, or they can offer employers defenses and lessen damages if there is subsequent litigation. Moreover, employers who conduct appropriate investigations are able to manage their workplaces more effectively, which supports employee morale and productivity.

Internal Investigation for:

• Corporate governance
• Unlawful discrimination or harassment
• Financial and/or accounting irregularities
• Workplace criminal acts such as drug use, theft, downloading pornography onto the employer's computers, etc.
• Whistle blowing complaints (reports of conduct which is illegal or which the employee believes is illegal: workplace safety violations, wage and hour violations, tampering with official forms or reports, etc.)

Features

• Transparent auditing
• Random sampling
• Search by date range, user name, or keyword
• Policy enforcement

Benefits

• Evaluating potential liability
• Obtain or gain control of email retention policy
• Minimizing criminal Exposure
• Minimizing civil exposure
• Minimizing adverse regulatory action
• Public relations (minimize the effect of any negative publicity and show good faith to investors and customers

To Learn More about Athena Archiver and regulatory compliance visit the compliance laws section of this site.