No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home Compliance

The State of Whistleblowers

by Michael Volkov
January 5, 2015
in Compliance
The State of Whistleblowers

We all try to ignore issues that are too difficult to address.  It is human nature.  Sometimes it gets so bad that we have to put “our head in the sand.”

Companies have to address the risk created by whistleblowers.  All too often, companies mouth the right words but take no real actions to demonstrate their commitment to responding to whistleblowers.

Chief Compliance Officers have pushed companies to establish whistleblower policies and statements of non-retaliation.  Unfortunately, an attitude of non-retaliation means very little when it just exists on paper.

Last month, the SEC released its annual report on its whistleblower program.  A copy of the report is here.  There was one important – and overriding – fact in the report.  Eighty percent – yes, 80 percent – of all whistleblowers who received awards reported their complaints internally before deciding to report to the SEC.

All the compliance experts are now nodding their heads (assuming they have read this far in my posting).  Of course, they mutter to themselves – whistleblowers always want to report internally and then out of frustration turn to the SEC to roll the dice.

This confirms what we always say – a whistleblower is more interested in fixing a problem, receiving some kind of corporate acknowledgement rather than being ostracized or even worse – retaliated against.

CCOs have to take this fact to heart and redouble their efforts.  Whistleblower reports to the SEC can be reduced if companies make a serious effort to create a speak-up culture, respond to whistleblower concerns and fix the problems that may be raised.  If they do not follow this course, companies will face potential government investigations, legal fees and the risk of an enforcement action.  If the company retaliates against the whistleblower, all bets are off as to the impact that this course of action will have on the company’s future.

Companies have to recognize that whistleblowers can provide a valuable function.  Of course, not all whistleblowers are so friendly; some are out for themselves, have raised issues of dubious concern and may be motivated by money.  Not everyone is pure in this world, and not every company is a bad actor.

The SEC report contained some other interesting facts – only a small percentage (just less than five percent) of whistleblower complaints relate to foreign bribery.  Most deal with financial fraud, accounting problems and potential misleading statements made in marketing, placement and promotional materials.

One other significant theme from the SEC Whistleblower report: whistleblowers are here to stay.  The first three years of the program have seen an increase in whistleblower complaints.  Whistleblower complaints increased by 9 percent from 2013 to 2014.  That is expected to increase even further.  With whistleblower attorneys on the Internet, more whistleblowers will secure the guidance of counsel and increase reporting against company malfeasance.

In this context, companies have to speak with commitment – when companies adopt a non-retaliation policy, they have to communicate and reiterate this policy at every step of the complaint process.  Companies also have to mean what they say – if someone is suspected of retaliation, they have to investigate and punish the activity, keeping in mind that retaliation can occur in subtle ways.

A company that is truly committed to its whistleblower policy can navigate these risks.  A company that mouths the words or hides its head in the sand is just delaying the inevitable controversy.


Previous Post

Seeing Is Believing: The Powerful Potential Video Brings to Compliance (Part 2)

Next Post

Is the Cloud a Compliance Nightmare?

Michael Volkov

Michael Volkov

Michael-Volkov-leclairryan Michael Volkov is the CEO of The Volkov Law Group LLC, where he provides compliance, internal investigation and white collar defense services.  He can be reached at mvolkov@volkovlaw.com. Michael has extensive experience representing clients on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act, money laundering, Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), export controls, sanctions and International Traffic in Arms, False Claims Act, Congressional investigations, online gambling and regulatory enforcement issues. Michael served for more than 17 years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia; for five years as the Chief Crime and Terrorism Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Chief Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Counsel for the Senate and House Judiciary Committees; and as a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Michael also maintains a well-known blog: Corruption Crime & Compliance, which is frequently cited by anti-corruption professionals and professionals in the compliance industry.

Related Posts

Phaxis 100 dollars

AML & KYC: Addressing Key Challenges for 2023 and Beyond

by Alex Roberto
March 16, 2023

(Sponsored) In today’s world, financial criminals are often a step ahead of regulators and financial institutions who struggle to effectively...

audit

IIA Survey: Technology Issues Widening Risk Landscape

by Staff and Wire Reports
March 15, 2023

The past year has seen internal audit staffing and budgets continue their recovery to pre-pandemic levels as organizations contend with...

Paul Weiss Economic Sanctions and AML Developments 2022_f

Economic Sanctions and AML Developments

by Corporate Compliance Insights
March 15, 2023

Sanctions start high and stay high 2022 Year in Review Economic Sanctions and AML Developments What’s in this report from...

insider fraud threat

As Layoffs Continue, the Potential for Insider Fraud Is Growing. Are You Ready?

by Chris Gerda
March 15, 2023

From startups to big banks, the technology and financial services sector have already seen tens of thousands of layoffs in...

Next Post
Is the Cloud a Compliance Nightmare?

Is the Cloud a Compliance Nightmare?

Compliance Job Interview Q&A

Jump to a Topic

AML Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation Banking Board of Directors Board Risk Oversight Business Continuity Planning California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Code of Conduct Communications Management Corporate Culture COVID-19 Cryptocurrency Culture of Ethics Cybercrime Cyber Risk Data Analytics Data Breach Data Governance DOJ Download Due Diligence Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) ESG FCPA Enforcement Actions Financial Crime Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) GDPR HIPAA Know Your Customer (KYC) Machine Learning Monitoring RegTech Reputation Risk Risk Assessment SEC Social Media Risk Supply Chain Technology Third Party Risk Management Tone at the Top Training Whistleblowing
No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT