Anyone familiar with previous internal corporate investigations has heard that the purpose of the inquiry is to get to the truth about what happened. But any truth is often slanted to make ourselves, or those close to us, be seen in the best possible light. The best internal investigation is one which illuminates the truth without bias.

Internal corporate incidents can range from fraud, mismanagement, product tampering and theft, to discrimination, harassment, and violence in the workplace. The problem can originate internally from an employee, contract labor, or from outside sources such as a vendor, a customer, or any combination of these. In some instances, the issue may involve drug or alcohol abuse. The problem may have a financial impact, a business interruption impact, or an impact on the corporate reputation. All of these present a threat to the corporation's assets and reputation, and must be dealt with quickly, discretely, thoroughly, fairly, legally, and completely. Not to do so, potentially can be devastating to a business enterprise.

Investigations International investigators have been involved with inquiries into all of these areas throughout the world. We appreciate the sensitivity of corporate internal investigations, and know although it is necessary to work with internal Human Resources, Audit, Compliance, and Legal Counsel, the independent nature of the investigation must be maintained. We have worked with outside counsel providing support during the investigation, and afterwards, when legal action was necessary. We have been the bridge between law enforcement and corporate entities. We fully understand the need for confidentiality during such an engagement, juxtaposed with the corporate need for transparency. If assets have been taken as a result of an internal problem, we can assist you in recovering them.

When the investigation is complete, our investigators can provide a controls review to determine how the situation began, and what steps should be undertaken to strengthen your controls to prevent such an occurrence in the future. If the problem involved fraud, we can provide fraud prevention training to minimize the risk of a situation reoccurring.