#8 why of records and information management

Investigation

INVESTIGATION.

A corporate investigation is the thorough investigation of a corporation or business in order to uncover wrongdoing committed by management, employees, or third parties. There are many aspects of corporate investigations and they can vary significantly based on your needs.

Internal investigations often start with an allegation of wrongdoing, which may come from an employee, shareholder, director, the media, the company’s outside auditors, the regulators or someone else. At the outset, the company must decide whether the allegation warrants investigation and, if so, who should conduct the investigation.

What corporate investigation does.

Corporate investigations can expose fraud, quantify loss, and identify the culprits; but a well-defined, well-done corporate investigation can also protect a company's reputation. A company's brand can be damaged irreparably without a timely, responsible investigation.

Key points to consider in case of an investigation.

·        Assess problems that have come to light, while maintaining discretion

·        Prevent litigation by identifying and assessing issues before they harm your operations

·        Assess internal issues such as fraud, employee theft, or other misconduct that can be costly to the bottom line and even more harmful to reputation

·        Obtain evidence for use in domestic or international legal proceedings

Records management is important in every corporate investigation.

·        Responsibility: In cases of theft, a proper record management system will show the history on very of the product, assets, and services of an organization, and with that, who is responsible for what will be known easily.

·        Accountability: with all figures shown on black and which with signatures as appropriate an also, these records were properly kept, it will be easier to know transparency where and when necessary, inflow and outflow can be tacked easily, hence, upon investigation, the search incases of fraud can easily be streamlined to the few who should be responsible.

·        Evidence: Evidence are easily gathered in an organization that has subscribed and maintained a proper records management system, so saving time and resources in obtaining the evidence need to put a wrongdoer away or defend the organization on a public space.

“Records management is a vital element in the identification of risks.” __Mpho Ngoepe.