Making the most of an internal investigation

The warning signs may come from a number of sources‐a tip from an employee, complaints from customers and vendors, or troubling facts that surfaced in your company financial analysis or audit. The issue is not whether to conduct an internal investigation, but how. As a CPA and a certified fraud examiner, I have been involved in hundreds of investigations of all degrees of size and complexity. Going in, my mission is not only to resolve the issue quickly and efficiently, but also to make the investigation work to the maximum advantage of the company. Properly planned and conducted, an internal investigation can reveal much more than who, what, when, where, why, and how much? It can offer opportunities to strengthen the business for the future. It starts with knowing what you want to accomplish.