WIBSO: A platform made for whistleblowers, by specialists in integrity management
27/02/2023
The transposition of the European Directive on the protection of persons reporting breaches of EU law has generated many heated discussions in Romania in recent years. As specialists in business intelligence, we have participated in these discussions since the beginning. Our experience is the experience of professionals who know that most fraud investigations start from an integrity warning, and this has ensured us a place at the table of the most heated discussions about whistleblowing.
In any room where the word “whistleblowing” is said, several perspectives quickly emerge: compliance specialists will want to debate how whistleblowing will affect ethics and compliance systems, HR specialists will think about how they can manage whistleblowing based on the fact that whistleblowers have never enjoyed a good reputation, fraud investigation specialists will quickly make the connection between whistleblowing and occupational fraud, and managers and directors will try to figure out what to do next, given all of the above perspectives. If we also include the legal advisors in this discussion, it seems that we are dealing with a real Rubik’s cube, which takes on a different conformation, depending on who is spinning it.
Reporting guide for whistleblowers
27/02/2023
For employees and business partners of private companies, Law 361/2022 on the protection of whistleblowers in the public interest regulates for the first time in Romania a general framework on the possibility of reporting or disclosing information on violations of the law, under conditions of confidentiality and with legislative guarantees of protection of whistleblowers.
Given the implications of integrity warnings, both for whistleblowers and for the companies to which they refer, we wanted to summarise below the main issues to be considered by whistleblowers before and after registering an integrity warning:
Five practical tips for proper management of integrity warnings
27/02/2023
With the entry into force of Law 361/2022 on the protection of whistleblowers in the public interest, private companies have been preoccupied with identifying and implementing internal reporting channels that ensure compliance with legal provisions and meet specific company needs. We know that an effective whistleblowing system starts with finding these appropriate reporting channels, but the challenges do not stop there. Particular attention needs to be paid to the management of whistleblowing reports so as to ensure both effective communication with the whistleblower and effective resolution of whistleblowing through appropriate follow-up action.
As Law 361/2022 on the protection of whistleblowers in the public interest does not provide much guidance on how to deal with whistleblowing reports, we hope that the practical tips below will be a good start for anyone responsible for the proper management of whistleblowing reports:
Five interesting statistics about whistleblowing
27/02/2023
Whistleblowing refers to the reporting of potential breaches of the law by a person who has become aware of relevant information through their professional activity. This mechanism has always been seen as an essential indicator of the characteristics of an organisational culture, i.e. the usual practices and mindset within a company. Companies that have rigorously implemented systems that allow such breaches of the law to be reported have always been considered companies interested in establishing and maintaining a high level of compliance. In other words, whistleblowing systems have always been associated with a company’s compliance level and its commitment to operating a fair and ethical business model.
Whistleblowing however stands for much more than that, which is why we wanted to show some of the most interesting statistics on whistleblowing below:
Benefits of an effective warning system
27/02/2023
With Law 361/2022 on the protection of whistleblowers in the public interest entering into force in December 2022, private companies have become familiar with the idea of internal reporting channels, as required by law for all companies with at least 50 employees.
These systems are above all mandatory and therefore part of the general concept of compliance. But beyond representing a mere legal obligation, reporting systems, especially if chosen and implemented in an intelligent way, can generate numerous benefits for companies.
Here is how these benefits could look like:
Five steps to ensure effective whistleblower protection
27/02/2023
Nobody likes to get bad news. In fact, studies show that we are about four times more affected by bad news than good news, and when we do get some bad news, we attribute some blame to the messenger, even if we don’t want to.
In light of the above, we can understand why whistleblowers have never enjoyed a good reputation, even when their reports or disclosures have led to the prevention of substantial harm. That is why the Whistleblowing Act is not so much a law about whistleblowing, as a law about the protection of whistleblowers, as its name suggests.
For those who want to ensure that they maintain the optimum level of objectivity and impartiality in the face of integrity warnings, we have prepared below five practical tips to help you avoid killing the messenger.
What we can learn from Edward Snowden’s integrity warning
27/02/2023
When we think of the most famous whistleblowers, many of us immediately remember Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who, in 2013, at only 29 years old, leaked classified information about the US government. Edward Snowden became almost instantly famous, but his image is now controversial: he is considered both a traitor and a hero, as many whistleblowers often are.
Edward Snowden’s celebrity has led to various publications, documentaries and even films that seem to explain his extremely complex story. But beyond these aspects, we can learn a lot about whistleblowing and how it manifests itself on a daily basis by looking closely at Edward Snowden’s story.
