Whistleblowing Management: The Coming Regulatory Storm

Source: Corporate Compliance Insights - by Frank Staelens 

In honor of National Whistleblower Appreciation Day, Frank Staelens discusses the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive (WPD) at length. Frank explains the regulation’s broad impact and offers guidance for compliance.

Most listed companies and large public organizations already consider whistleblowing management as an important governance mechanism with, in most cases, boards/audit committees being accountable to measure its effectiveness. This group is now moving toward the use of whistleblowing systems beyond reporting wrongdoing and starting to understand that instilling a transparent, “speak up” culture is perceived by stakeholders as a sign of good health.

However, many other organizations still have a different position on the subject. Some of the reasons offered for not facilitating whistleblowing management include:

• Self-denial or self-protection by company management
• A non-transparent culture or fear of abusive reporting
• It is not a regulatory mandate in most countries
• Lack of budget or other investment priorities
• Lack of knowledge about the benefits

Read the entire article at Corporate Compliance Insights

Frank Staelens has 30 years of working experience with whistleblower management. He is a subject matter expert on financial crime investigations and technology and regulatory compliance. 

Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash