Imagine this: An anonymous tip comes through the company’s hotline that a senior executive has engaged in insider trading. The allegations are convincing enough to warrant an investigation, so compliance enlists the help of outside counsel—only to later discover it was all a lie in the name of academic research.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...