Being tipped off that fraud, bribery, and other corporate malpractices are taking place within parts of the organisation can save companies substantial costs in terms of legal actions and regulatory sanctions. Yet those who deliver that information are often sidelined, dismissed, or hung out to dry over suspicions that they are somehow untrustworthy informants intent on causing trouble.
Whether they raise their concerns internally to the board, internal audit, or compliance, or externally to a hotline, regulator, enforcement agency, or the press, it is fair to say that the job prospects of most whistleblowers become markedly shortened once their identity becomes known, and especially if the issues they are drawing attention to are particularly serious.
