Business and Corporate Services – FAQ’s

• What services does your company provide to businesses and corporations?

Our agency conducts workplace investigations for businesses and corporations with issues including harassment, substance abuse, fraud and theft, workplace violence, and discrimination. We help employers identify problems like theft, embezzlement, and excessive turnover.

Our researchers conduct due diligence investigations for financial institutions or corporations considering a merger or acquisition. We can put “boots on the ground” in Central or South America, the Caribbean Basin, or Europe, to ascertain the status of an offshore or overseas company. And we can locate debtors or assets for judgment collection.

 

• What is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)?

Certified fraud examiners are financial investigators trained to detect and prevent fraud.  The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE^SM) awards the CFE^® designation to individuals who complete a rigorous curriculum and pass a challenging examination that can take several months to complete. Fraud examiners help businesses protect themselves by uncovering unscrupulous employees, executives, or vendors who take advantage of inadequate company controls for their own gain.

 

• We suspect an employee is stealing money from the company. How does your agency assist with problems of theft?

While each case is unique in its circumstances, certain aspects of the investigation are common to many. In some situations, covert cameras may be installed to document the possible theft. Analysis of inventory logs and interviews of employees may disclose questionable behavior or provide an explanation for the shrinkage. A forensic accountant may identify embezzlement or misappropriation of company assets. And surveillance may determine that it is not a single employee, but rather a ring of conspirators that are diverting property from the company. When an employee is identified as participating in a theft, a carefully documented and controlled interview should produce a written admission of guilt, which can then be used as a basis for restitution, discipline or termination.

 

• Don’t the police investigate employee theft?

Sometimes, but most often, employee theft is uncovered after an internal investigation is conducted by the employer to identify shortages or missing money, and there are problems with calling law enforcement into an employment situation.

First, any investigation conducted by a law enforcement agency that results in the arrest of a suspected employee will eventually find its way into the hands of a savvy defense lawyer. That lawyer will be allowed to interview and depose the company’s owners, managers, and the suspect’s co-workers. In fact, it is even possible for the suspected employee to be acquitted of criminal charges related to the theft and then file suit against the employer for wrongful discharge and malicious prosecution! This scenario has played out thousands of times for unlucky employers who simply wanted justice.

We often recommend to our clients that they focus on recovering their money, rather than indulge their desire for justice. Because the employer has a much lower standard of proof than the criminal court (reasonable conclusion versus reasonable doubt), it is often more effective to obtain a written admission, without threat of criminal prosecution, from the suspect. This can then be used as a basis to obtain civil restitution, an enforceable agreement requiring the former employee to pay back the stolen money. Failure to comply with the obligation may result in a civil suit and judgment, which can be levied against the former employee. This can be far more effective than pursuing a difficult and inconvenient criminal prosecution.