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Whistleblowing - Coggle Diagram
Whistleblowing
An effective whistleblowing procedure should allow for an employee to raise concerns about illicit behaviour usually within one of the following areas
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A serious violation of a law or regulation by the company or by directors, managers or employees within the company
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A danger to public health or safety such as dumping toxic waste in the environment or supplying food that is unfit for consumptin
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In the public sector, gross waste or misuse of public funds
Questions for boards
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Do all managers understand the whistleblowing procedures and accept the principle of whistleblowing?
Are all reports generated by the whistleblowing procedure submitted to the board (or audit committee)?
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The Code states that the workforce should be able to raise any matters of concern. There should be a means for the workforce to raise concerns in confidence and if they and if they wish, anonymously. The board should routinely review this and the reports arising from its operation. It should ensure that arrangements are in place for the proportionate and independent investigation of such matters and for follow up action.
The need for whistleblowing arises when normal procedures and internal controls will not reveal the illicit activity because the individuals responsible for the activity are somehow able to ignore or get around the normal controls. This may be because the person to whom the individual reports may be involved in the suspected malpractice
Although whistleblowing procedures are an internal control, they are not an embedded control within the company's regular procedures and their effectiveness relies on the willingness of genuine whistleblowers to come forward with their allegations
Each employee should be given access to the whistleblowing policy whether this is in hard copy or through the company's intranet site
The board may request the CS to play a role in establishing an internal whistleblowing policy and procedures. If this is the case, the CS will need to ensure that there are trained people in the organisation to operate the procedure so that any matters raised under the procedure are dealt with effectively. If an employee does report a genuine concern in good faith, they must be supported and providing this support might be a role for the CS