What Is Integrity Monitoring?
Integrity Monitoring involves the use of an independent third party of trained professionals retained by a company or organization to minimize the risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption, and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Integrity Monitoring can be an effective tool in resolving regulatory, civil, and criminal proceedings, and has been successfully employed by regulatory agencies, the courts, and prosecutors in the construction, financial, healthcare, pharmaceutical, educational and environmental sectors, among others.
Equally important, legal defense counsel advocate involvement of Independent Monitors to mitigate the impact of regulatory, civil or criminal sanctions confronted by clients, where appropriate. Additionally, companies and organizations themselves retain Independent Monitors to proactively prevent or address instances of internal fraud or misconduct.
Entities and their key people facing regulatory, civil or criminal actions typically experience adverse publicity, tarnished reputations, and loss of customer support and related revenues; business closure is not uncommon. Moreover, these outcomes unfavorably impact other parties such as employees, shareholders, consumers, suppliers, and the community. For example, the forced closing of a general contracting company adversely affects, among others, the company’s tradespeople and office personnel, subcontractors, materials suppliers, consulting architects and engineers, owners and developers, investors, and consumers deemed to benefit from the affected projects, i.e. hospital, highway, community center, school, retail store.
Engagement of a qualified, independent Integrity Monitor can lessen these negative consequences by providing assurance to regulators, prosecutors, the courts, consumers and other interested parties that the company can continue as a going concern, while operating in an ethical and responsible manner, and in accord with legal and regulatory requirements.
The Integrity Monitor’s scope of services may vary depending upon the underlying circumstances, but generally include forensic examination of accounting, financial and payroll records; risk assessments and internal control reviews; policy and procedures development; contract compliance monitoring; fraud prevention and ethics training; confidential fraud hotline reporting; vendor vetting; and internal investigation assistance.