Conducting Effective Regulatory Investigations

Compliance investigations is a form of internal audit. The goal of these types of internal investigations is to identify any potential regulatory compliance issues within an organization so they can be addressed prior to becoming violations of law. These investigations allow an organization to determine if there are any gaps in its current systems which could lead to regulatory or criminal penalties by a given regulatory or law enforcement agency. Companies can use this information to improve the overall effectiveness of their compliance programs, security policies, and/or legal systems.  

Strategically, compliance investigations can help an organization understand the regulatory landscape of a specific industry by identifying potential compliance issues prior to a merger or acquisition. If there is an environmental incident, a security incident, or a regulatory violation, our team will help you better understand what happened, audit your operations, and develop a compliance and training program that will protect you into the future.  

A Chesley Brown Investigator can help you: 

• Identify Potential issues before a merger or acquisition 
• Develop an effective training program for employees and managers 
• Assess internal controls to ensure that there are no gaps in current systems 
• Ensure that all policies & procedures have been adopted by management 
• Provide ongoing support during any enforcement actions  

To accomplish any company’s goals, employees must comply with the laws and regulations that govern their areas of operations. This is especially true in the financial sector, which operates in a highly regulated environment and is often subject to scrutiny on a day-to-day basis. Companies in these industries must employ compliance monitoring and management to ensure that the organization complies with all applicable laws and regulations on a continuous basis.  

Compliance regulations help businesses maintain that “one size fits all” environment that is necessary for creating a profitable company. By following these regulations, businesses are helping to ensure that they are fair in their practices, which keeps consumers confident in purchasing goods and services.

A compliance investigation can be documented in many different ways, depending on the situation. It is important to determine which type of investigation you are conducting in order to decide on the best way to document it.  

If there has been an allegation of misconduct, the investigation should focus on collecting enough evidence to determine whether or not it occurred, and if so, who was behind it. In the event that the misconduct occurred, the person who is in charge of the investigation should keep a record of all evidence found and from where it was found. Sometimes a report is produced at the conclusion of an investigation outlining the findings, however, this is not always the case. 

Compliance investigations are based on the specific legislation in question. There are some statutes that are more open-ended or vague, while others are procedural in nature. Without knowing the specifics of the legislation, it is difficult to estimate how long a compliance investigation may take. The average investigation can take anywhere from just a few days to months. This depends on the type of investigation being undertaken, the number of witnesses being interviewed, and any forensic evidence that may be needed to verify facts. If there are more people involved in the investigation, it will take longer. If the facts are more complex, it will take longer. A range of time can be anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months.  

A regulatory compliance investigation will allow a company to better understand what regulatory risks they face, and identify solutions for avoiding the adverse actions of non-compliance.   

If a company makes a commitment to conducting investigations when evidence of a regulatory violation is found, they are less likely to face a government investigation or harsh disciplinary actions. Internal investigations are beneficial to a company because it can give them insight on fixing future problems and an opportunity to show they followed the company's regulations and procedures.