What is the corporate investigation?
A corporate investigation is the thorough investigation of a corporation or business in order to uncover wrongdoing committed by management, employees, or third parties.
There are many aspects of corporate investigations and they can vary significantly based on your needs. For example, corporate investigations can uncover if a business partner is legitimate, whether an employee is stealing from the company, or reveal fraud and embezzlement, just to name a few. A corporate investigator’s main job, though, is ensuring a company is running smoothly and within the law.
Types of Corporate Investigation
Depending on what you’re looking to investigate within your business, an investigator will conduct one or multiple of these investigations:
Undercover Investigation: By blending in with the company, an investigator can look into employee misconduct like theft, substance abuse, or harassment. Investigators will often use covert surveillance as a part of their inspection.
Research Investigation: Investigators can conduct research in order to find information about companies that you do business with for acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, venture capital, private equity, and investments. They can also perform in-depth employee background checks.
Financial Investigation: An investigator conducting a financial investigation can discover embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, and other white-collar crime.
E-Discovery /Electronic Investigation: With e-discovery investigators can gather electronically stored information in order to collect necessary evidence. They can also potentially restore lost data.
Corruption Investigation: An investigator looking for corruption can uncover bribery, illegal foreign exchange, corporate fraud, and industrial espionage.
Conducting Corporate Private Investigations
A corporate private investigator has many tools at his disposal to investigate the operations of the corporation for potential fraud, abuse, or other misconduct. These tools may vary depending on the size, complexity, and nature of the business.
In other words, the investigative approach is specific and personalized for each corporation. Common investigative tools we use at Corporate Investigation Consulting include research, forensics, interviewing, questionnaires, surveillance, and data analysis.
These tools are explained briefly below
Research: A key job of the investigator is researching the corporation—including its operations, market, customer base, key business partners, location, etc.—as well as the personnel members in critical positions. This often leads the investigator to suspicious conduct and individuals that warrant further analysis.
Forensics: Forensics broadly refers to the detailed investigative tactics used to uncover misconduct. Computer forensics is particularly important in the context of corporate investigations. Computer forensics involves the examination of evidence located in computers, digital storage devices, and software. It can also include evidence found in emails, websites, and deleted files. Also important is forensic accounting, which uses investigative tools to trace the flow of money, identify the source of accounting inconsistencies, and discover the financial crime.
Interviewing: Investigators often rely heavily on interviewing personnel members to get to the bottom of their investigation. Interviews are often the first step in conducting investigations because they allow the investigator to understand the likely causes of the misconduct and how to proceed with more in-depth investigative tools.
Questionnaires: Questionnaires, like interviewing, is also an important part of the investigative process. It allows the investigator to ask specific questions regarding certain conduct or personnel members in the workplace.
Surveillance: Sometimes, an investigator will deem it necessary to conduct surveillance of the corporation’s operations. While more covert, this type of investigative tool is very useful when uncovering instances of fraud, abuse, or other misconduct within the corporation.
Data Analysis: Data analysis techniques are frequently used by the corporate private investigator. The investigator often relies on this investigative method to inspect various forms of corporate data with the objective of discovering instances of personnel misconduct.
Corporate investigations process
A corporate private investigator has many tools at their disposal to investigate the operations of the corporation for potential fraud, abuse, or other misconduct. These tools may vary depending on the size, complexity, and nature of the business.
In other words, the investigative approach is specific and personalized for each corporation. Common investigative tools we use at Corporate Investigation Consulting include research, forensics, interviewing, questionnaires, surveillance, and data analysis.
These tools are explained briefly below
Research: A key job of the corporate investigator is researching the corporation—including its operations, market, customer base, key business partners, location, etc.—as well as the personnel members in critical positions. This often leads the investigator to suspicious conduct and individuals that warrant further analysis.
Forensics: Forensics broadly refers to the detailed investigative tactics used to uncover misconduct. Computer forensics is particularly important in the context of corporate investigations. Computer forensics involves the examination of evidence located in computers, digital storage devices, and software. It can also include evidence found in emails, websites, and deleted files. Also important is forensic accounting, which uses investigative tools to trace the flow of money, identify the source of accounting inconsistencies, and discover the financial crime.
Interviewing: Corporate Investigators often rely heavily on interviewing personnel members to get to the bottom of their investigation. Interviews are often the first step in conducting investigations because they allow the investigator to understand the likely causes of the misconduct and how to proceed with more in-depth investigative tools.
Questionnaires: Questionnaires, like interviewing, is also an important part of the investigative process. It allows the investigator to ask specific questions regarding certain conduct or personnel members in the workplace.
Surveillance: Sometimes, an investigator will deem it necessary to conduct surveillance of the corporation’s operations. While more covert, this type of investigative tool is very useful when uncovering instances of fraud, abuse, or other misconduct within the corporation.
Data analysis: Data analysis techniques are frequently used by the corporate private investigator. The investigator often relies on this investigative method to inspect various forms of corporate data with the objective of discovering instances of personnel misconduct.
Protect your company’s legacy and information
We understand that building a company and giving it the best reputation in the market could take years and the efforts are impeccable. We want you to make sure that your company and its entire information are secure and in safe hands. We have seen many cases where the employees betray the owner and misuse the company, its finances, and its reputation.
Sometimes there are people who could possibly use your public profile for their personal interest without your knowledge and permission. If you are facing such a problem then feel free to contact us and avail the services of the best private investigator in Switzerland and get complete background information about everything that you should know. Our investigators take the charge of finding everything that you should be in your knowledge. Our investigation team has the answers to every possible question you could have. Our experienced team makes sure that no one harms our clients in any way and plays their role in protecting your legacy.
One of the most important characteristics of a business investigator is deception and ingenuity in what he or she wants or who he or she is investigating. Secretly, he will not allow someone who is doing illegal work to be informed of his or her investigation, and the client will not be able to dismiss or deny the evidence later. Companies are the ones who fall for any illegal activity and do not take the necessary steps to stop it or to remove the people who do the work.
The Importance of contracting an Independent Private Investigator
Fraud, abuse, and other misconduct can affect an entire business, including its profit and reputation. An investigator can help the corporation detect risks, prevent them from occurring again and lessen the negative media attention. Your corporate private investigator must be independent of the corporation. You will need a fair, unbiased, and thorough decision.
Hiring an internal personnel member to investigate suspected wrongdoing will not bring about results that will help the corporation in the long term. In order to thrive, the corporation needs its internal and external threats identified so they can be addressed accordingly.
Only an independent investigator will be able to see matters clearly, investigate all individuals likely involved, and proceed with an impartial mind. The experts and consultants at Corporate Investigation Consulting are prepared to provide such independent and personalized services for our clients.
If you need to start a corporate investigation, contact us today by filling out the online form on our website or by calling the phone number: + 41 44 586 60 33. Our specialized corporate investigators can get to the bottom of any problem.
Private Investigator Switzerland
Schaffhauserstrasse 550.
CH-8050 Zürich
Switzerland
T. +41 44 586 60 33