I am wondering how many of your organizations utilize an fraud/ethics hotline? If you do, is it provided by an external vendor? How successful has it been in exposing fraud?
I have read the statistics and passed them along to management, but they have not been receptive. I do not believe it is because they are afraid of being "exposed" - I believe it is because they feel the cost would be greater than the benefit received.
Would anyone be willing to share their experiences (without revealing any sensitive information, of course)?
My privately-held, manufacturing company with about 5,000 employees and US $800 million in revenue has a hotline. It is handled by an independent company, The Network out of Atlanta, Georgia US.
For the most part, it is a gripe line for HR issues. We receive about three or four calls a year that are ethics related compared to about 10 to 15 a month that are HR releated.
I am glad we have it, and we have been pleased with our vendor; however, I DO NOT think it pays for itsself (but I can't quote you how much we pay for it).
We operate our own ethics hotline. We are a small casino with approximately 500 employees. The Gaming Commission takes calls which are infrequent. I think having a hotline adds a positive note to the "tone at the top" that is said to be so important to helping prevent fraud.
Thursday December 13, 2012 5:24 PM
