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Current News
20-aug-2008 | Press Release
The Network, Inc. Releases Enhancements to its Reporting Analytics Tool: Advanced Filtering Capabilities and Improved Graphics Ensure Access to Critical Information
The Network Inc., a technology-based company providing ethics and compliance services, insurance claim reporting and employee communication services to nearly half of the Fortune 500, has announced enhancements to its reporting analytics tool which gives users increased capabilities when evaluating whistleblower hotline and case management data. More »
14-aug-2008 | The Providence Journal/projo.com
Hotline Set for Reports of Fraud, Waste at Landfill Agency
The Providence Journal reported that the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation has partnered with The Network to establish a 24/7 hotline. The Bureau of Audits decided to adopt a third-party hotline after a recent preliminary investigation revealed the potential occurrences of fraud and waste at the agency. The Chief of the Bureau of Audits elected to establish the hotline in order to “…restore public confidence in the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation.” To read the article click here:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/abuse_hotline_08-14-08_2NB7CK0_v6.403e606.html
12-aug-2008 | Forbes.com
Auditor's Office Sets up Fraud, Abuse Hotline
The State of New Mexico recently partnered with The Network to implement a hotline for government employees to report fraud, waste and abuse. The article, “Auditor’s office sets up fraud, abuse hotline,” appeared in the online newsletter, Forbes.com and quotes State Auditor, Hector Balderas. “The fact that New Mexico didn’t have a comprehensive statewide system I believe was a hole in fraud detection,” according to Balderas.
Now, government employees at all levels have the option to report issues such as the use of government property for personal use, violation of contracting rules or theft 24/7 and remain anonymous if they choose to do so. To read the article in its entirety, click here: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/08/12/ap5314156.html
Summer 2008 | Journal of Governmet Financial Management
Hotlines Can Help Government Agencies Control Misconduct
The summer issue of Journal of Government Financial Management featured The Network’s Vice President, Ralston McCracken in an article discussing the value of hotline programs within government agencies. As mentioned in the article, more and more government agencies utilize hotlines for detecting and deterring fraud, waste and abuse. Agencies such as Buncombe County, NC, Montgomery County MD and even the Social Security Administration all espouse hotlines as an important component of their compliance program.
Like many corporations, these government agencies also actively promote the hotline and educate employees about recognizing fraudulent behavior through ethics communications. To read the article, “Hotlines Can Help Government Agencies Control Misconduct,” visit: http://www.agacgfm.org/publications/journal/.
Please note: membership may be required.
1-aug-2008 | PRESS RELEASE
The Network Inc., a technology-based company providing hotline, insurance claim reporting and employee communication services to nearly half the Fortune 500, today announced the completion of the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70) Type II audit by independent firm Porter, Keadle and Moore (PKM). The review states that The Network is SAS 70 Type II compliant as of June 20, 2008. More »
1-jul-2008 | PRESS RELEASE
The Network, a technology-based company providing hotline,
insurance claim reporting and employee communication services
to nearly half the Fortune 500, announced today its recently
earned Stevie Award for Interactive Media Professional
Education from The 2008 American Business Awards.
The Network won for the creation of a hosted Flash module
focused on ethics in the workplace. More »
December 2007 | Compliance Week
The Network was featured in the December 2007 issue of Compliance
Week. In the Knowledge Leadership section, The Network
discusses the importance of fostering an ethical culture
and how to garner this type of climate throughout an organization.
Highlights from this article include:
- Demonstrating desired behaviors by senior leadership
to show their commitment to ethics
- Evaluating your current belief system before implementing
strategies to change ideology
- Developing effective, ongoing communication strategies
- Utilizing measurement tools to assess communication campaigns
Changing the culture of an organization, especially beliefs
about ethical activity doesn’t occur overnight, but
it is possible if all players are dedicated to make the change
happen.
Download
This Article [PDF]
29-nov-2007 | PRESS RELEASE
The Network, the leading provider of ethics and compliance
hotline programs for nearly 25 years, is alerting contractors
with over $5 million in U.S. government business about an
addition to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). FAR
Subpart 3.10, “Contractor Code of Ethics and Business
Conduct,” if approved, will strengthen ethics and compliance
regulations. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
proposed these revisions to help address recent fraud against
the government. More »
1-nov-2007 | PRESS RELEASE
The Network, Inc., the leading provider of ethics and compliance
hotline programs for nearly 25 years, and BDO Consulting,
an international provider of litigation, investigation, restructuring
and risk advisory services to several organizations, today
announced the completion of the Investigative Tips for
the Non-Investigator. This white paper provides practical
information for organizations that could benefit from a better
understanding of how to conduct a proper investigation. More »
17-august-2007 | St. Louis Review
Archdiocesan Hotline to Nip
Financial Fraud
The Archdiocese of St. Louis announced the availability
of a fraud hotline provided by The Network. Archbishop Raymond
L. Burke notified priests, offices and agencies that the
hotline would be available for parishioners and employees
to report information and all information will be stored
in a central database. Michael Duffy, director of the department
of internal audit for the archdiocese said that offering
a central hotline was one of the recommendations made by
the U.S. bishops in a financial guidelines report earlier
in the year.
Duffy also provided examples of potential incidents of misconduct,
such as “a parish that doesn’t publish financial
information according to archdiocesan policy, cases of fraud
within an office or agency or an employee who is not receiving
an entitled retirement benefit from his or her employer.”
The hotline will be available for any entities that fall
under the auspices of the archdioceses, but not for those
run independently, such as private Catholic high schools
or Catholic hospitals.
To read the entire article, click here: http://www.stlouisreview.com/article.php?id=13510
June 2007 | The Fraud Examiner Newsletter
The ACFE Tells How “Hotlines
Offer New Insights to Success”
The Fraud Examiner Newsletter discusses the hotline – a
long time friend for detecting fraud – and the continued
effectiveness of the tool. Proven valuable by the 2006 Corporate
Governance and Compliance Hotline Benchmarking Report,
the anonymous hotline prevails over web and face-to-face
reporting of illegal and unethical behavior.
The first of its kind report was produced by The Network,
CSO Executive Council and the ACFE. Key findings include:
- 65% of reports warranted an investigation
- 10% of reports involved corruption or fraud
- Corrective action was taken in nearly half of all cases
- In 71% of cases, hotline reports were the first notification
of issues
- Nearly 54% prefer to remain anonymous
Any organization can use the report to help evaluate the
health of their organization. Careful evaluation can reveal
underlying issues to address in future communications, investigations
and direction of the company.
To read the article in its entirety, click here: http://www.acfe.com/newsletters/6-2007-tfe-hotline.asp
4-jun-2007 | PRESS RELEASE
The Network, Inc., the leading provider of ethics and compliance
hotline programs, risk management and critical incident reporting
for nearly 25 years, has named Ralston McCracken as its new
vice president of sales and business development. Mr. McCracken
will be responsible for establishing new relationships with
prospects and strategic partners as well as expanding partnerships
with The Network's existing customers. More »
23-apr-2007 | PRESS RELEASE
The Network, Inc., the leading provider of ethics and compliance
hotline programs, risk management and critical incident reporting
for nearly 25 years, has announced promotions of two top
executives. Luis Ramos is now Senior Vice President of Operations
and Technology. Gerry Halphen is now Senior Vice President
of Strategic Development. More »
Spring 2007 | College & University
Auditor Journal
Colleges and Universities are not immune to fraud schemes.
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) 2006
Report to the Nation revealed that the education industry’s
median loss is $100,000 per scheme. A recent article in College & University
Auditor Journal, written by The Network, discusses the
value of having a hotline and how it can be an early warning
system for these complex educational institutions.
To have a means for students, faculty or others to report
issues that will be documented in one central database demonstrates
fiscal responsibility to donors, alumni and the public. Having
a hotline program could even help keep an educational institution’s
name out of the headlines.
Download
This Article [PDF]
15-apr-2007 | Risk & Insurance
The Network was featured in the April 15 issue of Risk & Insurance magazine
to explain how anonymous reporting can help the insurance
industry reduce loss associated with insurance fraud. The
insurance industry typically loses hundreds of millions of
dollars each year.
The article, “The Case for Anonymous Hotlines,” covers
industry best practices for implementing a successful anonymous
reporting program including:
- 24/7 access to a live trained interviewer
- Standardized interview process
- Rapid dissemination and escalation
- Comprehensive communications campaign
- Ongoing communication with anonymous reporter
The article referenced a variety of sources including, the
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and National
Business Ethics Survey (NBES).
View
Full Article »
March 2007 | Directors Monthly
What ingredients are needed to make a whistleblower program
truly effective? Brad Preber, CPA, CFE and managing partner
of Grant Thornton’s Economic Advisory Services provides
this information for Directors Monthly readers:
- Consider all stakeholders (whistleblowers, accused, shareholders,
auditors, creditors) and their different interests in the
program
- Set guidelines for each process, from initial notification,
through investigation and resolution – including
communication of the issues.
- Utilize metrics to determine program success
Directors Monthly also highlights findings from
the 2006 Corporate Governance and Compliance Hotline
Benchmarking Report. The ACFE, The Network and CSO Executive
Council produced the report
Download
This Article [PDF]
First Quarter 2007 | Ethics & Compliance
Officer Association
The concept of organizational health was discussed in the
first quarter edition of the ECOA Quarterly magazine.
The article, “Enhancing Organizational Health Through
Benchmarking,” refers to the findings from the 2006
Corporate Governance and Compliance Hotline Benchmarking
Report, released in November 2006 by The Network, Inc.
the CSO Executive Council and the Association of Certified
Fraud Examiners (ACFE) to draw the connection between anonymous
reporting programs and assessing the health of an organization.
The article discussed highlights of the report and also included
practical advice regarding:
- Reviewing compliance compared to organizational policies
- Spotting trends in organizational integrity
- Determining key findings from incident post mortems
- Comparing activity before and after program implementation/enhancements
The article provides other advice for using benchmarking
information to initiate change while also addressing the
ongoing issue of a changing workforce environment.
Download
This Article [PDF]
19-jan-2007 | PRESS RELEASE
The Network, the leading provider of ethics and compliance
hotline programs for nearly 25 years, announced that independent
firm Porter, Keadle and Moore (PKM) has conducted a service
auditor's review, commonly known as a SAS 70 audit. The review
states that The Network, Inc. is SAS 70 Type I compliant
as of November, 2006. More »
3-jan-2007 | Compliance Week
The 2006 Corporate Governance and Compliance Hotline
Benchmarking Report was the feature of this recent
article in Compliance Week magazine. The article
discusses the findings from the report, released in November
2006 by The Network, Inc. and CSO Executive Council, that
reveal how employees use an anonymous whistleblower hotline. More »
White Paper
A framework for creating an effective anonymous reporting program. The impact of fraud on U.S. businesses is costly to organizations, shareholders and consumers alike. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) 2008 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud & Abuse, it is estimated that U.S. organizations will lose seven percent of their annual revenues to fraud. Based on 2008 figures, that translates to $994 billion in fraud losses.
This paper discusses techniques for developing an effective ethics hotline program by examining three critical stages: planning prior to launch, communicating to stakeholders about the hotline and reacting to hotline tips.
Download this White Paper [PDF]
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Taking
a Comprehensive Look at “Establishing an Effective
Whistleblower Program”