SOX Whistleblowers Protection

In response to a recent post, the question was asked where should a Sox Whistleblower turn for help.  The answer is not that easy. Potential Whistleblowers must be make sure that they protect themselves as well as the shareholders of the publicly traded company at issue.

Other officers of the company and/or its legal counsel or auditors are potential sources of assistance.  Representatives of the SEC may be able to assist you and lawyers that are specialize in the area are potential sources of help.  Other Whistleblowers would also be a good group to consider.   But,

Do not expect that other officers of the company or its “independent” audit committee will be looking out for you.  One would hope that they would and they might, but do not be so naive as to rely on their good faith and devotion to “truth, justice, and the American way”. 

PROTECT YOURSELF.

If you are asked to do something and it doesn’t feel right to you, it probably isn’t. Don’t fall for the rationalization that everyone has been doing it for years. That may be the case but that argument won’t help you that much if you are being set up this time.

Paper your file with hard copies of confirming emails. Do not expect that your soft copies will be readily available to you if you blow the whistle. While the statute mandates the preservation of email communications, my experience is that they are not always voluntarily provided  by the company.  

Be mindful that you may not retain access to your sent emails under your companies data organization structure. To be safe, copy your self on your emails so you can retain a copy and remember to print out hard copies of all important correspondence.

Remember that when it gets right down to it, you may be the only one you can trust in your organization.   

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