Thrive Series: Whistleblowers — From troublemaker to hero
Sandy Boucher
Shane Troyer
Snitch, informer, stool pigeon, sneak, rat, mole.
All of these negative terms have been used to describe whistleblowers. But perceptions are changing and whistleblowers are finally being recognized as a precious resource.
For that reason, many companies are now introducing whistleblower programs, which allow their employees to report wrongdoing.
Whistleblower programs are the most effective — and generally the cheapest — way to detect wrongdoing of almost any kind in an organization, whether its fraud and corruption, theft, money laundering, or other regulatory issues.
Despite this, in many cases management does not understand the fundamentals of their whistleblower program and what makes it tick. This session will outline the state of play in Canada and demonstrate:
- Key planning considerations and critical elements of an effective whistleblower program
- How an effective whistleblower program can help reduce risk
- How the fundamentals underlying an effective whistleblower program work
- Common failings and problems in managing whistleblower programs
- How to develop trust and a speak up environment
- How to optimize and continually improve the delicate ecosystem that your whistleblower program relies upon
About the speakers:
Sandy BoucherSandy is a seasoned investigator who has 33 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. Starting his career with the Royal Hong Kong Police, where he worked for 12 ½ years attaining the rank of Superintendent, Sandy specialized in Asian organized crime, narcotics and money laundering investigations. During his time with the force, Sandy received both Commissioners and Commanding Officer's commendations for his work, as well as commendations from eight overseas police forces; He managed and conducted a broad range of high level investigations including a number which involved corruption during this period.
Sandy now works on detecting and preventing fraud and corruption and divides his time between investigating such cases and advising organizations on how to prevent them from occurring. He has led and conducted a wide range of investigations including a number of high level corruption probes and has testified around the globe in both civil & criminal courts. Since 2009, he was worked in the forensic group of Grant Thornton LLP where he heads the national investigative research, and anti-corruption practices.
He has worked with many whistleblowers and has managed a number of complex investigations stemming from whistleblower complaints during his career. Sandy is also on the Grant Thornton Confidential Anonymous Reporting for Employees (CARE) team.
Shane Troyer
Shane leads Grant Thornton's Business Risk Services Practice in Western Canada and brings 18 years of experience in the delivery of internal audit and advisory services initiatives. He is a specialist in the design and implementation of control compliance, operational internal audit, anti-fraud and anti-corruption programs and has advised numerous publicly accountable organizations in this regard including public companies listed on the NYSE, NASDAQ, NYSE MKT and the TSX.
Shane is frequently asked to present to industry and professional associations on internal audit and internal control related topics
