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78 Leadership & Management ACCOUNTANCY IRELAND APRIL 2017
Leadership & Management 79 Whistling in the wind… The country owes a great debt to whistle-blowers but for a company, a revelation can be a corporate earthquake. BY ITA GIBNEY Psychologists have a saying that “you are only as sick as your secrets” and psychotherapy has taken off as people deal with their issues through counselling, confessional memoirs, forgiveness and going public. Even the most admired and healthy-looking individuals (Bruce Springsteen, for example) are surprising us by telling us about their vulnerabilities. But that’s therapeutic, inspiring and part of the recovery process. It usually happens when the person is able and ready to face particular issues or problems. But consider this: if someone else – someone within the family, for example – were to ‘out’ your secret or your wrongdoing without warning, how could you then deal with it and the trauma that would inevitably arise? The corporate analogy is whistleblowing. In any game, it is up to the referee to blow the whistle. Can you imagine if a player on the Mayo team had one of their own team blowing the whistle when he saw a foul by his teammate? It would upend the game. In corporate entities, the act of whistle-blowing runs completely counter to how organisations work – be it a bank, church, police force, or political party. They are all systems where, when something goes wrong, the default dynamic is to close ranks and defend the side. Whistle-blowing turns such systems on their heads. It blows the lid off the game, the organisation, its leader and its entire structure and culture. Exposed and alone Maybe we have reached this stage in corporate Ireland because the various referees have been seen to be silent and blind. The public attitude is therefore akin to “fair dues to the whistle-blower”, recognising the courage it takes to act outside the system but also ignoring the isolation, scapegoating, character assassination, criminal investigation and future unemployability he or she may have to endure. Even the real referee will likely not befriend the guy who blew the whistle. Cheering on the whistle-blower is fine, and the media and politicians do so given the feast of information he or she can provide. Giving legal protection in the form of protected disclosures is progress, but being exposed and alone as the corporate ‘snitch’ when the earthquake happens can be a lonely and dangerous place to be – as history shows. Ireland is too small a country to have a witness protection programme, but maybe we could look at the citizen enforcement action provisions in the US. Whistleblowers risk retaliation if they challenge abuse of power or any other misconduct that betrays the public trust, and numerous studies have confirmed this. To ensure the effectiveness of a disclosure, the US False Claims Act enfranchises whistle-blowers to file suits in court against illegality exposed by their Giving legal protection in the form of protected disclosures is progress, but being exposed and alone as the corporate ‘snitch’ when the earthquake happens can be a lonely and dangerous place to be – as history shows. disclosures. These types of suits are known as “qui tam” actions in a reference to the Latin phrase “he who sues on behalf of himself as well as the king”. These statutes can provide both litigation costs and a portion of money recovered for the government to the citizen whistle-blower. It is the nation’s most effective whistleblower law in history for the difference it has made, increasing civil fraud recoveries in government contracts from $27 million annually in 1985 to over $1 billion annually since 2000. Cases in point Aside from the WikiLeaks initiatives and alleged hacking that impacted on the most recent US election, consider the most controversial www.accountancyireland.ie
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VOLUME 49 NUMBER 2 APRIL 2017 Diver
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Comment 3 President’s comment Apr
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Contents 5 Spotlight 30 Pay gap, or
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News 7 Enhancing audit quality anch
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Est 1887 News 9 UCD and PwC promote
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When you fly Aer Lingus, you‘re c
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Annual Dinner 13 Gillian Doherty, C
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Comment 15 Brian Keegan An uncharit
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Comment 17 Write it down Des Peelo
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Comment 19 Emotion: the spoiler Ann
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Interview 21 Serving the public goo
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Retirement Planning... You have lot
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Diversity 25 Diversity... is it goo
Page 27 and 28: Diversity 27 fact that diversity an
Page 29 and 30: LONGBOAT ANALYTICS WINNER FINANCIAL
Page 31 and 32: Diversity 31 than half agreed that
Page 33 and 34: Mandatory Electronic Filing is fast
Page 35 and 36: Diversity 35 We’ve heard the soun
Page 37 and 38: Diversity 37 The road to inclusion
Page 39 and 40: Diversity 39 Sponsorships Organisat
Page 41 and 42: Diversity 41 Thoughts on diversity.
Page 43 and 44: Audit 43 insights for stakeholders
Page 45 and 46: TALK TO TOMORROW’S ACCOUNTANTS TO
Page 47 and 48: Financial Reporting 47 financial re
Page 49 and 50: LEADING PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING
Page 51 and 52: Restructuring Trends 51 The 2016 re
Page 53 and 54: Restructuring Trends 53 insolvency
Page 55 and 56: Audit Quality 55 should be written
Page 57 and 58: Tax 57 BRASS TAX Current developmen
Page 59 and 60: Tax 59 entrepreneurial and favourin
Page 61 and 62: Tax 61 Furthermore there was no rea
Page 63 and 64: Tax 63 Tax deadlines David Fennell
Page 65 and 66: Professional Standards 65 Consent O
Page 67 and 68: Win a two-night stay at Clontarf Ca
Page 69 and 70: Membership 69 Quigley, Keith Rice,
Page 71 and 72: Innovation 71 The strategy of innov
Page 73 and 74: Innovation 73 Graph 1: Title TBD Wh
Page 75 and 76: Leadership & Management 75 UK acade
Page 77: Corporate Governance 77 Figure 1: P
Page 81 and 82: Commercial Feature 81 www.liquidati
Page 83: Commercial Feature 83 the high leve
Page 86 and 87: I trusted my future to Barden So sh
Page 88 and 89: 88 Careers keystrokes and create ju
Page 90 and 91: 90 Careers The hard case for soft s
Page 92 and 93: 92 Careers job can add an entirely
Page 94 and 95: THE SPECIALIST GOVERNANCE RECRUITME
Page 96 and 97: EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL RECRUITMENT
Page 98 and 99: 98 Member Profile A new orbit From
Page 100: NETWORK Building a strong network i
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