CONDUCTING REMOTE INVESTIGATIONS
R&C: In your experience, how have professionals involved in conducting corporate investigations adapted to pandemic-related challenges over the past 12 months?
LaScala: Regarding financial crimes investigations around anti-money laundering and fraud, the keys to success before and after the pandemic are training, experience, access to the right investigative tools and preparation. Without a team leader or supervisor hovering, the specificity of the desk operating procedures and investigative protocols is critical to the success of any type of corporate investigation. That said, technology like GoToMeeting or Microsoft Teams is a compelling substitute and can be a big help when overseeing a large and dedicated team. Many investigations related to anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions are predominantly desk investigations resulting in the filing of a suspicious activity report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or a ‘no further action’ resolution, with no interviewing of witnesses. Colleagues, however, with experience – anecdotal or otherwise – are great sources of training and learning and the inability to sit in a large room and share fact patterns with other experienced investigators can be a disadvantage, especially to staff who are less experienced.
Siswick: People in the investigations industry have adapted amazingly well to the challenges brought about by the pandemic. Many investigations are data-driven reviews that can be done remotely. There should be relatively limited impact on productivity as long as the right tools for document review, collaboration and security have been deployed. The limitations on social interaction, however, have heightened the importance of in-person, experiential training for junior staff and ‘water cooler’ conversations that are key to the development of new ideas and innovative ways of solving problems. It has also become more challenging to connect the dots in some more complex investigations. A key issue, which is much broader than the world of investigations, is how to maintain wellbeing and morale – and it is difficult to achieve this in a remote working context. The future of work post-pandemic remains unclear, but we have certainly shown that the adaptability and flexibility of people, coupled with the remarkable technological progress, will allow us to overcome many of the remaining challenges. Many of the approaches we have learned during this time will really drive the innovative working approaches of the future.
Apr-Jun 2021 Issue
Guidehouse