Since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, people reporting fraud within a public company have enjoyed legal protection as whistle-blowers if they experience retaliation for their actions. Most of those reporting fraud begin locally, calling the company's fraud hot line or internal investigators first, who may elevate it to the next level of management, such as the audit committee of the Board of Directors. If these actions have not been successful in stopping the fraud, some whistle-blowers have reported the fraud to federal authorities or the media.
Consider reporting the fraud to the audit committee of the company's board of directors if, after a month passes, there has been no resolution and the fraud continues to occur.
Study your company's organizational chart, if it does not have a formal reporting mechanism for fraud, and look for a department that may be appropriate, such as internal audit or compliance, and call them to see if they will take your report. If an anonymous reporting option exists, you should use it if you have a reason to think you'll be retaliated against in spite of Sarbanes-Oxley's legal protections.
Consider taking the issue to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) if the audit committee does not investigate and the fraud persists. You can contact the SEC at http://www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml. Your complaint is more likely to be taken seriously if you identify yourself; however anonymous reporting is allowed.
Determine if your company has a whistle-blower policy or a hot line for reporting fraud. If such a policy or hot line exists, gather evidence of the fraud and report it to the appropriate person, email or voice mailbox.
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