Response & Investigation Managed Services
Your expert for questions
Christian Muth
Partner, Forensic Services at PwC Deutschland
Tel: +49 151 61997530
Email
Respond appropriately to compliance issues
How do you react if your company finds itself in a crisis or if you are accused of non-compliance? In many organisations, resources are too scarce to quickly initiate a special internal investigation when critical developments or suspicions arise. This is where our experts at PwC come in: in situations like this, we can help you uncover and gain clarity on violations of guidelines and rules, respond correctly to the crisis and emerge stronger from it. With our range of managed services, we can assist your compliance office in setting up structures and processes to systematically detect non-compliance and develop an appropriate response to the case and crisis.
We will help you uncover compliance issues, respond correctly to crises and emerge stronger from them.
Systematically uncover compliance issues and respond appropriately in a crisis
The challenges you face
Scarce resources
In many companies, resources are scarce – often too scarce to react correctly when compliance breaches are suspected, extraordinary incidents arise or critical developments are triggered by compliance mechanisms. This is because getting to the bottom of these cases can be very complex and time-consuming. A special investigation must be launched – and this demands case management or even crisis management.
Balancing costs and availability
Companies, especially medium-sized ones, are constrained by the need to conduct internal investigations cost-effectively. However, it is just as important to be able to rely on resources being available when they are needed – i.e. “just in time”. This balancing act – low costs on the one hand and resources available at any time on the other – poses particular challenges for small and medium-sized companies.
Skills gaps and shortages
Many companies do not have the skills needed for an intensive response to an incident or crisis. In such a situation, they need to be able to conduct an internal investigation while at the same time carrying out and coordinating forensic interviews, data analysis and background research, obtaining legal advice and communicating. The current skills shortage is making it particularly difficult for companies to recruit suitable employees.
Our approach
Support during the entire lifecycle
Our experts have extensive specialist knowledge and many years of practical experience in systematically detecting non-compliance and responding appropriately to incidents. We can support you throughout the entire lifecycle of a case or crisis – from recording, documenting and evaluating incoming compliance issues, to supporting systematic management of the case or crisis and determining the potential damage to your company.
Adapting to your circumstances
Our modular approach allows you to choose a procedure tailored to your company, your area of responsibility and management, and your individual needs. We set up our modules in a targeted and practice-oriented manner so that we can respond quickly and activate the necessary resources if suspicions arise or an incident occurs.
Performance-optimised contract conditions
We can support you in reacting quickly and effectively to incoming compliance incidents, as well as with the associated case management and investigation. This requires a performance-optimised contract system tailored to your needs. On this basis we can work together in the spirit of trust. We can then quickly and directly activate our response and investigation managed services portfolio when necessary to provide you with the best possible support.
We can support you with four individually adaptable and scalable modules:
Case Management
In this module, we provide support with case management and dealing with compliance incidents. The module includes initial analysis, structuring, planning, control and monitoring of a case.
How we proceed:
- We make initial records of incoming compliance incidents, file them and categorise them. These might be from sources such as tip-offs from whistleblowers, media reports or red flags, but can also involve an employee’s subjective perception or public investigations conducted by authorities such as public prosecutors.
- This is followed by data-based analysis to evaluate and classify the whistleblower reports or other evidence that has been received – provided there is reasonable initial suspicion. The goal is to investigate in a highly targeted way, using as few resources as possible.
- We help you manage tasks based on a structured workflow that includes tracking of all steps, meeting deadlines, documentation, and processing of results.
- We develop recommendations and follow-up actions to ensure an efficient and effective approach to the investigation.
- Last but not least, we’ll help you with implementing these measures, monitoring their effectiveness and eliminating weak points.
Investigation
This module provides you with support in efficiently and discreetly clarifying reports of suspicious activity and in planning and carrying out special forensic investigations. For this, we use state-of-the-art technological solutions for e-discovery, data analysis and visualisation.
How we proceed:
- We take charge of your project management office, which involves efficiently and discreetly clarifying incidents and reports of suspicious activity. To do this, we first determine the objectives and methods for the investigation, taking legal regulations and restrictions into account.
- At the same time, we plan and carry out special forensic examinations. We do this by using forensic technology and data visualisation tools for background research, carrying out forensic analysis of structured and unstructured data, and conducting forensic interviews. We are supported by the following resources:
- Global intelligence services: We conduct liaison research where conflicts of interest are suspected. Read more
- E-discovery services: We rely on AI-powered early case assessments for targeted and efficient analysis of electronic communications. Read more
- Financial data analytics: We automate the analysis of financial data. Read more
- Forensic interviewing services: We conduct professional interviews in internal investigations, such as initial whistleblower interviews or investigations in HR.
- Forensic reporting: We provide legally robust case documentation of the steps we take in our investigations and the information we obtain.
Crisis Management
This module can be used to activate a case or crisis team when an incident or crisis occurs to support those responsible for compliance. We will support you in dealing with the incident or crisis and coordinate internal and external communication. At the same time, this module offers you the option of setting up dynamic monitoring to provide an early crisis warning system.
How we proceed:
- We activate a prepared case or crisis team to support your compliance office. This module is particularly suitable for cases with a high degree of complexity or the potential for a scandal.
- We support the case or crisis team in dealing with the case or crisis. To do this, our experts monitor and coordinate contact with case-relevant internal players, as well as authorities, law firms, insurance companies or communication experts. We also coordinate communications around the case.
- We also provide support with documenting, identifying and evaluating types and varieties of crisis risk.
- Importantly, we deal with configuring and activating a technology-based crisis risk radar. We also set up a dynamic early warning system to monitor both the obvious and the less obvious warning signs of a crisis.
- We develop a structure for crisis response and crisis planning, and we implement a response when a crisis strikes – this also includes crisis communication. And last but not least, we handle post-crisis care.
Claims and Conflict Management
Crises usually lead to claims for damages being made by or against your company. This module therefore includes support in quantifying claims, negotiating with your insurer, or even acting as a damage quantifier during a dispute.
With our crisis-oriented, structured approach, we want to help you maximise compensation payments and minimise risks and negative effects for your company.
How we proceed:
- We support you in claims management, i.e. in monitoring disputes and enforcing claims for damages. This also includes the process of determining property damage, financial losses and additional costs in order to quantify the resulting insurance claim.
- Our expertise and experience allow us to ensure a dialogue with your insurer on an equal footing.
- We use proven methodologies and best practices to guide you through the claims handling process.
- We save you time and money by using the latest technological solutions.
Your benefits
Room for growth
You can concentrate on your core business and outsource time-consuming activities and projects, such as preparing compliance case responses, structuring initial responses, systematically investigating non-compliance, or managing complex cases and crises. This creates freedom for your growth agenda and your everyday business.
Access to expert knowledge
We give you access to a broad pool of experts and tools for forensic services, as well as appropriate crisis management throughout the lifeycle of a case or crisis.
Save costs and resources
You can permanently reduce the costs and work involved in planning and preparing for compliance incidents, and detecting and responding to them. Our managed services save you having to procure expensive new software for this area.
Benefit from the strengths of digitalisation
Digitalisation opens up enormous growth opportunities. The tools embedded in the individual modules allow us to help you use new technology profitably and fundamentally reshape the processes in your company.
Drive your transformation
Outsourcing time-consuming activities supports your company in redefining core processes and driving your transformation.
“Compliance violations are often complex and harbour a high potential for scandals. It is therefore advisable to outsource management of an incident or crisis like this to professionals.”
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