Safety in Anonymity 
Newly established confidential ethics and whistleblower organization partners with experts in Uncovering the Truth 

FROM THE MANS DEN | BY MICHAEL LALIBERTE 
It kept him awake at nights. Worried who was all involved in an off balance sheet bank account of a well-known charitable organization. Harold Fairbanks, Chief Financial Reporting Officer made an account inquiry from which he discovered there was a bank account in the name of the Organization but in care of one of the Directors of the organization. The organization’s regular bank wasn’t the same as this bank. The history report revealed over a short period of time $30-million went into the account and then back out again in large withdrawals. How on earth did this get past his accounting staff? His mind concluded with the thought, ‘maybe the accounting staff did know, but didn’t have the proper customized tools where they would feel safe being ‘listened to.’ 
She was facing her worst nightmare. Karen Livingston CEO of a publicly traded mattress organization was looking over the year-end financial statements. She was stunned looking at the figures that showed a decline in sales of 30% from the previous year. “What in the world is going on” Livingston demanded in her meeting with the organizations’ Sales Director squirming in his arm chair. To answer this concern more accurately couldn’t come from the Sales Director, but only by their customers and stakeholders who seemingly didn’t have any formalized customized consultation service where they could express their concerns. Several complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau were not being addressed and getting resolved in a timely manner; this resulted in a downgrading of their rating to a B-. Something had to be implemented for the stakeholders to report their concerns. 
It’s all about having the right set of ears with people who know how to ‘listen’ when it comes to learning what’s really going on when it happens. Having a whistle blowing policy in place communicates to your organization that you expect management, employees and your company’s suppliers to conduct themselves in an ethical manner. However, many people choose not to come forward for various personal reasons, one of the main reasons is fear about the repercussions’ of whistleblowing. That’s why employers are increasingly implementing mechanisms for employees to confidentially report their concerns. As one corporate executive recently asserted to us, “we need more enhancements in place for our employees and clients to feel safe and comfortable in communicating unforeseen high risk factors within our Company.” There is a newly formed organization, head-quartered in Toronto, Ontario, that offers a safe and effective way for employees to report what they see. It’s obvious someone had to take on this task that organizations can turn to create customized tools for reporting this valuable information. This new Company offers your organization it’s services in taking on this challenge.
THE LISTENING POST. www.thelpost.com 
Founder 
Tamara Gottlieb 
Tamara Gottlieb has spent the last decade helping clients overcome crises and responding to uncompromising problems. THE LISTENING POST is “my baby” Gottlieb says with a command. Coming from the trenches as a senior executive with a research firm (COMPAS Research) Gottlieb saw the need for protecting the safety of the whistleblower while ensuring that organizations received accurate and timely tips, thereby preventing organizations risk factors that can escalate into a chaotic nightmare. THE LISTENING POST is a confidential hot-line reporting service for business, not-for-profit organizations, and government and professional bodies. THE LISTNEING POST helps organizations learn what’s really going on. 
Utilizing the services of THE LISTENING POST means that management has the information it needs to act on “tips” on day one when the call comes in, “it’s not shoved under the carpet.” Tamara Gottlieb also gives several reasons why a whistleblower or ethics hotline is a value to your company,” some of the top reasons are, detecting and the deterring fraud and, ensuring management is acting on complaints or tips. One problem that can exist even with a whistleblower mechanism is that some employees may still not know what to look for or how to file a complaint which why we offer training upon implementation of the system. So employees know, for example, what fraud looks like and how to report the facts.” 
A whistle-blower/teacher reported an alleged $800,000 fraud that went on for years before being fully exposed THE MANS DEN has discovered. Public Corporations are required to have them, but one of Tamara’s friends didn’t even know of her company’s whistleblowing link after being employed with the company for six years. “Training helps ensure that employees are both aware of the system and understand how and when to use it, says Gottlieb.” 
THE LISTNEING POST also helps satisfy Bill 168, The Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Listening Post is a one-stop-resource centre offering, Listening 2U, among your staff and workforce, Listening 4U, among your clients, stakeholders, and/or the public, and Surveying 4U on exit interviews, employee engagement and customer engagement studies. THE LISTENING POST is like an insurance policy; it’s there when you need it and offers a 24/7/365 day year-round services in their hot-line service, which by the way is always communicated in live voice. 
THE LISTENING POST has an extensive network of subject- matter experts and workplace consultants from across the country. Most employee “tips” are about financial wrong-doings within their organization. However, just like as training is needed within the workplace, it is also required in order to detecting suspected fraudulent activities. THE LISTENING POST has partnered with a firm that specializes exclusively in forensic (fraud) investigations and are available when your organization needs them. According to recent reports employee thefts in North America are ten times of that amount of street crimes. 
nagel + associates inc. 
Founder 
Edward Nagel 
nagel + associates inc. is The Listening Post’s exclusive forensic accounting partner, which specializes exclusively in forensic investigations, anti-fraud consulting and anti-fraud training. 
Edward Nagel is Principal and Founder of a boutique forensic accounting firm, nagel + associates inc. (www.nagel-forensics.com) Edward Nagel is a seasoned forensic accountant who has focused exclusively on proactively and reactively investigating since 1998. He is recognized by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants as a specialist in investigative and forensic accounting. Edward also carries the Chartered Business Valuator designation and is a Licensed Private Investigator. 
Edward Nagel asserts he is passionate about fraud detection and prevention. “The real enemy is not the fraudster, but rather complacency.” The impact of fraud on an organization is largely driven by how- and- how quickly- you respond. A poorly conceived and mismanaged forensic investigation may deepen the impact of a financial crime event-including increasing the potential loss, disrupting your business and risking your reputation. nagel + associates inc. delivers independent, objective analysis and incisive reporting that focuses on getting beneath the surface, going beyond the obvious and Uncovering the Truth. 
“We believe that a whistleblower hotline is an integral component of a company’s fraud management framework. When looking at potential partners, what attracted us in particular to The Listening Post was its unique system and approach to managing complaints, from the design and implementation to the intake, response and reporting that it offers its clients,” says Edward. 
“ Clients will not only have an effective mechanism for their employees, suppliers, customers and Boards to report complaints, but will also be provided with the necessary training-both upfront and ongoing-to ensure that the benefits of the ethics hotline are fully realized,” says, Nagel. 
Nagel went on to say, “When people come across our website, they are often dealing with a live allegation, but have no previous experience with such matters. Having a direct portal to THE LISTENING POST from every page of our website enables the public to access to a confidential reporting system that they can feel comfortable using, particularly if they don’t want to initiate the investigation themselves. For this reason, it made total sense to partner with an organization that is progressive and forward thinking. 
Dynamics| A time to look at Changing 
Is there a need for an outside independent confidential reporting service for your organization even though your company may have a link for employees/ customers/ stakeholders for whistleblowing? 
THE MANS DEN has researched, interviewed, and reviewed some startling cases to provide an answer to this valuable question. The following incidents have actually taken place; some organizations do not want their identities revealed; which highlights the respectfulness of this story’s title and, THE LISTENING POST deepest regards in confidentiality. 
From| The London Free Press 
The battle of bullying reaches higher levels. While a local-area public school board battles bullying in its classrooms, it’s quietly dealing with claims of harassment within their own ranks. Certain concerns have been raised to the working environment in the information technology department alleging harassment. One employee describes the workplace as toxic. When asked what is being done about the employee asserted, “Absolutely nothing, this has been swept under the carpet for years, the school boards administrators told us to deal with it on our own.” 
From | The RCMP Newsroom 
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested a local real estate agent in her involvement with being part of an alleged criminal organization in setting up Marihuana Grow Operations. The agent sold eight houses to grow-op-operators over an 18 month period. A local real estate agent asserted, “there are about 1,500 realtors in the region and about 90% of them read the paper,’ he said. “When they hear that police busted a grow house, agents look to see who sold the house.” It was an open secret among other realtors who this agent was, “most of us were waiting for Police involvement for years, but it never came,” another agent asserted. We asked another agent why anyone didn’t report this alleged agent’s criminal activity to their Licencing regulators she said, “Nobody wanted to put their names on RECO’s complaint forms about this agent.” 
From | Case Law R v. Williams 
The alleged fraudulent activity took place over a three year period. The accused was the Superintendent of Programs for a Local School Board, who had authority including the approval of third-party invoices payments. Over the period of the alleged criminal activity, the accused diverted $194, 357.21 for her personal use. The alleged criminal activity could have come to light sooner, but as one teacher asserted,” there wasn’t enough factual evidence among many of us who suspected something was amiss; we didn’t know what a fraud actually looked like.” 
From | An Underground Researcher 
It was an “aberration” the applicant exclaimed to a Hearing Panel to obtain a Licence from a regulator. That aberration the applicant had was during his tenure with a previous Licencing regulator that disbarred him after serving six months in jail for having an affair with a 14 year old female. “I fantasized she was closer to 20 or 22 than 14,’ the applicant stated with confidence to his soon to be peers. When we spoke with a few practising Licensee’s about this file we obtained, one of them bluntly asserted, “There is very little assistance we as Licenced practitioners have in the way of whistleblowing on our members, it’s a total helpless experience, but who can we turn to.” 
THE LISTENING POST| Exclusive Forensics Accounting Partner | www.nagel-forensics.com 
Listening is “My baby” 
THE LISTENING POST Founder Tamara Gottlieb 
1370 Don Mills Road, Suite 300| Toronto ON| 1-647-725-1155| www.thelpost.com 
FROM THE MANS DEN| BY MICHAEL LALIBERTE | mlaliberte58@yahoo.com