Companies with effective compliance programs should expect that employees and others will at some point come forward to report potential wrongdoing. After all, internal reporting is one sign their programs are working. If the company determines that there has been a potential violation of the law, it is then faced with a decision that involves great judgment and uncertainty: Should the company self-report to the government where there is no legal requirement to do so? Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.
This article examines key pros and cons to self-reporting potentially unlawful behavior to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
