Compliance and internal investigations
Compliance is critical to the identification of risk and the prevention of crime within an organisation.
There is a risk of high fines and even fines and prison sentences for company employees.
Negative side effects such as exclusion from tendering procedures or enormous reputational damage can also occur.
All of this must be prevented through effective preventative measures.
We know what is important.
We know potential weaknesses and help you to identify and combat them.
We can carry out a risk analysis tailored to your company and identify potential risk factors.
By implementing suitable compliance measures, we help you to reduce these risks to a minimum.
We attach great importance to integrating the measures you already have in place and not necessarily setting up a completely new system, even though you already have individual measures that, in case of doubt, only need to be bundled, structured and optimized with a sense of proportion.
In addition to detection, the aim is above all to prevent all illegal and illegitimate actions by managers and employees, representatives and agents and – where necessary and appropriate – also by business partners.
Company-related criminal offenses and administrative offenses can be made more difficult, or at best even prevented, through successful criminal compliance.
This can take the form of an efficient compliance management system and/or the installation of compliance officers, for example. In addition, we draw up internal guidelines for companies and employees, develop individual control systems or conduct in-house training courses to sensitize the company’s employees to potential risks.
Together with you, we develop a compliance target for the best possible adherence to legal provisions and guidelines.
In addition to detection, the aim is above all to prevent all illegal and illegitimate actions by managers and employees, representatives and agents and – where necessary and appropriate – also by business partners.
Company-related criminal offenses and administrative offenses can be made more difficult, or at best even prevented, through successful criminal compliance.
This can take the form of an efficient compliance management system and/or the installation of compliance officers, for example.
In addition, we draw up internal guidelines for companies and employees, develop individual control systems or conduct in-house training courses to sensitize the company’s employees to potential risks.
Mistakes are human and happen, even in a company’s tax department.
However, transparent processes, clear allocation of tasks, the dual control principle and regular checks can minimize the risk of serious errors occurring.
A tax compliance management system (“tax CMS”) is already standard in many companies today.
Where this is not the case – whether due to a lack of resources or because the size of the company is manageable – company managers should nevertheless address potential tax risks and identify and quickly rectify any weaknesses in the handling of their tax affairs.
Proof of a tax CMS is not least a strong indication against the existence of intent or recklessness in the case of incorrect or incomplete tax returns.
The Federal Ministry of Finance already clarified this in 2016 in its application decree on Section 153 AO (see BMF letter dated 23.06.2016, BStBl 2016 I p. 490, margin no. 2.6).
As a law firm specializing in criminal tax law, Minoggio Grezesch Bachmann offers you all the expertise you need to minimize tax liability and criminal liability risks for company employees and the company itself as far as possible.
In close cooperation with you and, if necessary, your tax advisor, we develop a Tax CMS tailored to your specific needs.
We analyze the tax risks and point out weaknesses in your processes.
By implementing efficient, tailor-made tax compliance measures, we create the basis for ensuring that you and your employees behave correctly from a tax perspective in the future.
In this way, we can minimize the risk of violations of tax laws and regulations.
Suitable tax compliance measures can consist of several components.
The most far-reaching step is the implementation of an individual and comprehensive tax CMS.
However, the creation of internal tax guidelines and checklists for corporate tax standards, careful procedural and process documentation or the establishment of internal control systems to fulfill tax obligations can also bring decisive progress in the prevention of tax misconduct.
We would also be happy to conduct training courses for your employees at your company to raise their awareness of tax risks, identify breaches of the rules at an early stage and avoid them wherever possible.
In a company or association, there may be indications of wrongdoing, often initially only as unproven rumors, sometimes from serious whistleblowers, sometimes from confessing employees.
The company management must then clarify the internal misconduct as quickly as possible and intervene if necessary.
Such violations must be prevented in the future.
Official (investigative) proceedings can also give rise to internal investigations.
In times of corporate governance and stricter compliance rules, this internal clarification of the facts is the very responsibility of company management.
The old “file a complaint, wait and see, then dismiss after a criminal conviction” no longer applies.
The vast majority of companies are not in a position to carry out extensive internal investigations with their own resources. In most cases, this is also not advisable, as the company’s own employees, despite their professionalism, often do not have the necessary distance and there is no neutral clarification of the facts.
In addition, the damage caused by internal investigations – e.g. suspicions of employees, rumors about criminal activities in the company that reach customers – must not be greater than the damage that can be uncovered. Abuses must be uncovered consistently but as discreetly as possible.
The successful execution of an internal investigation requires forensic experience, e.g. in interviewing witnesses and the IT-supported evaluation of data and documents. Criminalistic intuition, experience in dealing with companies and employees and sound knowledge of the legal framework are required.
Minoggio Grezesch Bachmann have many years of experience in conducting and coordinating internal investigations. We sift through internal data and documents, question company employees and external persons such as business partners on behalf of the employer. We also act as a point of contact for the investigating authorities if official investigations are already underway. We also have a broad network at our disposal if additional expertise is required in the course of the investigation.