On Sept. 12, 2025, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Sex Scandals. Accounting Fraud. It Is All Showing Up on the Corporate Hotline,” by Lauren Weber, Margot Patrick, and Chip Cutter. The piece talks about whistleblower hotlines, and I could not put the article down.
Whistleblower hotlines are not new, yet many businesses – some of them your clients – either lack one or fail to train employees on their use and importance. Why is that?
As mentioned in the article, none other than world-famous investor Warren Buffet has a positive opinion of whistleblower hotlines. The article quotes him as saying, “At Berkshire, the main source of information for me about anything being done wrong at a subsidiary is the hotline.”
If the “Oracle of Omaha” thinks whistleblower hotlines are helpful, shouldn’t we all?
Whistleblower hotlines became prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s as ways for government employees to report waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars. If you are as old as I am, you might remember the headlines ridiculing government spending on $400 toilet seats and hammers. Early governmental whistleblower hotlines aimed to curb this kind of waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
Hotlines became even more popular in the 2000s when the Sarbanes-Oxley Act created whistleblower protection for people reporting tips, as well as rewards for tips that led to the successful conviction of fraudsters. Whistleblower protections and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act were established in response to the Enron and Worldcom scandals, which came to light thanks to disclosures from executives within those companies. These frauds might have been discovered earlier if anonymous whistleblower hotlines were available.
Whistleblower hotlines have since come a long way from talking to an answering machine. Third-party vendors sell whistleblower software products and staff resources that help companies manage their hotlines. A wide range of affordable and high-quality whistleblower hotline solutions can be quickly located with a basic Google search.
Whistleblower hotlines typically work best when they are technology-enabled. Long gone are the days of having to call in a tip. Online tools make it possible for an employee to file a complaint directly through the web. One of the many values in online portals is the availability of anonymity. Reporters can submit through a portal that assures their identity remains anonymous and, to a great deal, removes the fear of retaliation. Removing these fears typically encourages more reports. Portals also allow investigators and the reporter to communicate, regardless of whether or not they submit their name in association with the complaint.
Portals allow for interaction between individuals and professionals within organizations. Organizations often respond to tips by asking follow-up questions and assuring the individual that their tip will be thoroughly investigated.
Whistleblower tips are monitored by either legal, compliance, or internal audit functions within an organization. Regardless of the initial reader, a triage process takes place to determine the risk of the tip to the organization, and who should be involved in investigating and proving or disproving the allegations. As the investigation moves forward, findings and recommendations are developed. Implementing the recommendations can strengthen the organization. Over time this process, if repeated in a manner that is transparent and helpful, will build resiliency within the organization.
Although many clients tell me that there is plenty of what one may describe as lower-risk tips or outright complaints about co-workers in the tips they receive, most agree there is value in the process. Many have stories about those precious tips that stopped more meaningful wrongdoing in its tracks. It is important to be mindful, however, that it is the entire process – the reporting of low- and high-risk tips, investigation and reporting, as well as the feedback loop from conclusions reached and recommendations made – that create resilience within an organization. Both large and small frauds can inform leaders of an organization's knowledge base and culture, offering valuable insights to the board of directors and executives for guiding the company.
As you move through 2026, ask your clients about their whistleblower hotline. If they do not have one, ask why not? Setting up and/or improving a client’s hotline and investigative process is a great first step in building a resilient, ethical, and compliant organization now and into the future.
As the Oracle of Omaha will tell you, it provides the perfect way for clients to know what they need to know about what’s going on in their company.
Frederick J. Kohm Jr. is principal, risk advisory solutions, with Grant Thornton Advisors LLC in Philadelphia. He can be reached at frederick.kohm@us.gt.com.
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Statements of fact and opinion are the author's responsibility alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the PICPA's officers or members. The information contained herein does not constitute accounting, legal, or professional advice. For actionable advice, you must engage or consult with a qualified professional.