Whistleblowing - A governance responsibility for every organisation

Recent corruption investigations in South Africa have once again highlighted the important role whistleblowers can play in bringing potential wrongdoing to light.

While much of the public debate has focused on government and state institutions, the same question applies to the private sector: "Do employees feel safe and confident enough to speak up when something doesn't look right?," says David Loxton, CEO at Loxton Forensics.

The ACFE’s 2026 Occupational Fraud Report highlights just how important whistleblowing can be as a fraud-detection mechanism. 

Tips were responsible for detecting 43% of occupational-fraud cases, compared with 14% detected through internal audit and 13% through management review. In other words, tips uncovered more than three times as many cases as either internal audit or management review individually. More than half (55%) of the tips came from employees within the organisation.

Most business owners would like to believe that if something isn't right, someone will say something. Deciding whether to report a concern is not always straightforward.

An employee may not be certain that what they have noticed is actually a problem. They may worry about making the wrong assumption, damaging a working relationship or becoming involved in a situation they would rather avoid.

More than just a policy
Having a whistleblowing policy is an important first step, but a policy on its own is unlikely to encourage people to come forward.

Employees also need confidence that concerns will be handled fairly, treated confidentially where appropriate and assessed objectively.

It is worth taking a few minutes to consider whether your business could answer "yes" to the following questions.

• Would employees know how to report a concern?
• Is it clear who should receive that report?
• Could concerns be raised confidentially?
• Would employees feel comfortable reporting concerns involving a manager or senior employee?
• Is there a clear process for assessing concerns?
• Would every report be considered objectively, regardless of who is involved?

For many businesses, answering these questions can be a useful exercise. Even small improvements to the reporting process can make a meaningful difference because people are more likely to raise concerns when they understand the process and trust that it will be followed consistently.

Establish the facts
Responding appropriately is just as important as encouraging people to speak up. Not every concern points to fraud, and not every unusual transaction has a dishonest explanation.

Taking time to establish the facts protects everyone involved and gives management the information it needs to make informed decisions.

Employees also pay close attention to what happens after a concern has been raised.

They notice:

• whether management listens
• whether concerns are investigated
• whether people are treated fairly
• whether the process is applied consistently
• whether appropriate feedback is provided

Those experiences influence whether employees will feel comfortable speaking up in the future.

Whistleblowing should never be viewed as something that only matters after a serious incident. It forms part of good governance, sensible risk management and responsible leadership.

Strengthen trust
Businesses that create clear reporting channels and respond consistently are often better placed to identify issues early, resolve them fairly and strengthen trust across the organisation.

The strongest whistleblowing processes are not built around the expectation that employees will report wrongdoing every day.

They are designed so that when somebody does have a genuine concern, they know exactly what to do and have confidence that the business will respond fairly. That confidence is difficult to build after a problem has emerged.

It is far easier to establish it beforehand, when there is time to put the right processes, people and support in place.

As South Africa continues to grapple with corruption, accountability and whistleblower protection, businesses have an opportunity to look at their own reporting systems. 

"A whistleblowing process should not simply exist on paper; it should give employees confidence that concerns will be heard, investigated fairly and handled without fear of retaliation," says Loxton.

For organisations, that confidence can be an important early-warning mechanism for identifying fraud, misconduct and governance failures before they become larger problems.