The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has welcomed a call by a group of MPs for the creation of an independent office to protect whistleblowers.
The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on whistleblowing urged the government to establish an independent office to create national standards, enforce protection and issue penalties to organisations and individuals who breach its rules.
Marc McAuley, counter fraud services lead at CIPFA said: “Whistleblowing helps organisations to detect and tackle misconduct internally, reduce legal compliance risks and build trust.
“Unfortunately, current policies fail to protect all whistleblowers, and the continued use of non-disclosure agreements to ‘sweep matters under the carpet’ should be a matter of concern for both individuals and organisations.
“Now is the time to incorporate protections for whistleblowers.
“A central, independent office would send a strong signal to compliance professionals across industries that whistleblowing should be encouraged, not deterred.”
