National foreword

This Published Document is the UK implementation of ISO/TS 37008:2023.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee G/1, Governance.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

This publication is not to be regarded as a British Standard.

Compliance with a Published Document cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This Published Document was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 August 2023.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 309, Governance of organizations.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

Internal investigation is an integral part of organizational management. Internal investigation is a professional fact-finding process, initiated by or for an organization, to establish facts in relation to alleged or suspected wrongdoing, misconduct or noncompliance (such as bribery, fraudulent activities, harassment, violence or discrimination). Internal investigations enable an organization to:

make informed decisions if laws, regulations, industry codes, internal policies, procedures, processes, corporate compliance policy and/or the organization’s values and ethics have been breached;
understand the cause(s) that lead to the above-mentioned breaches;
determine if an allegation or concern is substantiated or unsubstantiated;
assess the financial loss of an organization;
mitigate liability of the organization and/or its management;
put in place and implement the necessary mitigation measures to prevent similar conduct from occurring;
strengthen the organization’s compliance and ethics culture;
make external reporting to relevant authorities (law enforcement, judicial bodies, regulators or other bodies prescribed by law or regulation) or relevant interested parties when necessary;
make decisions on sanctions of management and/or employees and debarment of working with third parties involved in unethical conduct.

Civil actions, whistleblower reports and external investigations by regulators can be reasons for internal investigation as well so that the concerned organizations can find out what triggered the actions, reports and external investigations, then take appropriate measures.

Internal investigation is part of a compliance management system. This document can be used to help with the implementation of other standards such as ISO 37301, ISO 37001 and ISO 37002. It can also be a useful tool for an organization to identify risks. With risk clearly identified, an organization can analyse the root causes of noncompliance and design measures to control the risks.

Not having the capabilities to conduct internal investigations and/or failing to conduct internal investigations can have adverse effects on an organization such as compromising the effectiveness of the compliance management system, failing to protect its reputation, and failing to detect and counter wrongdoing.

This document provides guidance for organizations to implement internal investigations based on the following principles: independent, confidential, competent and professional, objective and impartial, and legal and lawful.

Figure 1 is a conceptual overview of the investigative process showing the whole picture of internal investigation and the possible post-investigation actions.

1 Scope

This document gives guidance on internal investigations within organizations, including:

the principles;
support for investigations;
establishment of the policy, procedures, processes and standards for carrying out and reporting on an investigation;
the reporting of investigation results;
the application of remedial measures.

This document is applicable to all organizations regardless of type, size, location, structure or purpose.

NOTE See Annex A for guidance on the use of this document.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Principles

4.1 Independent

4.2 Confidential

4.3 Competent and professional

4.4 Objective and impartial

4.5 Legal and lawful

5 Support for internal investigations

5.1 Resources

5.2 Leadership and commitment

6 Establishment of investigation policy or procedure

7 Safety and protection measures

7.1 Preserving and securing evidence

7.2 Protection of and support to personnel involved in investigations

7.3 Anti-retaliation

7.4 Safeguarding

8 Investigative process

8.1 Investigation team

8.2 Preliminary assessment

8.3 Determining the scope of the investigation

8.4 Investigation planning

8.5 Maintaining confidentiality

8.6 Liability caution to deter disclosure

8.7 No interference

8.8 Evidence

8.9 Interviews

8.10 Finalization process

8.11 Investigation report

9 Potential remedial measures or improvements

9.1 Proposal of remedial measures and improvements

9.2 Interim remedial measures

9.3 A final plan for post-investigation remedial measures

9.4 Proportionality of remediation and improvement measures

9.5 Monitoring and enforcement of remedial measures

10 Interaction with stakeholders

10.1 General

10.2 Planning

10.3 Measures for the communication process

10.4 Effective communication channels

10.5 Government and regulator communication

10.6 Self-disclosure to the authorities

11 Disciplinary actions

Bibliography

PD ISO/TS 37008:2023

Internal investigations of organizations. Guidance

Current

Published:

31 Aug 2023