By Andrew Amos, Vice President, APAC at Diligent Corporation
When a misconduct concern is reported, the table stakes are high. From legal exposure, regulatory scrutiny to reputational damage, the consequences of not handling it appropriately are far-reaching. The greatest challenge faced by organisations is not the lack of policy, but the lack of trust and defensibility in the speak up process.
Technology plays a critical role as an enabler in building truly defensible whistleblowing programs that people can trust. The right systems can support confidentiality, consistency and independence in the process, giving employees greater confidence to raise concerns.
Vital traits of a trusted, defensible whistleblowing platform
Highly effective speak up technology has five defining qualities that foster trust and reliability.
- Visible, accessible reporting channels
ASIC identified that disclosures received through dedicated channels accounted for 69% of all reports, yet 36% of companies did not provide a dedicated web page and 20% did not have a hotline.1 In fact, for the majority of companies that do have a hotline, it is no longer enough for a speak up program.
Organisations should offer multiple, easily accessible reporting channels for disclosers to report concerns without feeling exposed or ignored. People are less inclined to speak up if reporting channels are limited or difficult to use.
- Protect the discloser identity and the confidentiality of the matter
Employees often stay silent out of fear of retaliation, so protecting the identity of the discloser is key. While most systems today provide anonymous reporting, a truly robust platform takes a step further to support secure two-way anonymous messaging. This allows investigators to engage in an ongoing conversation without exposing the reporter.
One of the biggest barriers to speaking up is the fear of being isolated as the only person willing to raise a concern. The right technology helps overcome this fear by providing capabilities for related concerns to be reported or surfaced collectively. People are more likely to come forward when organisations elevate psychosocial safety through peer support and the reassurance of a collective voice. Organisations also benefit from being able to identify patterns of concerning behaviour.
- Maintain independence and accountability
Many legacy models rely on manual judgement to decide who sees a case, how quickly it moves and whether it is escalated appropriately. A modern, AI-enabled speak-up model triages concerns more intelligently and routes them more consistently, promoting fairness and integrity throughout the process ─ from intake to resolution.
When reports sit across disconnected hotlines, shared inboxes, spreadsheets and fragmented tools, the process becomes error-prone and susceptible to multiple points of failure. Centralised, audit-ready case management systems that document every step, conversation, action and outcome with clear ownership help ensure there is rigour and accountability. This is an important step in creating trust while also standing up to regulatory scrutiny.
By embedding controls at critical decision points, AI-enabled case management also reduces the risk of cases falling through the cracks because of human error or bias.
- Align with policy, conflict controls and regulatory frameworks.
Using the right technology, organisations can connect speak up data to adjacent controls, including policy attestations, conflict of interest disclosures, confidentiality controls and broader ethics and compliance signals that align with regulatory requirements.
Real-time dashboards and trend reporting provide board-level visibility and evidence of impact, a critical step towards stronger assurance.
- Scan and detect patterns
Reported cases should not be handled in isolation of one another. Effective systems powered by AI are able to scan for and recognise patterns using case data, category tagging and trend analysis, surfacing systemic themes earlier. Early detection of patterns can prevent a misconduct concern from escalating into crisis-level proportions.
How organisations should measure the effectiveness of their whistleblowing systems
Technology helps drive measurable improvement in metrics that demonstrate confidence in the process and accountability in the outcomes, for example participation across reporting channels, time to triage and investigation, retaliation trends and the financial value of issues resolved before escalation.
Is there tangible improvement in the speed of investigations and case resolution? Has speak up participation rate increased materially? What is the monetary value equivalent in regulatory penalties avoided? These are questions risk and compliance leaders should ask to determine whether a program is genuinely trusted and operating optimally.
Technology is not a substitute for empathy and integrity, but it enables organisations to demonstrate and scale these qualities consistently across the organisation. By turning case data into risk intelligence, technology strengthens organisational resilience. By reinforcing trust at every step, technology supports organisations in creating safer workplace cultures.
1 REP 827 Insights from ASIC Whistleblower Questionnaire: July 2024 to June 2025, ASIC, December 2025.
Andrew Amos
Vice President, Asia Pacific at Diligent
Andrew Amos is the Vice President of Asia Pacific at Diligent, a leading provider of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions, overseeing commercial operations across the APAC region. With a career spanning over two decades in enterprise software and SaaS leadership roles, Andrew is passionate about empowering boards and GRC leaders with the technology and insights they need to lead with confidence.
In his role, Andrew leads the APAC Commercial team where he is responsible for developing and executing Diligent’s go-to-market strategy, driving strategic growth initiatives and developing strong client relationships region-wide. Andrew is actively engaged in industry events and forums, regularly moderating discussions on key topics such as cyber resilience, AI governance, showcasing his leadership in the field.
Prior to joining Diligent, Andrew held senior leadership roles in the technology and professional services sectors including with Fuze, PGi and Meltwater Group, driving digital transformation initiatives and high-performing sales teams.
Based in Sydney, Andrew holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Swinburne University of Technology.
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