Dow Jones received a payment from EQS/DGAP to publish this press release.
DGAP-Media / 2019-03-12 / 13:47
The European Parliament and negotiators from member states have reached an
agreement on the protection of whistleblowers.
The Parliament's chief negotiator Virginie Rozière presented new rules for
EU-wide whistleblower protections at a press conference. According to the
agreement, companies must now offer employees internal channels for
reporting legal violations such as tax fraud, money laundering, or data
protection breaches. Whistleblowers can also directly contact external
institutions such as regulatory authorities or the media without losing
legal protections. Such cases may arise when a potential danger to the
public interest exists or when internal reporting has proven fruitless.
"It is vital for companies to receive and process such reports internally in
order to avoid financial risks or damage to reputation," comments Moritz
Homann, Managing Director Corporate Compliance at EQS Group. Toward that
end, companies should provide accessible reporting channels that offer
anonymity and security to the whistleblower. "Studies have shown that the
number of reports received increases with easier access to reporting
channels," says Homann, referring to the Whistleblowing Report 2018 of the
University Chur, Switzerland.
Homann stresses the importance of companies investing in a digital
whistleblowing system. Such a system can be implemented regardless of place,
indispensable for companies with multiple geographic locations. A vital
feature of a digital system is that it allows for anonymous communication
with the whistleblower so that further enquiries can be made by the company
in addressing issues. "Through active enquiries, a company signals to the
whistleblower that the information is being taken seriously and is being
reviewed. This prevents the whistleblower from going public," explains
Homann.
The EQS Integrity Line digital whistleblowing system has been helping
companies to manage whistleblower protection since 2009 and is used by more
than 150 companies with between 50 to 200,000 employees.
Further links:
Whistleblowing Report [1]
EQS Integrity Line [2]
*About EQS Group:*
EQS Group is a leading international technology provider for Investor
Relations, Corporate Communications, and Corporate Compliance. More than
8,000 companies worldwide use EQS Group's offerings to fulfill complex
national and international disclosure obligations, to minimize risk, and to
reach stakeholders.
EQS Group is a digital single-source provider for global teams. EQS Group's
products and services include a global newswire, regulatory news
distribution, investor targeting and contact management, and insider list
management. These are integrated within a cloud-based platform, the EQS
COCKPIT, to streamline the workflows of Investor Relations, Communications,
and Compliance professionals. The Group also offers an innovative
whistleblowing and case management software, IR website services, digital
reports, and webcasting solutions.
EQS Group was founded in 2000 in Munich, Germany. Today, the group employs
over 450 professionals around the globe and has offices in the world's key
financial market
*Contact:*
Alexander Mrohs
+49 (0)89 210 298-420
alexander.mrohs@eqs.com
End of Media Release
Issuer: EQS Group AG
Key word(s): Enterprise
2019-03-12 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by DGAP - a service
of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
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Archive at www.dgap.de
Language: English
Company: EQS Group AG
Karlstr. 47
80333 Munich
Germany
Phone: +49(0)89 210298-0
Fax: +49(0)89 210298-49
E-mail: info@eqs.com
Internet: www.eqs.com
ISIN: DE0005494165
WKN: 549416
Indices: Scale 30
Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt
(Scale), Munich (m:access), Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP Media
786627 2019-03-12
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2: https://link.cockpit.eqs.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=8940fdb002922a25bb6e2f090b2463cc&application_id=786627&site_id=vwd&application_name=news
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 12, 2019 08:48 ET (12:48 GMT)
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