A study of interviewing practices by Australian corporate and financial investigators

My PhD research comprehensively examined the policing of economic crime by Australian private investigators. The findings identified that the services afford clients a level of discretion and autonomy not found within the justice system. These services are now provided by investigators who are qualified and who utilise the skills of a corporate investigator, an accountant and a lawyer. A significant aspect of the research was an examination of the investigative interviewing processes in the context of financial frauds, as experienced by corporate investigators in Australia; this was the first study of its kind. Australian private investigators undertaking corporate and financial investigations usually only receive cursory investigative. Which is a concern because investigators may not fully gather evidence effectively (Lokanan, 2018). This research studied corporate and financial investigators’ perceptions of the role of interviewing in financial crimes and the usefulness of interviews as evidence.