COMPLIANCE
The Case for Traditional Corporate Investigation By BENJAMIN KUNDE • Investigative companies are offering more AI-driven services. In response to client demand, corporate intelligence firms are increasingly implementing new technologies. But is AI the savior of corporate investigations? Or is it pushing the trade to rely on products that could quickly become commodified?
AI IN CORPORATE INVESTIGATIONS
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oday, general counsel rely on corporate intelligence companies for investigative due diligence, asset identification, litigation support and cyber investigations. Because the pandemic is permanently changing how we do business, it is important to start a conversation on the role of advanced technology in those investigations. Looking at the prospects of corporate investigations amid the rise of AI will help corporate counsel gear up for trends involving risk mitigation, fraud prevention and other sensitive corporate affairs. Corporate intelligence craft still has an undercurrent of shadowy business practices used for industrial espionage and tracing hidden assets in exotic locales. However, in recent decades, it has evolved from cloak-and-dagger tradecraft
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into a multi-billion-dollar endeavor. Key players range from private investigators and database providers to multinational consulting houses, all of which are increasingly implementing new technologies amid a competitive market and cost-conscious clients. Talks (increasingly via Zoom) at recent legal conferences from New York to Singapore underscore three hot topics of growing importance across legal and corporate intelligence communities: • Fraud is becoming digital and borderless, often in the form of cyber threats. • Enterprises that operate worldwide demand reliable, costeffective and pandemic-proof investigative due diligence solutions to screen potential business partners.
TODAYSGENERALCOUNSEL.COM DECEMBER 202 0
In the face of evolving scams and industry competition, corporate investigative firms are being shaped by the evolution of new technology. For example, internet-based databases almost eradicated the need for court runners to hand pull records. Now, investigative companies are switching to machine learning and automated technologies, particularly when it comes to due diligence and anti-money laundering (AML) investigations. Startups like Checkr and document verification services like Onfido aim to give established background check companies a run for their money in the low-end segment of mass due diligence. In addition, IBM’s Watson offers corporations anti-fraud programs rooted in AI and mass data analytics. Unaffected by travel restrictions and social distancing measures, AI-driven investigative products BACK TO CONTENTS
