Category: news

Building safety audits and Structural safety audits

Building safety audits and structural safety audits are undertaken to identify and evaluate the inherent hazards in the building/structure that may impact occupants use of the building. Private Detective provide a range of building safety audits for building owners that contrast the property against known workplace health and safety related standards. By conducting a building safety audit prior to the purchase of a property, property owners can evaluate potential risks and quantify costs associated with rectification of the safety issues identified.

Through the conduct of a building safety audit, building owners can potentially identify issues and the adequacy of building safety systems:

• Hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos as a component of the building structure or the building plant (examples may include paint, building materials or plant items like asbestos is air conditioning heater banks or lift wells);
• Compliance of exits and escape paths;
• Slip, trip and fall hazards;
• HVAC Potential air quality issues with air handling systems;
• Identification of sick building syndrome issues;
• Adequacy of lighting for the tasks to be performed;
• Outdoor lighting in walking areas;
• Traffic management;
• Electrical installation compliance;
• Handrail and walkways compliance;
• Potential work at height issues associated with access for routine tasks;
• Building structural issues (building design and maintenance) – fit for use purposes.
• Management of confined spaces at the building;
• Adequacy of workplace amenities;
• Electromagnetic radiation sources;
• Fire safety equipment;
• Building safety systems and procedures;
• Safety signs used in the premises.

We undertake comprehensive property workplace health and safety (WHS / OHS)  and public liability inspections and risk assessment.

We would always recommend that building owners and Body Corporates contact us to discuss the scope of a building safety audit or structural safety audits. Performed adequately, building safety audits can save building owners considerable costs and mitigate potential public liability litigation.

By including inspection of common and tenanted areas can accordance with health and safety legislation, Australian Standards, Codes of Practice and Building Code of Australia (BCA) requirements, Private Detective helps business owners across Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne achieve compliance and mitigate risks associated with building safety or structural safety audits. Contact us on for a no-obligation chat with a senior consultants regarding what Private Detective can do for you.

See more information on our full range of safety consulting services or read more on our workplace health and safety news

High-volume data analysis made simple

Dealing with large, complex sets of data can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. At Control Risks, we make the process straightforward and manageable.  

Our forensic data analytics team helps organisations analyse high volumes of financial, operational and transactional data to identify high-risk relationships and actions, conduct timely analyses, and implement protocols that reduce your risk and improve your internal controls. 

Business insights, data visualisation and dashboarding services 

Forensic Data Analytics help you make better business-critical decisions. With enhanced and centralised global reporting through intuitive and interactive visualisation dashboards, you can identify unexplored growth areas and pinpoint risk using your enterprise data. 

We not only automate existing reports to reduce reliance on IT, but empower decision makers to explore insights and test hypotheses on their own. We can assign probabilities to scenarios and create risk scores so that business stakeholders and compliance officials can see the potential outcomes of their decisions before acting.

Compliance monitoring experts for your needs

Control Risks has a team of compliance experts and technologists with experience designing and developing compliance monitoring applications that incorporate risk-based transactional analytics and workflow delegation technology to help you meet your regulatory requirements and internal compliance controls.

Whether it is automating fraud detection as part of a compliance assurance programme related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) or implementing decision-based workflows to meet the unique business rules of a regulated industry, our development team collaborates with you to create ideas and solutions to satisfy your compliance monitoring needs.

Commercial data reporting services

Our data analytics team has extensive experience in analysing financial and accounting data to help companies prepare for business-critical events such as mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and other market changing actions.

We work with multinational corporations to solve specific management reporting issues, particularly when timescales are urgent. Our accounting expertise and familiarity with financial systems helps us act as an interim reporting solution to address any shortcomings in existing reporting capabilities. Our team can quickly create ad hoc reporting, ensure accuracy in reported figures and reconcile existing variances.

Taking a recovery-led approach to disputes

Control Risks works with you and your organisation’s counsel to assess counterparties and assets before action, investigate and conduct eDiscovery during a dispute, and support asset enforcement and recovery after a settlement.

The success of a legal action can hinge on the quality of the information held by each party, and we can assist with gathering and analysing evidence for a range of proceedings, including tribunals, regulatory, civil and criminal actions.

With 34 offices across the world, and over 500 dedicated professionals, we have the track record and local presence to support our clients. Our experience in international markets and established network of in-country contacts make us market leaders in investigative analysis and complex problem-solving for regional and global clients.

Counterparty assessment

At this stage in the litigation process, you’re looking at the track record, modus operandi and pressure points of your counterparty. We support you by investigating the decision makers, financial backing, and political/government connections of your counterparty. Through social media mapping and online surveillance capabilities, we ensure that proceedings can be served effectively.

Fit to sue assessment

The fit to sue assessment is focused on the financial standing of your counterparty, a key factor in determining a successful outcome. To support you at this stage, we facilitate asset identification and valuation, using global research capabilities and on-the-ground enquiries that inform litigation strategy and implement freezing orders.

Early case assessment

Discovery as well as technical and expert issues make up the case assessment stage of a dispute. We offer a range of support at this crucial point in the process.

Our investigation support includes gathering evidence, attending witness interviews and identifying undisclosed information. We can also provide expert witnesses to give oral and written testimony in all manner of disputes, claims (including force majeure) and investigations.

Our forensic accounting services provide financial analysis of damages, valuation assessments, and asset identification in financial statements, and our digital forensics and eDiscovery services support you with data collection, processing, hosting, analytics and production.

Asset enforcement

At this final stage of the process, the focus is on recovering assets and future-proofing your business.

We support you in asset enforcement by establishing the status of notable assets and business across the globe. And our recovery and counterparty review services help you implement due diligence frameworks to review current and future business partners, as well as contractual and supply chain vulnerabilities.

Investigation services across a range of issues and allegations

Our investigations cover a range of issues and allegations including but not limited to: 

• Corruption
• Fraud
• Accounting and financial reporting improprieties
• Money laundering
• Conflicts of interest
• Misconduct and malfeasance
• Sanctions violations
• Antitrust violations
• Industry regulation breaches (e.g., healthcare, financial, etc.)
• Cyber breaches
• Human rights abuses
• Product diversion and counterfeiting
• Workplace harassment

 Investigative expertise with digital capability

Control Risks’ investigative practice comprises certified public accountants, fraud examiners, former prosecutors and law enforcement professionals, intelligence analysts, data analysts and technology experts.

We augment our investigative experience with expertise in digital forensics, forensic data analytics, and eDiscovery and eDisclosure services leveraging technology to meet the requirements of any investigation, anywhere in the world.

Investigative services that go further

Control Risks conducts investigations on behalf of management, boards of directors and legal counsel, providing findings to auditors, investors, prosecutors, regulators and other government entities across the globe. 

We draw on our extensive compliance and internal controls consulting experience to help you determine why misconduct has occurred, take effective remediation steps so it can be avoided in the future, and ensure business recovery and continuity.  Additionally, we frequently serve as, and assist, court-appointed monitors. 

Expert forensic consultants

Too often electronically stored information (ESI) contains key evidence that is overlooked or inadequately collected, leading to a failed investigation. 

With trained forensic consultants spread across our global office network, supported by our worldwide team of investigators, we offer nearly unlimited reach to acquire data in the context of investigations and litigation matters. 

We are one of a small number firms that can deploy quickly to collect data in jurisdictions with limited technical infrastructure, complex data privacy requirements or hostile environments.

Data mapping services

Working seamlessly with our investigations teams in local languages, we map the key custodians of data and ESI sources for preservation and collection through interviews with client IT, custodians and witnesses.

Control Risks also consults with corporate and outside counsel to ensure compliance with local data privacy and transfer laws.

Forensic analysis and reporting services

Data collected by Control Risks’ forensic consultants can be indexed using both forensic and eDiscovery tools. This enables high-speed searching and retrieval of information according to specific criteria. We can then search and analyse indexed data by various methods including keywords, date ranges and communication metadata.

We also provide expert reporting to document the entire digital forensics process. These reports and witness statements can be used by law enforcement, corporate counsel and law firms.

Forensic imaging and data preservation services

We work to preserve the integrity of live and ambient data to allow defensible analysis and review. When forensic imaging is not possible, we’ll perform defensible secure ESI collections or a targeted collection of data that is digitally fingerprinted to ensure its integrity.

Mobile device, cloud and social media collection services

We can image and extract all types of data from a wide variety of mobile phones, tablets and the cloud.

Cloud source data presents a unique set of challenges in terms of data identification, preservation and acquisition – not to mention data privacy and transfer concerns. In accordance with client requirements and relevant data privacy and transfer laws, Control Risks’ forensic consultants can collect data from cloud services including webmail, hosted data repositories and social media websites.

Security intelligence and advisory for an evolving security environment

Ongoing security intelligence and advisory allows you and your stakeholders to make timely and well-informed decisions about necessary risk mitigation or responses. Control Risks is here to help, with monitoring services to keep you and your people fully updated on anything that might impact or change your plans.  

Whether you have an important event coming up and need to stay informed about any changes to the security environment prior to, or during the event, or you’re involved in a long-term project and want to stay informed about changing conditions for doing business, we can help.

Should a country be struck by a high-impact event, we can keep you informed about the aftermath and monitor any impact on the security environment. If your organisation operates in a sensitive industry and has concerns about a particular threat actor, we can keep you updated on any changes in the local threat landscape that might affect your operations.

Bespoke risk monitoring 

At Control Risks we monitor any risks identified by your organisation or in our bespoke risk assessments. We first define your organisation’s requirements and whether a baseline assessment is needed. Working with our experts, you’ll then define the format, delivery method and frequency of monitoring activity. We conduct regular reviews to adapt the monitoring to your business activities as they evolve.

• We monitor the unique issues relevant to your organisation, identifying the most significant developments and interpreting their implications for your operations.
• We assess the threats to your organisation using previous assessments as a framework, flagging any changes in baseline judgements on risks, likelihood, scenarios, etc.
• Your stakeholders will receive regular, succinct updates, which can be shared internally, including forward-looking analysis, insight and context from analysts on the ground.
• Our monitoring reports can cover any issues relevant to your operations, from strategic geopolitical developments (e.g., trends in transnational terrorism) to security and operational issues (e.g., conflict, crime or business disruption).
• For any ad-hoc events or concerns, Control Risks provides expert research and advice, with quick access to our experts via phone or email.

Our risk monitoring puts developments and trends into perspective for your stakeholders, while tailoring our research and monitoring to fit the exact requirement of your business with potential for focus on specific issues, sectors or locations.

Get in touch with a member of the team to discuss your risk monitoring needs or read our articles below.

Identify and mitigate your cyber security risks

Drawing on our global reach and local risk expertise, Control Risks has pioneered the threat-led approach to cyber and digital security to help you keep your organisation secure, compliant and resilient.

Our unique approach can prepare your organisation for potential cyber security risks and threat events and crises:

• Threat-led: Helping our clients defend against the most pertinent threats and implement cost-effective mitigation strategies
• Strategic perspective: Putting cyber risks and threats into context, viewing them as a risk management and enterprise-wide challenge rather than a problem that requires a technical solution
• Global approach: Treating cyber as a transnational issue and supporting our clients with our agile global team
• Unique expertise: Leveraging our extensive cyber expertise as a provider of security, compliance, resilience, political risk, technology and response services

Cyber Threat Intelligence

Control Risks is a market-leading provider of strategic threat intelligence. Our Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) and Online Threat Intelligence (OTI) teams deliver comprehensive global support to help your organisation respond proactively to changes in the threat landscape through bespoke assessments, investigations, embedded support and subscription services.

Our services include:

• Strategic threat intelligence
• Tactical threat intelligence
• Operational threat intelligence
• Online threat intelligence

Cyber Protect

Our Cyber Protect team helps security leaders assess, manage and improve their organisation’s cyber security in a manner proportionate to the threats they face and the potential impact of a breach.

Our services include:

• Cyber risk assessments
• Cyber due diligence
• Crisis management exercises
• Information governance
• Cyber security training

Cyber Response

A cyber crisis is a complex, unpredictable and uncertain time for any organisation. Control Risks’ Cyber Response team helps organisations prepare for and respond to evolving cyber threats and attack vectors.

Our services include:

• Cyber crisis management support
• Digital forensics and threat intelligence
• Extortion advice
• Exposed data analysis
• Crisis management training and planning

Our Experts

Our teams of experts have backgrounds in intelligence, law enforcement, military, academia and the private sector.

Our intelligence teams hold accreditations including CREST Registered Threat Intelligence Analyst and CREST Certified Threat Intelligence Manager, and our cyber risk and response consultants all have extensive expertise in and experience of assessing security maturity and responding to complex attacks.

Our security and intelligence offering

Intelligence, data analytics and visualisation products

• Real-time risk monitoring combining predictive analytics and expert analysis
• Worldwide security incident collection and analysis
• Country and sector political, operational, and security risk ratings and analysis
• Threat assessment dashboards visualising data across countries, sectors, and risk categories
• Direct access to country and regional experts from and in the region
• AI-driven data collection and integrated analytics

Consulting services

• Maturity assessments help you understand how your physical and cyber security programs measure against best practices and risk, and how to advance to better meet your needs
• Strategy development that helps establish and deliver near- to long-term plans and roadmaps that advance the security status of your software and hardware assets, networks, services, and information
• Data analytics projects to develop tools or processes that leverage technology for risk awareness and control
• Environmental, geopolitical, stakeholder, and regulatory risk analysis tailored to your company and operations

Program and process development, and capacity building

• Global Security Operations Centre (GSOC) review or design/build, providing the technology and resources required to operationalise key assets and mechanisms and effectively aggregate and analyse information and intelligence through our in-house data analytics
• Governing frameworks inclusive of standards, procedures and plans to help structure and instill security practices within your organisation and workforce
• Organisational design to determine the ideal structure, staffing, operating model, resources, and capabilities for a security program
• Capability studies that allow you to target operational gaps in your physical, event, executive and other security functions

Staffing and training

• Integrating risk assessment into crisis management training programmes and content
• Development and updating of  training materials
• Assessing talent gaps, short- or long-term
• Recruiting, vetting, and training highly qualified resources to staff projects or augment permanent staff
• Embedded security consultants specialising in threat assessments, investigations, business resiliency, crisis management and data analytics

Security consulting for every context

Our Security Consulting team specialises in the review, development, and implementation of security risk management strategies, programmes, and capabilities. We support you with bespoke consulting services which match your business needs.

Regardless of your business size or sector, our security consultants can help you assess your organisation’s level of maturity, providing strategic direction and support to advance your programme.  With Control Risks, you can strengthen your organisation’s ability to prepare for and respond to the full range of security risks.

Our security consulting services

Get in touch with our experts about our security consulting services:

• Strategy development establishes the vision for your programme. It delivers strategic roadmaps to support programme establishment, optimisation and transformation.
• Governance development looks at frameworks, policies, standards and guidelines to formalise your security programme. It ensures security practices are consistently applied within your organisation and by your workforce.
• Organisational design services to establish a structure, staffing, and operating model aligned with your strategy and organisational needs.
• Capability studies that target operational gaps in your organisation’s physical, event, and executive security functions, and more.
• Maturity assessments help you to advance your capabilities to meet the needs of your business.
• Needs assessments that focus on the future of a security programme and the resources and actions required to keep your organisation ahead of the curve.
• Benchmarking exercises that allow you to see how your security programmes and practices compare against your peers.

How intelligence and data strengthens your security operations

In the ever-changing risk landscape, informed and responsible risk-taking is crucial for any ambitious organisation. Our security and intelligence programmes help organisations manage risk and seize new opportunities.

Control Risks’ security and intelligence programmes are tailored to your organisation. Every organisation and risk environment are unique. We have developed local networks that extend across government, industry and civil society in over 170 countries.

Our expert teams of security specialists understand and appreciate the critical importance of the assets you are seeking to protect—people, property, products, operations, and reputation. We evaluate your specific threats, exposures, vulnerabilities, strengths and goals to support informed decisions and develop customised programmatic solutions.

Our risk assessment approach is rooted in industry standards and decades of practical experience across different markets. We bring data to bear on complex problems but never lose sight of the need for human insight and expertise. We support our clients at every level of their organisations, from project site managers to regional security officers to global security operations centres .

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