Interesting article in the Harvard Business Review  today about a study conducted to determine the keys to creating and maintaining an effective internal accountability, or whistleblowing, system. 

The goal of any accountability system should be to avoid a major negative outcome - litigation, government fines, etc. The study yielded three main, and possibly surprising, lessons: (1) the system should encourage more, not less internal reporting; (2) secondhand reports are more valuable than firsthand reports; and (3) reports with fewer details can still be very valuable.

In essence, the study found that the most effective accountability systems are not designed to reduce reportable behavior to zero - they are designed to create an open line of communication between management and the rest of the organization so that management possesses the information it needs to address issues before they become the subject of litigation or government investigation.