Strategies for Preventing Bias and Improving Investigations

Investigators are called to uphold standards of integrity and honor. However, as Natalie Lewis, CFE, CPA/CFF, stated during her morning session titled “Recognizing the Impact of Bias and Emotional Intelligence in Investigations” on the final day of the 35th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, “Bias can harm our judgment and skew our objectivity.” Lewis then walked conference attendees through different types of biases that affect investigations and discussed strategies for preventing bias and building emotional intelligence and social skills to improve investigations. 

Bias can be understood as an inclination towards a certain type of person. Lewis explains that this isn’t necessarily negative, but investigators must ensure that they aren’t jumping to unfounded conclusions during a case. Alluding to poet Walt Whitman and television series character Ted Lasso, Lewis says to “approach investigations from a place of curiosity, not judgment.”  

Types of Bias to Avoid 

Many types of bias can affect fraud investigations. Outcome bias and confirmation bias occur when investigators make judgments based on results, rather than gathering all the facts, or based on a previously held belief. Lewis explains this can happen in cases where a fraud has already occurred, and an investigator is called in to figure out how it happened. Investigators can’t assume that a case is going to follow a standard pattern typical of other cases. 

Availability heuristic occurs when an investigator places too much importance on certain pieces of information that come to mind easily, rather than all the information. “Don’t just look at what supports your opinion — look for the whole story,” advises Lewis. 

Investigators should also do what they can to avoid falling into a pattern of stereotyping before they get all the facts. With affinity bias, we tend to favor those like us, which could unconsciously hinder an investigator’s ability to assess a suspect during an interview. And rather than succumbing to blind-spot bias, investigators should recognize that they’re not less biased than others. Everyone can succumb to bias, and it’s important to acknowledge this and try to fight against it. 

Best Practices for Combating Bias 

Because bias can affect investigators’ ability to get the facts, they must learn strategies for combating this tendency. Lewis says, “focus on gathering the facts rather than building your case.” She recommends utilizing a substitution method, which involves imagining someone else in the suspect’s place and seeing if that influences how you view the scenario. Investigators can also run facts by their colleagues and diversify their investigative team. They can even take an online implicit bias quiz to become more self-aware and spend time with different people. 

Another way to combat bias and improve investigations is to develop emotional intelligence. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to detect moods in others, and intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to be self-aware. Investigators need good social skills to have successful interviews, which can be improved by developing the art of asking good questions and checking in with one’s own behavior. Lewis explains that we tend to mirror each other; if you’re closed off in an interview, the interviewee likely will be too.  

Investigators can also improve social skills such as self-awareness by talking with others to get constructive feedback. Develop a growth mindset and self-regulate. You don’t have to let your own distress during an investigation show on the outside. Emotional intelligence will make for better leaders and self-control, and developing this skill and recognizing bias will enable investigators to improve their investigations.