Eugene Ferraro Founder Business Controls

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 8,250,025 to Business Controls, Inc. (BCI) for its method of handling the anonymity of those who use its whistleblower and other hotline services. After more than ten years of research and development, BCI has patented its revolutionary anonymous incident reporting technology to support the compliance of various regulations including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, and various Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

According to Eugene F. Ferraro, CPP, SPHR, BCI’s founder and one of the inventors contributing to the patent, “Our invention is a game changer. It overcomes all of the challenges associated with protecting the anonymity of those who use incident reporting hotlines.” Over 70% of the reports BCI receives are made via the Internet, the remainder made via telephone. “Our new patent protects the reporting party’s anonymity, regardless of how the report is made or who receives it. It allows our global clients, who collectively operate in over 130 countries, to seamlessly receive hotline tips and complaints within three minutes of the reporting party submitting their report through our system.”

The foundation of BCI’s new patent is a collection of processes and methods which improve the way hotline tips are reported and handled. For providers of anonymous incident reporting services, the challenge has been managing and protecting the reporting party’s identity, while providing enough accurate information that the report can be appropriated and legally addressed. “Hotline services like those provided by BCI are required for many types of organizations.”

According to Ferraro, the new technology BCI has patented will not only change the way its customers handle anonymous incident reports and hotline tips, but will ultimately affect every organization that offers hotline services or uses them. “Our patented technology is fundamentally necessary by every provider and user of hotline services,” says Ferraro. “Anyone in governance, risk, and compliance, like BCI, will want to use our invention and patent.”

Business Controls, Inc. is the country’s leading provider of incident reporting and risk mitigation software and consulting. Its services include incident reporting, corporate investigations, litigation support, and training. BCI serves over a million client employees in over 22,000 client locations in 130 countries via its award-winning and patented anonymous reporting systems. BCI’s services allow its clients to comply with governmental regulations and business ethics best practices, manage employee related issues, and limit their exposure to litigation.

For more information visit www.BusinessControls.com.