BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

According to a recent survey of 1,100 corporate executives by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, only 20 percent of respondents describe themselves as "very ready" for a regulatory investigation - even though 26 percent had been the subject of a government investigation in the last two years.

With 530 corporate fraud investigations underway at the FBI; FCPA investigations continuing their upward trend; a new focus on accountability at the SEC; and Congress wanting to know how every penny of TARP funding is being spent, now is not the time to get caught hoping it will all go away. Add the fact that all 50 state attorneys general are looking for their slice of the pie as well, and it is clear that we' ve entered an Age of Accountability. This means preparing to defend against accusations in the courtroom - and the Court of Public Opinion as well - needs to be a top priority.

Once word of an investigation breaks on the blogs, the cable news channels, and the front pages, it' s already getting too late to control the crisis narrative. In a digital world where misinformation and bad news spread like wildfire and innuendo parades as truth, your government relations, corporate communications, legal, and crisis teams must be ready to act at a moment' s notice. The time for them to get to know one another and trust each other is now.

Your crisis team must anticipate the crisis. They have to have come together before so that they know their roles and can make go/no-go decisions in real time. They have to be ready to deal with hostile media. And, above all, they must have been through the eye of the storm before to understand the kind of leadership that crisis demands. A crisis team led by non-crisis professionals is a recipe for disaster.

Crisis response is all about preparedness and action. If you are one of the 80 percent that remains unready, you have some catching up to do.