BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Bernie Madoff's guilty pleas to 11 counts of money laundering, perjury, and wire, mail, and securities fraud is a big win for the government. As Michael Robinson wrote in this space on Wednesday, investors need to see bad actors punished before their confidence in the markets can be restored. With the architect of the largest Ponzi scheme in American history likely headed to prison for the rest of his life, federal prosecutors have sent a powerful and resonating message about the emerging Era of Accountability.

That said, the government will not rest on its laurels. With dozens of loan processors, bank officers, and mortgage brokers under indictment, and six guilty pleas in loan scam cases coming last week alone, federal authorities and state attorneys general have built up quite a bit of momentum in their fight against fraud and corruption - and they have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

According to a story in yesterday' s edition of The New York Times, President Obama' s first budget includes more money for FBI investigators working mortgage fraud and white-collar criminal cases, and a 13 percent increase for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With massive oversight of how companies have - and continue to - spend TARP and stimulus funds, the coming months will almost certainly bring more government investigations - at the federal and state levels - than we' ve seen in quite a while.

Companies that could end up in the government' s crosshairs need to be ready to control the narrative from the moment the government approaches them. That means bringing your communications, public affairs, and legal teams together well before word of an investigation reaches the blogs or front pages. It means highlighting that you have nothing to hide by being fully transparent. It means being prepared to seek a partnership with regulators by which solutions to the problem can be developed. And it means transforming the ordeal into an opportunity to demonstrate leadership by taking the initiative in implementing reforms that define a new way forward.

If you' re interested in learning more about the reputational dimensions of regulatory investigations, keep your eyes peeled for this month' s edition of Levick' s High Stakesâ„¢ e-newsletter, which looks at communicating compliance in an era of increased regulatory enforcement. Click here for your free subscription.