Don't Stress. You Didn't Create the Mess.
By Leah Wietholter, MBA, CFE, PI, CPA
As a rookie fraud examiner and business owner, a client would call with a problem—most commonly that a lot of money was missing—and at that moment I would be sucked into the case. Their story became my story, and I became completely engulfed by their embezzlement, divorce, or whatever the issue might be. I thought about the case when I woke up, when I went to bed, and every moment in between. My well-intentioned empathy had led to me taking excessive responsibility for my clients’ well-being.
These draining habits ultimately negatively affected my business revenue and even my health and friendships. I was so wrapped up in my clients’ problems that I worked all hours of the day and night and then felt badly when it was time to bill them. I would think to myself, “I should’ve known X, Y, or Z!” But I couldn’t have known. I wasn’t there during the life of the problem. I didn’t have any control over the past actions of the subject or opposing party. The stress taking on others’ problems caused my health to decline from absolute exhaustion, eating on the go, and rushing through workouts (or avoiding them completely). And the long work hours I mentioned before did not allow for the quality time required for maintaining friendships.
After doing this for years, I realized one day that as much as I loved helping my clients, I was on the fast track to burnout, and I hadn’t even reached 35 years of age. The personal responsibility I had taken for my clients’ problems was excessive, and I knew I couldn’t keep this way of life going and expect longevity in my business, health or relationships.
“Don’t stress. You didn’t create the mess.” - Megan Brown, CPA, PI
This past week in planning for our social media focus for the month of August, I said that I wanted to provide resources, encouragement, and discussion to support investigation professionals. It was during this discussion that Megan Brown, our Forensic Accounting Manager, summarized this topic best: “Don’t stress. You didn’t create the mess.”
My team and I talk about this concept a lot. It’s even embedded in our case process. As investigators it’s easy to forget we’re outside of the client’s story that we’re investigating. As we move forward we should embrace the role of a guide instead of the hero. [For more on this concept, check out The StoryBrand Podcast.] We feel the anxiety of the client situation or the demands for the analysis or the deadlines for a report and may pressure ourselves to meet unrealistic expectations or discount our value. Since we did not create the problem we’re investigating, we really don’t know what we’re dealing with until we dig into the details and start the investigative process.
The Investigator as Guide: A Process for Client Cases
The balance of excellent client service and the reality of untangling and simplifying the problems within a case is challenging. The following process that we use at Workman Forensics has helped me to stay outside of the story, avoid frustration associated with not being in control, and better manage client expectations while providing the utmost care and excellent client service.
We begin every case requesting that the client complete a questionnaire. This helps the client slow down in the middle of the understandable panic, identify specific concerns, and provide us with details that will help us have a better understanding of what we’re facing.
Based on the client’s responses in the questionnaire, we meet as a team to construct a case plan. During this workshop, we list additional questions we would like to ask the client; we develop a specific plan for data processing and analysis to address each of the client’s concerns; and we create a list of information we will need to complete the analyses. This case plan is then sent to the client for approval before we begin any work. If we learn at this step that we won’t be able to assist with some of the client’s concerns, we let the client know immediately.
Depending on the client’s preference, we will test the planned analysis over a limited time period using the client’s data to provide an estimate of fees or to quote a fixed fee.
As we begin putting the case plan into action, questions inevitably arise that we need to discuss as a team. To stay focused, we use a Slack channel called #questionsmeeting where we post any questions related to case work. On our calendars, we have an hour set aside Monday through Thursday to tackle any outstanding questions within this channel. We usually don’t need to meet every day, but when we do, it is helpful to have that time carved out.
It is during these meetings that any roadblocks or budget issues can be discussed as a team and then immediately communicated with the client. It’s also during these meetings that we frequently remind each other that we didn’t create the mess.
Understanding that my role best serves the client when I stay outside the story I’m investigating and in the current story as a guide has changed the trajectory of my business, my health, and most importantly, my relationships.
Have you faced something similar? What has been your experience? I would love to hear from you! Connect with me on LinkedIn to chat more!