What do you do if a client wants to edit your report? It depends on the edit. My reports mention the goals of the investigation. So for example, if a client wants to edit the goals of my investigation, that’s probably okay. Because if, for example, their real interest wasn’t to get to the root cause of the issue, it was to find out about a squabble. Okay, whatever. My focus is still my focus. But other more substantive things, you need to give real consideration and possibly push back on that request. Your role as the investigator is to be a neutral, independent third party. And if a client is asking you to put in writing representations that are inconsistent with your neutral, independent assumptions and conclusions based on your investigative findings, you need to make the decision if your reputation and your credibility is worth making this one client happy. It’s a really hard thing in this industry.
