Paula, a forensic accountant, was hired by the law firm Reyes & Co. to help with a case involving a wealthy family that runs companies all over the world. The family has a high profile and is well-known. The conflict is basically between one person, George, and the other family members. George says that other family members have been charging the company to pay for their own things, which has caused it to lose value. He is sure that the other family members' excessive spending has affected the value of the company's shares in a big way. As a routine, Paula always signs a confidentiality letter before starting a new job. This letter says that all of the information she has access to will be kept secret at all times. In a memo to Reyes & Co., George gave examples of how family members had spent money on their own things. Paula's job is to find proof that George's claims are true. Paula finished the job, which took her a lot of time and cost her a lot of money. The amount of work was big, and the fee for services was pretty high. Paula made a draft of the report and gave it to the lawyer. Basically, she didn't find much proof that George's claims were true. In fact, Paula's investigation showed that George was the one who did most of the wrong things, not the other family members. George and his lawyer didn't like the report very much, so they asked for it to be changed. They made it clear that they wouldn't pay for Paula's services unless the report was changed. George asked Paula how he would pay her since she was going to give evidence against him. George hired Paula to find out what was going on with his family, not to find out what was going on with him.

Task:

1. Explain why consulting with people in charge of the organization's governance for an immediate resolution of the issue is the best line of action?
2. What is it that Paula should do? Should she pursue legal action against George? (The confidentialityagreement seems to indicate that prevent the forensic accountant from filing a lawsuit. If so, what would the answer to this question be? And what would have been different if the confidentiality letter hadn't been signed?)