Investigating Companies Summer School
Learn how to investigate a company with Corporate Watch and the University of Liverpool
15-18 July 2019
London campus, 33 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AG
About the Course
Corporations wield a huge amount of power over our lives. But we’re not taught how to find out how they work, who’s behind them or how to follow the money. This 4 day course will give you the tools and understanding you need to expose and challenge corporate power and corporate corruption.
identify key sources of information and data on corporations
identify the people behind a company
dissect company accounts
track where the money goes
develop your investigation and research skills
think strategically about how you can challenge corporate abuse
The course will be participatory and practical. Throughout, participants will be shown how to plan and conduct an in-depth investigation of a company of their choice.
No experience is needed: we’ll start from the basics and give you all the skills you need.
Topics we will cover include:
Investigating and profiling companies: exposing abuse; thinking strategically; identifying ‘weak points’.
Understanding the corporation: History of the corporate structure; the limits of the law, regulation and CSR.
People behind the corporation: tracking and mapping directors, shareholders and different types of corporate forms; mapping the corporate structure, locally, offshore and globally.
Following the Money: reading company accounts and other documents; who’s making money and where it’s going; how is the company performing financially.
Using the State: obtaining information on tax, regulatory and legal processes; and conducting freedom of information requests.
Delegate fees
Larger organisations: £500
Individual/smaller organisations/union branches: £300
Low/unwaged/students: free (places limited)
Discounts available for organisations booking multiple tickets.
How to book
Click here to book tickets through the University of Liverpool website.
Email contact[AT]corporatewatch.org for more details or call 02074260005.
About the Trainers
The course will be run by Professor David Whyte and Richard Whittell
Professor David Whyte is an leading international expert on corporate corruption and corporate crime. He has been teaching courses on those subjects at the University of Liverpool for the past decade. Recent books include How Corrupt is Britain (2015), The Corporate Criminal (2015, with Steve Tombs) and Corporate Human Rights Violations (2016, with Stefanie Khoury).
Richard Whittell is a member of the Corporate Watch Co-operative where he has produced numerous investigations into companies, in tandem with groups challenging corporate abuse. He is an experienced trainer, having taught company investigations and reading accounts to unions, university courses, campaign groups, NGOs and journalists. He also wrote Corporate Watch’s Investigating Companies: a Do-It-Yourself Handbook.
Corporate Watch is a not-for-profit co-operative providing critical information on the social and environmental impacts of corporations and capitalism.
This event is hosted by the University of Liverpool School of Law and Social Justice Public and Practices Unit and engage@liverpool.
