Being a business owner in Missouri can be an exciting experience: You are finally in charge of your own finances and your own life. This makes the prospect of being looked at by the government all the more unnerving, however. When government organizations say they may be investigating, you need to know what to do. Here are a few tips.

What agency wants to investigate your company?

Is your company currently in a situation where it could be facing the prospect of incoming federal charges? If this is the case, the first thing you will need to find out is which agency of the government may be planning to place you under investigation.

For example, you may receive a notice from the Department of Transportation. This is not an agency that has investigative powers. However, they can refer their request to an agency that does, leading to an inquiry or full-blown judicial process.

Once you know who may be planning to investigate you, it’s imperative to find out why. You will need to know if the matter at hand is civil or criminal or possibly both. This will give you a clue as to the seriousness of the matter. It will also give you a hint as to the possible severity of the penalty.

What action should you take?

There are any number of reasons why a company may face an investigation for civil or criminal charges. You may be contacted by the government via one of several common methods. The most common is a Civil Investigative Demand. This is a subpoena that comes from the government for documents, witness testimonies and more.

Regardless of how you receive the demand, it’s a good idea to plan your defense. A government investigation can be a very costly process in terms of time, energy and money. The more you can discover in advance, the better prepared you will be.