The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) awarded a whistleblower $300,000.

The whistleblower is a company employee who performed audit and compliance functions and reported wrongdoing to the SEC after the company failed to take action when the employee reported it internally.

It’s the first award for a whistleblower with an audit or compliance function at a company.

“Individuals who perform internal audit, compliance, and legal functions for companies are on the front lines in the battle against fraud and corruption,” said Sean McKessy, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “They often are privy to the very kinds of specific, timely, and credible information that can prevent an imminent fraud or stop an ongoing one. These individuals may be eligible for an SEC whistleblower award if their companies fail to take appropriate, timely action on information they first reported internally.”

This particular whistleblower award recipient reported concerns of wrongdoing to appropriate personnel within the company, including a supervisor.

But when the company took no action on the information within 120 days, the whistleblower reported the same information to the SEC.

The information provided by the whistleblower led directly to an SEC enforcement action.

The SEC’s whistleblower program rewards high-quality, original information that results in an SEC enforcement action with sanctions exceeding $1 million.

Whistleblower awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected in a case.

By law, the SEC must protect the confidentiality of whistleblowers and cannot disclose any information that might directly or indirectly reveal a whistleblower’s identity.