Cross-border investigations: Are you prepared for the challenge?

Conducting cross-border investigations is no simple endeavor. Add the complexities of legal and cultural differences, and you have arguably one of the biggest challenges facing global corporations today. There are obstacles at every step of a cross-border investigation, including initially receiving a claim or allegation; complying with foreign data privacy laws; using the appropriate staff and resources; respecting diverse employee rights; and remediating across borders. Understanding where the pitfalls are along the way and how to navigate them can help you avoid critical missteps.

The goal of this paper is to give you meaningful guidance by discussing ways to effectively meet these challenges through the experiences of KPMG investigations professionals working around the world. In addition, we asked sixty worldwide executives who are responsible for managing their organizations' cross-border investigations to tell us about the challenges and obstacles they regularly face. Ninety-five percent of these executives said that they expect their needs for cross-border investigations to increase or at least to stay the same over the next year. We are pleased to share many of their other observations with you as well.