Training and resources remain a challenge according to KPMG International survey.

 

According to the 2013 KPMG Cross-Border Investigations survey of sixty global executives, ninety percent indicated that the number of cross-border investigations have either increased or remained the same over the last year. Yet over fifty percent of these executives also reported that they have limited protocols in place and have insufficient resources to conduct cross-border investigations. As global regulations, laws, and enforcement actions increase, companies with well designed cross-border investigation protocols will be positioned for more positive outcomes than those that are not prepared.

 

“Conducting cross-border investigations is no simple endeavour,” said Phil Ostwalt, Global Coordinator for Investigations for the Global Forensic practice at KPMG and Investigations leader in the United States. “Add the complexities of legal and cultural differences and you have one of the biggest challenges facing global corporations.”

 

Only thirty five percent of respondents in KPMG’s survey indicated that their companies conduct cross-border investigation training each year, a vast decline from KPMG’s 2007 survey when that figure was eighty percent. And forty two percent of the executives believe their companies lack sufficient resources to handle cross-border investigations.