Corporations are often unprepared to investigate fraud promptly and effectively if it occurs in a country other than where they are headquartered, according to new research by KPMG International.

In a KPMG survey of senior business executives in 21 countries, 92% of respondents said they don’t expect any abatement — and many expect an increase — in the number of international investigations in the coming year, yet 56% said they have not implemented broad investigation procedures. By contrast, 60% of the executives acknowledge that planning an investigation remains key to its success.

“Fraudsters operate undeterred by global boundaries,” said Stephan Drolet, a forensic partner with KPMG in Montreal, in a news release. “Therefore, companies must be increasingly vigilant about their ability to prevent, detect and respond to fraud.

“Companies need an effective fraud detection and investigative capability that is painstakingly disciplined and lightning fast — a virtual police SWAT team,” Drolet continued. “In addition to financial loss, an ineffective investigative process can adversely reflect on an organization’s reputation, its risk management abilities, and its commitment to good corporate governance.”

For example, fraudsters can use technology to transfer funds globally in seconds. If a fraudster is able to improperly convert funds to his or her own use, the waters can be quickly muddied if the stolen funds are then wire-transferred out of Canada to an offshore location with strict banking secrecy rules

“Multinational organizations often develop one-size-fits-all investigative policies and procedures across the many countries in which they operate, but each nation has its own, ever-changing regulatory and policing procedures that can stymie an investigation,” said Drolet. “Companies should establish broad investigative procedures, knowing that they should be tailored to each respective country, ideally with a well-trained local team that knows the language, culture, and legal and regulatory environments.”
Drolet said that almost 80% of the survey respondents believed that in the next five years proficiency in information technology will be even more important than it is now to the success of cross-border fraud investigations. “Getting better at utilizing technology to combat fraud clearly remains high on the agenda of businesses who want to be able to detect and investigate fraud, as well as recover losses,” he said.

The KPMG survey conducted during late 2006 and early 2007 brought responses from 103 senior business executives throughout Canada, the United States, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa who are responsible for cross-border investigations within multinational businesses.