Confronting the challenges of cross-border fraud examinations

As your organization grows, its business could expand into new nations. You might be conducting fraud examinations in cultures with unfamiliar social customs, laws and judicial systems. As I covered in part one in the January/February issue, you should have a solid cross-border investigative plan before you tackle a case with roots in several different countries.

In part two, we’ll cover assessing legal and cultural considerations, specifics of your plan, reporting findings and remediation across borders.

Assess legal and cultural considerations

Before the examination begins, you must discuss with in-house counsel if attorney-client privilege laws will protect it. You also must understand the laws of the area in which you’re investigating because they might not align with international corporate law. You’ll always have to tweak your investigations to comply with local laws and culture.