The NAVEX 2025 Regional Whistleblowing & Incident Management Benchmark Report, analyzing over 2.15 million reports from more than 4,000 organizations, highlights the evolving landscape of internal reporting across Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), North America, and South America. North American organizations received more than twice the reports compared to Europe and APAC, though Europe has seen the most significant increase in reporting levels, reaching a record high for the region.
Investigations and case closures vary by region, with Europe and APAC taking longer than North America, yet substantiation rates remain consistently high globally, with nearly half of all reports being valid. Anonymous reporting is highest in South America, followed by APAC and Europe, potentially reflecting concerns over retaliation, especially in Europe where the substantiation rate for retaliation cases is nearly double that of North America.
The report also examines preferred reporting channels and company ownership types, with privately owned companies showing higher substantiation rates than publicly traded ones. Carrie Penman, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at NAVEX, stresses the importance of trusted reporting channels in preventing minor issues from becoming major liabilities, calling for stronger internal reporting mechanisms.
