Global security

The past year presented multiple challenges that had the potential to threaten the safety of people around the globe. As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, other risks have emerged, including the war in Ukraine and various natural disasters. As the security landscape evolves, the GSO team will continue to help protect Deloitte people and firms around the world.

As the pandemic extended into FY2022, the GSO team supported Deloitte Global leadership through daily monitoring of COVID-19 case counts—externally and among Deloitte people—and the pandemic’s impact on our people around the world. Regular calls took place with the Global Security Council, made up of Deloitte firm security officers, to review COVID-19 developments and travel guidance, and share best practices to support consistent response approaches across the organisation.

The second half of FY2022 was profoundly impacted by the war in Ukraine. The GSO team began contingency planning as part of Deloitte’s response effort, and then responded following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The team worked closely with leadership in Deloitte Ukraine and Deloitte Global to account for the safety of Deloitte Ukraine professionals, helped to evacuate some Deloitte Ukraine people and their immediate family members who wanted to depart the country and established additional communications options. Deloitte Central Europe provided additional support, including temporary accommodations and follow-on travel assistance.

In addition, support was provided to our people based in Russia.

Recent developments around the world highlight the ongoing importance of business continuity planning in Deloitte’s preparation and ability to respond to crisis events impacting our people and business operations. To that end, in FY2022 Deloitte Global achieved ISO 22301 certification, the leading international business continuity standard.

Keeping Deloitte safe

The safety of Deloitte people is the GSO team’s top priority. Staying on top of world events and identifying potential threats is key to our Global Security strategy. In the event of an unexpected crisis, the GSO team is ready to respond quickly by co-ordinating closely with local Deloitte firms to help account for the safety of their people and provide necessary relief while minimising the impact to Deloitte business operations. The GSO team continues to respond around the world to an increasing number of natural disasters, including earthquakes and hurricanes/typhoons, as well as geopolitical instability. For example, during FY2022, in the Asia Pacific region alone, the team monitored the potential impacts of 24 storms and 10 earthquakes.

In the event of an emergency while travelling overseas, Deloitte people have access to a 24-hour service delivered by a leading emergency medical and security provider. This service connects Deloitte people to medical services, security advice and country-specific guidance while they are travelling internationally. Although travel was significantly reduced during FY2022 due to the pandemic, the GSO team responded to 246 requests for medical assistance, including emergency evacuations when required.

Additional highlights for FY2022:

• As part of our continuous improvement, the GSO and Deloitte Global Procurement completed an extensive RFP and review of leading emergency medical and security providers to help ensure Deloitte Global support programmes remain highly effective.

• The GSO developed an updated Global Incident Response playbook and helped to create new crisis response plans to support member firms.

• The GSO completed virtual webinars and training programmes for Deloitte internal security and resilience professionals to raise awareness and understanding of business continuity planning.

• Deloitte Global maintains a global emergency communication system that provides the capability to quickly account for the safety of Deloitte people and/or to provide critical guidance during emergencies. This system was used 496 times during major events to account for the safety of Deloitte people in potentially impacted areas. Additionally, the GSO team will be implementing an enhanced global emergency communication platform with additional capabilities.