New mobile workforce compliance survey: Business travel and cross-border remote work
Our latest survey tackles today’s pressing issues: business travel risk management and cross-border work compliance.
What happens behind a simple business trip? Often, much more than organizations expect. Drawing on a global survey of 344 participants, we explore how governance, approvals, and policy are shifting to manage a more mobile workforce.
Key takeaways
- Mobility, Tax, Payroll, and HR alignment remain central to managing cross-border compliance.
- Employee demand for flexibility is accelerating more cross-border remote work policies.
- Tax and immigration* authorities are increasingly using AI-driven tools to identify business travel noncompliance.
- More organizations are shifting compliance checks to pre-trip approvals.
- Clear governance can make cross-border mobility easier to manage at scale.
What our survey reveals about managing business travel risk
Organizations often ask how to gain better control over business travel compliance risk. Our survey suggests the biggest barrier is often internal: Unclear ownership combined with a perception that the risk is manageable, can delay action. The result is a reactive approach, where compliance is addressed only after issues surface.
To get ahead of risk, organizations are improving how they track business travel. Many rely on expense reports, and some are turning to data sources like travel, badge swipes and VPN/IP address tracking.
Supporting traveling employees is also a key part of travel risk management. For cross-border trips, more than half of the respondents provide support for tax obligations. Many companies cover incremental income taxes and handle the necessary payroll reporting, reducing friction for both the employee and the business.
Building a cross-border work policy that addresses risk
The goal is to offer flexibility without creating uncertainty. A proactive governance model helps organizations do that by aligning teams around clear policies, practical thresholds, and defined decision rights. In turn, employees gain clarity, managers can make more consistent decisions, and organizations are better positioned to manage compliance while supporting a more resilient and flexible workforce.
Read the full survey analysis in “Work follows people. So does compliance.”
*For legal and regulatory reasons, some of the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited(DTTL) member firms, including the US member firm, do not provide immigrationor other legal services. Such services are provided by the legal and immigrationpractices of DTTL member firms outside the United States and their alliancepartners. The Deloitte US firms do not practice law nor provide legal advice.
