Global security

Threats come in many sizes and forms, including geopolitical instability, crime and natural disasters. The Deloitte Global Security Office (GSO) works with member firms worldwide to help keep Deloitte professionals safe, particularly during times of emergency or when member firms are called upon by clients to work in higher-risk areas.

An ongoing GSO focus is increasing Deloitte’s resiliency by working with Deloitte member firms to formulate and implement effective business-continuity programs. The GSO’s regional managers help enhance Deloitte’s security and crisis response capabilities through on-site visits, meetings with member firm managing partners and working with the Global Security Council made up of security officers from each member firm.

Keeping Deloitte safe

The GSO team tracks world events on a daily basis for potential impacts on Deloitte people and offices. Whenever a crisis occurs, the GSO responds swiftly to help member firms account for the safety of their people, provide necessary relief and resume normal business operations as soon as possible.

Health emergencies also can affect Deloitte professionals while traveling or assigned overseas, so Deloitte maintains 24-hour resources, delivered by a leading emergency medical and security provider, to respond in such situations.

Risk awareness for travelers

As part of Deloitte Global’s travel security protocols, all Deloitte locations are encouraged to incorporate security into their travel programs and consult with the GSO before undertaking travel to high-risk locations.

When member firm engagement teams need to travel to high-risk locations, assistance provided to engagement teams can range from designing comprehensive security plans that include location-specific security briefings to hotel and transportation recommendations, on-the-ground project logistics, and direct security support, as needed. In doing so, an external network of specialized security providers based in high-risk locations is available to assist. During FY2019, the GSO provided security planning support to more than 1,284 engagement teams around the world.

The GSO tries to make sure all Deloitte people are aware of particular risks before they travel. Deloitte professionals have access to a comprehensive travel security website containing the latest security bulletins, assessments, country risk ratings and other resources.

In FY2019, the GSO team responded to multiple natural disasters, geopolitical threats and more than 315 medical cases involving traveling Deloitte professionals. The team also:

• Developed a new set of global security standards and policies to better achieve consistency across all member firms.

• Implemented the second phase of the Deloitte Global Emergency Communications system, which provides a mobile app and enhanced geolocation capabilities to quickly locate and account for the safety of Deloitte people during times of emergency.

• Completed a member firm business-continuity assessment process, with all member firms scheduled to align to the primary international standard (ISO 22301) by the end of the second quarter of FY2020.

• Continued to support new global delivery centers through security design and on-ground implementation.

• Held a successful in-person meeting of the Deloitte Global Security Council, which brought together member firm security officers to review the latest global threats, set direction for FY2020 and share best practices.