FTI Consulting and Global Competition Review Release Survey Examining New Data Challenges in Antitrust and Compliance Investigations

Washington, D.C., July 13, 2021 — FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) today announced the release of its Technology segment’s joint survey with Global Competition Review. The report, Investigations, Data and Compliance, provides insights from a global pool of senior in-house counsel and law firm attorney respondents on emerging data-related challenges in antitrust compliance and investigations and the long-term implications the pandemic has dealt to their work.

Most respondents indicated that every aspect of investigations have become increasingly challenging as a result of remote working over the past year, with 56% saying evidence collection is more difficult and 23% saying it is significantly more difficult. In the context of conducting investigations among remote employees, several specific aspects of the data collection process were cited as being negatively impacted, including identification of data sources (70%), completeness of data collection (66%), chain of custody, mobile device collections, technical issues and data privacy (roughly 40% respectively).

Key findings from the report include:

• 57% of respondents agreed that antitrust compliance has become more challenging during remote working.
• More than half believe the increased use of collaboration and cloud-based tools has made it harder to identify all sources of data, preserve data, collect relevant data and process or review data. Despite compliance becoming more challenging, and the new Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations guidelines, nearly 70% of respondents have not increased their compliance budgets, citing reasons including lack of resources and competing priorities.
• Most (65%) are addressing compliance proactively in anticipation of an investigation, yet that leaves more than one-third that are still approaching the issue reactively.
• More than 70% of respondents agreed that it has become increasingly important to monitor communications and data between companies in light of increased collaboration between companies.

“The results of this survey were consistent with the trends we’re seeing among our clients, especially in terms of trepidation about the completeness of document collection and production in antitrust investigations,” said Andrea Levine, a Managing Director in the Technology segment at FTI Consulting. “Change—on the regulatory front and across the data landscape—is happening quickly, which can be overwhelming for legal and compliance teams. In the coming year, we’d like to see more companies allocate adequate resources toward assessing their data infrastructure and leveraging existing data to inform and enhance their antitrust compliance program.”

Tim Anderson, a Managing Director in the Technology segment at FTI Consulting, added, “Given the clear challenges organizations are facing with managing emerging data sources, information governance has become imperative to antitrust investigation readiness. At a minimum, legal and compliance teams must develop an understanding of the systems used to communicate and collaborate, as well as the data collection and compliance functions enabled within those systems.”

To read the full results, download Global Competition Review Investigations, Data and Compliance. To attend a webcast and learn more about the reports detailed findings, register for the July 15, 2021 webcast here.

Demographics and methodology

The data contained in the report was derived from a global online quantitative survey run from November 2020 to January 2021 on Global Competition Review. The 187 respondents represent a range of in-house counsel positions, areas of responsibility and firm size.

About FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional. With more than 6,400 employees located in 29 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges and make the most of opportunities. The Company generated $2.46 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2020. For more information, visit www.fticonsulting.com and connect with us on Twitter (@FTIConsulting), Facebook and LinkedIn.