The NAVEX 2025 Regional Whistleblowing Benchmark Report Highlights the Rise in Anonymous Reports

June 03, 2025 at 07:13 AM EDT

--News Direct--

NAVEX , the global leader in integrated risk and compliance management software, announces the findings of its 2025 Regional Whistleblowing & Incident Management Benchmark Report. It features an in-depth analysis of 2.15 million reports (the highest level ever) from NAVEX customers that received 10 or more internal reports in 2024. The analysis and report cover over 4,000 organisations across Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), North America and South America, representing nearly 70 million employees covered by their programs.

Key findings include:

Report Volume: Organisations headquartered in North America received more than twice the report volume of those in Europe and Asia Pacific. When comparing 2023 and 2024, Europe saw the largest increase (0.49 to 0.67 reports per 100 employees) to the highest reporting levels seen for this region. It is notable that all four geographies in the NAVEX analysis have seen a general increase in median reports per 100 employees over the last four years.

Case Closure Time: While organisations in Europe and APAC received fewer reports, they are taking far longer to investigate and close them with the highest median case closure times (Europe at 69 days, APAC at 56 days). In comparison, North America was at 19 days. This data may be influenced by differences in the types of reports received in each region. However, in all regions, regardless of the time to close a case, the substantiation rate of cases consistently ranged from 45% to 48%. It is important to highlight that nearly half of all reports received globally are substantiated.

Time to Report: Organisations based in Europe and APAC saw a higher time difference between incident and report date (the number of days between when the matter occurred or was witnessed and when the report is filed). In Europe, the median time difference between the incident and the report was 13 days, for APAC it was 12. The time difference in North America was 8 days. This is important because reporters who delay reporting may fear retaliation or not know where to make the report. In addition, Europe, APAC, and South America had the highest median rates of anonymous reports (65%, 67%, and 70% respectively), compared to just over half (52%) in North America. Higher levels of anonymous reporting can also be an indication of fear of retaliation making this a metric to watch.

Retaliation Cases: With the EU Directive’s focus on whistleblower protection, it is important to note that by headquarters region, Europe-based organisations substantiate retaliation cases at 32%, nearly double the rate of North America which achieved a four-year high of retaliation substantiation of 17% in 2024; APAC had a substantiation rate for retaliation reports of 28% for 2024.

Reporting Channels: The NAVEX report looked at reports received via a phone channel (hotline), web-based reporting, and “other” which can be walk-ins to compliance or human resources. In North America, by frequency, the hotline is used for 31% of reports – significantly above Europe (18%) and even more than APAC (11%).

Reporting by Ownership Type: Finally, new this year, NAVEX analysed internal reporting data for different structures of company ownership – publicly traded companies, private organisations, government entities and education entities – to show how reporting metrics differ within these groups with notable findings. Privately owned companies are more likely to substantiate reports across the board, with Europe and APAC at 50%, North America at 49%, and South America at 67% substantiated. Conversely, public companies’ substantiation rate was below 50% for all regions – Europe at 45%, APAC at 47%, North America at 42%, and South America at 43%.

“Creating trusted channels for internal reporting is one of the most effective ways to prevent small issues from becoming major liabilities,” said Carrie Penman, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at NAVEX. “Organisations with robust internal and third-party reporting programs have real-time intelligence to understand emerging risk and cultural health within their workforce and supply chains.”

For more exclusive insights, join the 2025 Regional Whistleblowing & Incident Management Benchmark Report webinar at 1pm BST on 5 June. Andy Noble, Head of Whistleblowing at NatWest Group, will be joined by NAVEX experts, Carrie Penman, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, and Jan Stappers, Director of Regulatory Solutions, to host an informative discussion on the results of this year’s analysis.

Trusted by over 13,000 organizations, including 70 percent of Fortune 100 and 500 companies, NAVEX is the global leader in risk and compliance solutions. Its NAVEX One platform strengthens risk and compliance programs, empowering organizations with unparalleled industry benchmark data and insights. NAVEX One provides a 360-degree view of enterprise, third party and ecosystem risk for enhanced regulatory compliance and proactive risk management. Based in Lake Oswego, OR, with a global presence, NAVEX continues to shape the future of governance, risk and compliance. Visit our blog or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.