Multinationals do not have adequate procedures for tracking tax, payroll and immigration issues for mobile employees who spend time overseas on formal or informal assignments, according to research from EY.

This is despite the fact that half (49%) of senior mobility executives interviewed for the firm's Your Talent in Motion: Global Mobility Effectiveness Survey 2013 reported deploying more employees into high-growth emerging markets, where laws are constantly in flux.

EY's survey found that 40% do not have a formal risk control framework to monitor payroll tax and social security compliance, and 31% report that they have had to engage outside consultants or firms to address violations.

Few mobility teams monitor 'business travellers', or those not on formal assignments, with 73% saying that they are not part of the global mobility team's responsibility. A similar proportion (73%) are not using technology to track their people's activity. In addition 78% said that their mobility function did not measure return on investment (ROI).

Kevin Cornelius, EY's mobility services leader, EMEA, said: 'There is widespread frustration with the fact that many businesses do not want to address the task of minimising and pre-empting risk. Too often, there is a tendency to wait or be aware of a tangible negative consequence before deciding to act. Educating the business units outside of mobility to recognise the risk is a key first step, but it remains an enormous challenge that is likely to become even greater as we see more flexible working arrangements and increased travel outside of traditional expatriate assignments into the high-growth, emerging markets.'