The departure of an employee, or several employees, was once a low-key affair. Today, a combination of regulation, compliance, the internet and mobile technology are conspiring to make it one of senior management’s most serious headaches.

“It’s been a problem for a long time but it’s getting worse and worse,” says Deepak Taneja, chief executive of Aveksa, a company based in Waltham, Massachusetts, which automates the monitoring of access rights.