All investment advisers that are registered with the SEC – including those that manage private funds – are subject to examination. Not even a global pandemic could stop the SEC’s Division of Examinations from conducting 2,128 exams in fiscal year 2020. Of course, those  exams were largely conducted remotely, and the success of remote exams may have contributed to the increase in exams of investment advisers based outside of the U.S. that some have observed over the last year or so. This first article in a three-part series discusses the SEC’s authority to conduct examinations of non‑U.S. advisers and the recent trend of more exams of those advisers. The second article will compare SEC exams of U.S. advisers to exams of non‑U.S. advisers and SEC exams to exams conducted by foreign regulators. The third article will provide practical tips for non‑U.S. advisers that may face an SEC exam for the first time. See our two-part series “Practical Guide for Private Fund Managers Navigating SEC Exams in the Biden/Gensler Era”: Part One (Jul. 8, 2021); and Part Two (Jul. 15, 2021).