What is a Trade

Compliance Department?

Course: Authorized Economic Operator

Unit 3: How to access the AEO program
 Contents

1. The importance of periodic self-assessments .......... 2

2. A Department of great assistance ........................... 2
3. For SMEs also? ........................................................ 3

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1. The importance of periodic self-
assessments
To be an AEO we must manage our business in accordance with a series of
procedures. These procedures should be designed and tested before presenting the
AEO application.

The key to maintaining ourselves as a secure link in the supply chain is tailoring
procedures to all the changes that will occur in the business’s trade, production, or
distribution activity.

In a setting of constant change, is it essential to ensure that procedures are

constantly updated.

In addition, we must check that procedures are being performed in the proper
manner. It is not enough to just assume that they are efficient and are fulfilling their
function. We must confirm this.

To do all of this, the business must perform regular self-assessments of its activity.

2. A Department of great assistance

In this area, having an internal Trade Compliance Department will be of great
assistance.

This department will have the necessary authority and appropriate competency to
regularly perform internal checks of operations.

These checks will be regular, random, programmed or sporadic, and must always
gather the corresponding documentary evidence.

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©2017 Inter-American Investment Corporation, all rights reserved, for authorized use only.
The heads of Trade Compliance and the heads of the department or departments
being checked must always be present during said checks.

Each of the points for review, the way in which procedures are applied and the jointly
proposed improvements or solutions will be studied in a highly detailed manner.

The very same system must establish the regularity of such checks. It is
recommended that they be of such frequency as to guarantee their effectiveness.

3. For SMEs also?

We may think it’s difficult for SMEs to perform the implementation of a department
like this and that this may make it difficult for them to join the AEO program.

If your company is an SME with 8 or 10 people, you are sure to be used to not having
any clearly defined areas of activity and “everyone ends up doing almost everything”.

Let’s see how we can solve this situation. The AEO program is not directed towards
only large businesses. Not at all. One of its virtues is its adaptability to company size,
and is therefore perfectly applicable to SMEs.

Maybe work areas are not so defined at our SME, but there will be someone who is in
charge of leading the AEO project. Well then, we already have part of our Regulatory
Compliance: a project leader.

The second part is starting internal validation. To do so, we must use a cross-checking
system. With this system, the person performing the task and revising it will always
be two different people.

For example, the Head of Management might check if Reception has correctly applied
the access control systems or has adequately registered visitors.

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©2017 Inter-American Investment Corporation, all rights reserved, for authorized use only.
On the other hand, the Head of Purchasing may review if all the access keys to
Systems have been changed at the proper times, if anti-virus have been updated or if
access to the various areas or departments is being properly maintained.

In this way we can see how both an SME and an international business can perform
the necessary management to validate AEO procedures.

FINPYME and CII brands, names and logos are the intellectual property of CII.

©2017 Inter-American Investment Corporation, all rights reserved, for authorized use only.
 5

FINPYME and CII brands, names and logos are the intellectual property of CII.

©2017 Inter-American Investment Corporation, all rights reserved, for authorized use only.