Comments on: Cabela’s Settlement Includes Audit Requirement

By: John Pisa-Relli

John Pisa-Relli — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:26:12 +0000

That’s a terrific and helpful exercise. I may have some useful input, as I’ve done some legwork to diagram the various compliance criteria. We have each other’s coordinates, so let’s touch base offline and maybe we’ll have something to share with colleagues before too long….

Happy Thanksgiving!

By: Mike Turner

Mike Turner — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:37:26 +0000

John, I’ve been working on just such a cross-walk of Nunn-Wolfiwitz and the agency guidance – I have one version done but it doesn’t yet include some of the lastest guidance from BIS, CBP and Census. I’m working up an article/pamphlet on same that I hope to get out come first of the year. There is some overlap, and some differences between the agencies – bottom line is that no one set of guidance, NWR or from the individual agencies, covers all the bases; and as I note above, BIS has at least 3 independent sets of guidance out there. I hope to build up a compilation of all the guidance for use by export compliance professionals in evaluating their programs to ensure they’re covering all the agencies’ multiple bases. I’ll keep readers of this site informed of my progress.

By: John Pisa-Relli

John Pisa-Relli — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:33:22 +0000

If one were to benchmark against the criteria set forth in the Nunn-Wolfowitz report (“NWR”), would that pass muster with BIS, DDTS, OFAC, etc.? It’s as close as one comes to one-size-fits-all, and it seems to comprise the fundamentals called for in the various agency/office-specific guidelines out there? Also, any sense whether NWR reflects the state of the art? At Thales we strongly track NWR and also factor in USSG criteria for effective corporate compliance. Has anyone diagramed the various criteria from the different agencies and the USSG to see where they overlap and differ?

By: Mike Turner

Mike Turner — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:36:30 +0000

BIS has at least 3 separate, overlapping sets of guidance for what they believe constitutes and “effective” compliance program: (1) The elements of an Export Management and Compliance Program (ECMP), which is basically a re-named Export Management System (EMS)(which is itself a re-tread of the old requirements for an internal controls program to support application for a Special Comprehensive License); (2) the elements of a Technology Control Plan (TCP) to support application for a deemed export license; and (3) the “Principles of Effective Compliance Programs” for great weight mitigation in administrative cases. There may even be a fourth set of standards; Tom Andrukonis in the Office of Exporter Services has been making the offer to review exporters’ programs – a good thing, in my opinion; but it’s not clear what standards he reviews programs against. The duplication/overlap (and the elements of the 3 different guidances, have some commonalities but are not the same) is compounded by the fact that the first two are managed by Export Administration, and the third by Export Enforcement, with little interaction between the two. BIS also has in the past said that it does not have the resources to follow up on directed audits, so it’s unclear what follow-up action they will take on the audit they are requiring Cabellas to perform. BIS might better serve the exporting community by coming up with one set of standards to use to guide, and evaluate, export ocmpliance efforts by the trade.

By: Chris W.

Chris W. — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:14:47 +0000

Hi, Cliff. I appreciate your efforts on this blog. Just wanted to let you know that the link to the audit module is now redirected to a page saying it is “no longer available”.

By: Mike Deal

Mike Deal — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:23:47 +0000

Back a couple of years ago when I was drafting a court ordered compliance program for a client that had to be approved by BIS, I was advised that the Export Management System was passe’ and that the export management systems staff was pushing an “Export Compliance Workbook” that they handed out only at their export managemnt workshops but which they graciously shared with me since that was what they were using as a bench mark compliance programs. Their EMS on their web-site may be superseded.