Initially, we must specify the objective of a preventive audit, which is to detect irregularities before they are pointed out by the authority “The Central Administration of Certification and International Affairs of Foreign Trade Audit, which is attached to the General Administration of Foreign Trade Audit“, who carries out the inspections. As a result, the preventive audit mitigates the observations made by the authority in order to comply with the minimum requirements necessary to maintain security within the supply chain.
Likewise, in order to control and maintain the AEO certification. It is recommended at all times to have an external firm to assist in conducting preventive audits, in order to ensure that they are carried out correctly and continuously. The procedures that were developed at the time of requesting certification include each of the procedures to be followed within the 11 security standards, which are as follows:
- Supply chain security planning.
- Physical security.
- Physical access controls.
- Business partners.
- Process security.
- Customs management
- Security of cargo vehicles, containers, trailers and/or semi-trailers.
- Personnel security.
- Information and documentation security.
- Security training and awareness.
- Incident handling and investigation.
However, it is not enough to carry out the procedures and structure them, but we must ensure that all personnel involved in the subject, comply with them and carry them out, because the importance of maintaining security in our supply chain must be the priority, as this security makes us a more competitive and safer company.
While it is true that AEO certification standard number 1, specifically sub-standard 1. 3, called Internal Audits in the supply chain, states that in addition to routine monitoring in control and security, it is necessary to schedule periodic audits, through which all processes are evaluated in terms of security in the supply chain in a more in-depth manner, which must be carried out by authorized personnel for that purpose, Preferably, these audits should be carried out cross checked, that is, the department to be audited should not be the same one that performs the audit, but each department should be audited by different areas in order to be certain that a quality audit is performed and that real and measurable results can be obtained.
The results obtained from the internal auditing processes must be reported to Senior Management, so that it can implement the necessary actions to ensure compliance with the minimum safety standards that must be in place in the supply chains. For this reason, in addition to internal audits, it is always important to have external audits, as these guarantee the maintenance of very high safety standards.
It should be taken into consideration that the external audit should be a common practice among companies that have the AEO certification, because the view of a person outside the organizational chart of the company that could be visited by the authority, can better ensure proper compliance of processes and that they are within the regulatory framework, The external auditor, being a person who has no relationship with the members of the company and its departments, can make a more objective analysis without harming or helping anyone either by friendship or hierarchy, which ensures that at all times the results obtained from it are very reliable.
We must not lose sight of the fact that when we become an Authorized Economic Operator, in addition to obtaining benefits, obligations are also added, among the most important obligations that exist, is to comply with the processes and procedures established in the security profile, for this reason, it is through audits either internal or external, the main result of which is to verify the correct implementation and compliance with all security procedures, by all those involved in the security of the supply chain, having the possibility of finding observations and continuous improvements, thus strengthening and achieving a better security of the supply chain, achieving greater security in foreign trade operations and avoid being involved in incidents that could lead to the loss of the certification itself.
Performing internal and external audits with a preventive nature, leads us to make an early review of the degree of compliance with the requirements of the certification, thus being able to design and implement corrective actions and improvements, ensuring due compliance and maintenance of the corresponding certification.
Now, if an internal audit allows us to detect areas with deficiencies and implement corrective actions for improvement in a timely manner, it is clear that by relying on an external audit our margin of error is significantly reduced, since both the company’s personnel and its external advisors are able to have a more complete picture of the degree of compliance with the security profile to which we committed ourselves when we applied for certification as an Authorized Economic Operator or Authorized Trading Partner.
Likewise, with the implementation of internal auditing procedures and these are strengthened with the implementation of external audits, success is ensured in updating the procedures that make up the profile, identifying opportunities for improvement that allow them to be in line with the reality of the company and the requirements of the Program.
In the same way, through the implementation of external audits by consultants, it is reviewed and confirmed that the evidence of compliance is being generated continuously and completely, ensuring compliance with the requirements for the maintenance of the Certification and compliance with the security profile that was used at the time of requesting it. Therefore, with the implementation of this type of practices helps us to improve the security of the company at each level, because nowadays most of the commercial partners look for clients that comply with procedures that prevent illicit acts that put the integrity of the company at risk, such as smuggling, money laundering, trafficking of arms, people, prohibited goods as well as acts of terrorism, so by constantly verifying the compliance of the security procedures, we ensure that our supply chain is protected.
Having established the above, we can know what the benefits of continuously auditing our supply chain are, both to verify the formal requirements, as well as the proper implementation of the procedures that we generate to the extent of our companies, when requesting certification either as Authorized Economic Operator, or Authorized Trading Partner, so that being in full compliance with the requirements, at no time do we run the risk that the authority will initiate a procedure to cancel the certification, avoiding being sanctioned if the cancellation process is concluded.
The best way to avoid being subject to the cancellation process of the Authorized Economic Operator Certification established in rule 7.1.4 or in the Certified Trading Partner mode, rule 7.1.5, both of the General Rules of Foreign Trade, is to have a good internal and external auditing team to ensure due compliance with the minimum security standards of our supply chains.
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