Keys to Compliance

Knowledge and Understanding

  The key elements to compliance are knowing your products and services and understanding what the limitations or regulatory requirements are for each of those products.

All employees and ICs should understand that the capabilities and performance of some articles are going to be controlled more tightly by the U.S. Government than others. You, as an individual, must be very clear on who is going to be your end-user or the final beneficiary of your product or service, make sure you know that your product or services ends there — and that you are not part of a transaction that may damage National Security, such as securing aircraft parts for a French company with an understanding that those parts are going to Iran to support their F14 program — that type of transaction will certainly cause your organization a staggering amount of problems from the Department of State and other agencies that control national security issues.

Organizations are responsible for making sound business transactions with foreign parties, for instance a sale of equipment that is more technological advanced than normal to a Foreign Nation should be a flag that something is not being presented clearly. If a foreign country offers to pay cash, will not answer questions about their end-use or gives you any reason to be suspicious of the transaction, it is your responsibility to look into the matter and fully understand the contract prior to honoring it. Simply applying for a license or agreement is not acceptable due diligence. The U.S. Government also has fines and penalties for those individuals or organizations that engage in "willful blindness" or purposely do not look into a transaction beyond the face value — and therefore, potentially allowing a compliance violation to occur. Your organization and your compliance professional in particular should understand fully the who, what, when, why, and how of any foreign transaction to ensure proper authorizations have been obtained prior to engaging in that activity.