The Thirteen Commandments: No. 10
"Prepare For Government Audits, Investigations, Or Demands For documents"
You may be investigated or audited by any number of government agencies that enforce export and import laws. Your ICP should anticipate what actions to take, including:
• Make sure that the investigating agency is following all investigative safeguards and procedures required by the law, including providing you with adequate notice of any audit or investigation, and following all procedural safeguards under a search warrant.
• Designate a "quick response" team. This includes designating a person or persons to be the company's official voice during the audit or investigation. You should also have ready the right technical personnel to retrieve records from your computer data banks. Your team may include outside consultants. An experienced international trade attorney is especially helpful in answering your questions and in being a buffer between your company and the Government.
• Decide what documents and records you will allow the Government to inspect. Although all your employees should comply fully with all legal requirements, you should not assume that government inspectors will do the same. You should know how to firmly, but politely, fend off any overreaching by the Government (outside legal counsel a definite plus with this problem). You should also not volunteer information or documents beyond your legal requirements or beyond what the investigators are requesting.
• It is hard to predict the extent of the Government's intrusion into your company's affairs. Sometimes an exchange of correspondences or phone calls appeases the Government, and sometimes the Government sets up shop within the company and reviews records and interviews employees for months. The former is likely, but be prepared for the latter.
