Do you know who you are doing business with? The US Patriot Act, along with many other regulatory and security initiatives, requires you to know your customer. You are not allowed to conduct business with people and companies who have been sanctioned by the government for illegal acts such as drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, or money laundering. Penalties for engaging in trade with these parties can be severe – with fines up to $120,000 and penalties of up to 10 years in prison. The various US government agencies (e.g. the Commerce Department, the State Department, and the Treasury Department) all maintain numerous lists of restricted parties, terrorists, and debarred individuals. Each agency has its own lists specific to its functions and roles. Yet there is no single government place for a company to go to research whether or not their trading partner is on some list. Fortunately there are services that aggregate all these government lists into a single source and then make that aggregated data available on a subscription basis. Screening is then typically done by either manually entering the information into a web site or by uploading a list of records to be screened. The user must then act on the results that were “hits” against the government lists (for example doing more research on the names and then possibly stopping an order from shipping).
Microsoft Dynamics GP offers this screening functionality seamlessly from within the application using . Customers, sales documents, vendors, and purchase documents are automatically screened as they are being worked with – and any records and transactions will be placed on hold if they do not pass screening. More importantly, audit trails and logs are maintained so that a company can prove it is in compliance with US regulations and controls. With this functionality built into an ERP system, companies can screen their trading partners automatically without the need for additional steps in their processing flow and more costly human intervention.
Be certain you know who you do business with – the US government does not accept ignorance as an excuse.
If your organization is located in the Arizona or New Mexico area, contact Sherwood Systems for assistance in determining if a technology solution can help your organization better serve your business needs. (877) 943-9696
By Sherwood Systems – Arizona Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner
