Person of the Year: The Trade Compliance Officer Featuring Alex Cotoia

Trade compliance officers were recognized as the "Person of the Year" in 2022. Michael Volkov welcomes Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager, to discuss this development. Alex sheds light on the challenges faced by these professionals over the past year: from navigating the global pandemic to ensuring compliance with sanctions regulations, trade compliance officers have done it all. Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager at The Volkov Law Group, is a seasoned trade compliance expert with extensive knowledge across ITAR compliance, BIS compliance of commerce, and opacity sanctions. She brings valuable insights on the crucial role of compliance in the world's rapidly changing landscape.Key ideas you’ll hear Michael and Alex discuss:The unprecedented challenges faced by trade compliance professionals. The global pandemic and the rapid and constant changes in the regulatory climate had a major impact on trade compliance professionals.The importance of trade compliance professionals was demonstrated this year, as they were seen as unsung heroes who played a crucial role in ensuring compliance with regulations.The invasion of Ukraine by Russia led to a more fulsome political response compared to the invasion of Crimea in 2014, which further highlights the significance of trade compliance in today's world.The recommended approach for trade compliance is to consider the market exposure to sanctions risk and adopt measures that are reasonably designed to deter and detect infractions.Increased importance of end-user certificates: The use of end-user certificates became more important in ensuring compliance with regulations in exports to Russia.Michael and Alex emphasize the need for verifying the end use of products purchased from a third party to ensure it's for a permissible purpose. Alex stresses the need for international organizations with broad exposure to invest heavily in trade compliance, including having a trade compliance officer and choosing the right tools. Michael highlights the importance of integrating the overall trade compliance function into the overall ethics and compliance function. This requires a strategic approach for trade compliance and sanctions risks, including education, internal controls, and technology solutions that integrate sanction screening, third-party risk management, incident reporting, and trade compliance.The responsibility for internal controls lies with the leadership team and the board of directors.Trade compliance should be part of compliance education.Trade compliance is an industry that's here to stay.KEY QUOTES:“Consider where the greatest sanction risk lies from a market exposure perspective and then adopt measures that are reasonably designed to deter and detect inflections.” - Alex CotoiaResources:Alex Cotoia on LinkedIn | EmailThe Volkov Law Group