George Zaharatos, Principal, KPMG to Speak at Knowledge Congress’ LIVE Webcast

Nov. 23, 2015 - PRLog -- The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today that George Zaharatos, Principal, KPMG will speak at a 2-hour webcast entitled “Export Compliance and Audits: How to Minimize Risks in 2016 and Beyond LIVE Webcast” This two-hour event is scheduled on Thursday, December 10, 2015 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm (ET).

For further details and updated list of speakers, please visit:

https://theknowledgegroup.org/export-compliance-and-audits-how-to-minimize-risks-in-2016-and-beyond-live-webcast-3/

Event Synopsis:

Exporting today is complicated, highly regulated, and often risky. The regulations continue to change, enforcement increases, and the risk of non-compliance, fines, and litigation grows each year.  The largest fines are for willful, criminal convictions currently are up to $1 million, but will increase to $10 million, or ten times the value of the export, when the new Export Administration Act is passed.

In 2014, a number of firms and individuals were convicted of export violations including, Wind River Systems which agreed to pay $750,000 to settle allegations that it had sold encryption software to those on the BIS Entity List, Robbins & Myers Belgium S.A pled guilty to the illegally exporting drilling equipment to Syria, paying $1,000,000 in criminal fines for $31,716 in equipment; and an individual  pled guilty to conspiracy to illegally export laboratory equipment from to Syria and is facing up to five years in prison and a fine of as much as $250,000.

To cope with the increasing complexity and changeability of the export industry, companies need to develop, implement, and maintain effective Export Compliance and Audit management policies and procedures. Staff should be trained, monitored, and evaluated; risk analysis models should be reviewed and evaluated annually; and all programs should be audited to ensure compliance. Owing to the complexity and variability of restricted export lists, it is prudent to use automated databases.

The Knowledge Group has assembled a panel of key thought leaders and professionals who will review recent export violations and help the audience understand the most important aspects of Export Compliance and Audits: How to Minimize Risks in 2016 and Beyond. The speakers also will share their best practices for maintaining an efficient and effective export compliance strategy and auditing process.

Key topics include:

§  Export Administration Act

§  Export Compliance Program and Auditing Process – An Overview

§  Developing an Export Auditing Program

§  Performance Indicator (KPI) Monitoring Techniques

§  Export Compliance Monitoring and Auditing

§  Automation of Export Compliance

§  Export Risk Models

§  Policies and Procedures of Export Compliance & Auditing Program

§  Safeguards and Standards of Conduct in Export Compliance

§  Sanctions for Violation of Export Controls

§  Export Compliance Security

§  Best Practices

About George Zaharatos

George is a Principal with KPMG LLP’s U.S. Trade and Customs Practice based in the firm’s Atlanta office and KPMG’s Trade and Customs Southeast Regional Leader.  George has over 15 years of experience managing trade compliance and identifying efficiencies through implementation of effective controls.

George is responsible for assisting a broad range of U.S. multi-national and foreign-owned clients in industries including electronics and communications, mining, defense, automotive and retail and has experience with a wide variety of complex trade matters.  George has extensive knowledge in U.S. export regulations, particularly in the areas of EAR and ITAR process development and compliance assessments, OFAC compliance and AES reporting.  George has also managed large customs and export related projects and has assisted companies to identify various customs savings opportunities.

About KPMG

KPMG LLP provides assurance, tax, and financial advisory services. The firm offers accounting, auditing, internal audit, regulatory and compliance, corporate recovery, forensic accounting, and risk management services. It also provides transaction advisory services such as due diligence, target risk assessment, acquisition accounting and tax advisory, and divestiture accounting. KPMG’s Trade and Customs practice’s dedicated professionals in over 10 cities in the U.S., and over 350 professionals globally serve multinational companies with their export risk management and improvement through internal audit services, export strategic planning, process development, and export management technology implementation.

About The Knowledge Group, LLC/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series

The Knowledge Congress is a series of live webcasts produced by The Knowledge Group, LLC, which examine trends, regulatory, and technology changes across a variety of industries. Its mission is to produce unbiased, objective, and educational live webcasts that examine industry trends and regulatory changes from a variety of different perspectives. The goal is to deliver a unique multilevel analysis of an important issue affecting business in a highly focused format.

The organization brings together the world's leading authorities and industry participants through informative two-hour webcasts to study the impact of changes and emerging trends. Hear from leading government officials/regulators, key thought leaders, and industry experts objectively analyze the latest trends and issues and their impact on industries.