Census prepares to audit AES records in 2007

Census prepares to audit AES records in 2007    The U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division plans to start next year auditing export records filed electronically by the export industry in the Automated Export System.
   Joey Morales, a supervisory survey statistician at Census, told attendees at the Export Regulatory Compliance Summit in Boston on Nov. 3 that the audits are for “educational purposes” only. He said the audits will give the agency a better idea of who is still having problems filing export information correctly in AES. Most errors involve late filings and wrong export classification numbers, Morales said.
   The agency will work with AES filers — exporters and freight forwarders — to correct the problems, he said.
   Harvey Waite, vice president and compliance manager for Oceanair, a Boston-based forwarder, said the industry must continue to work hard to ensure they’re accurate with their AES filings and other export compliance requirements.
   “We recognize these days that your shipping paperwork must be bulletproof,” Waite said. “Mistakes simply aren’t allowed anymore.”