Company: Europa
Role: Customs Risk and Audit Manager
As the Customs Risk and Audit Manager for the Europa Worldwide group, George is responsible for the group’s compliance with customs regulations / legislation and risk management strategy. This involves developing and implementing robust audit procedures to ensure the risk posed to the group through our customs operations are managed, reported on, and mitigated where possible.
He manages a team of customs compliance supervisors who conduct the auditing of declarations completed and the systems used within various customs divisions of the group across the UK & EU. The data that is produced from their auditing is compiled into output reports that are presented to the groups directors to discuss areas of concern with suggestions on how to implement I.T development to correct non-compliance and areas of focus for retraining.
His job requires a strong understanding of customs regulations and legislation as well as attention to detail and he has completed various levels of customs compliance academy training to further his knowledge however specific qualifications are not required.
George started working in the logistics industry when he was 19 as a junior customs clerk preparing declarations for sea freight containers. Since then, he has worked in various departments from a commercial customer facing role to operations, however since Brexit there has been a demand for people with an appetite for customs. George started at Europa in October 2020 as a Senior Customs declarant and from there has progressed to his current role.
The Customs Risk and Audit Manager position for George was a chance to develop and strengthen his understanding of global customs legislation whilst also being an opportunity to instil a “compliance focus” throughout the group. He believes by analysing the existing processes and procedures and adapting them to mitigate risk more efficiently he could really see a difference from the work he is doing daily.
Exposure to ever changing legislation and regulations and being able to successfully react as well as analysing and noticing improvements in the group’s overall compliance position is a big part of logistics.
Successfully overseeing the transition from the customs systems CHIEF to CDS was a great career highlight for George.