Following a request from the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) of Nicaragua the WCO, with the support of the Japan Customs Cooperation Fund, conducted a national workshop on risk management and selectivity in Managua, Nicaragua from 20 to 24 May 2019.

During the opening session, the Deputy Director General of the Technical and Legal Department, encouraged the participants take ownership of the knowledge conveyed to them during the Workshop. Sixteen (16) Customs Officers with responsibilities in the areas of risk management and post clearance audit participated in the Workshop. They actively engaged in the practical sessions and demonstrated a high level of commitment.

The Workshop began with theoretical presentations, followed by practical exercises and case studies, which emulated real-life scenarios faced by Customs officers on a day-to-day basis. The participants used open source information to identify high-risk subjects and develop risk profiles to mitigate the respective threats.

One of the main outcomes of the Workshop was a draft work plan for post clearance audit, based on the methodology of the WCO PCA Guidelines and Risk Management Compendium. The use of intelligence-driven risk management to analyze open source information resulted in the identification of Customs offences that, upon confirmation, will increase the number of audits, as well as the amount of revenue recovered, significantly.