Financial Control and Audit of ESI Funds 2019 | Lexxion Publisher | 22 May 2019 | Lundqvist & Lindqvist (Kapitel 8), Klarabergsviadukten 90, 111 64 Stockholm, Sweden

Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies have to conduct administrative and on-the-spot verifications in order to ensure efficient and reliable first level control procedure. Not only eligibility of expenditures and compliance with complex State aid and public procurement rules have to be considered, but especially the new obligations, related to the Assurance Package, such as drawing up, certifying and submitting Annual Accounts to the EC, still raise a number of questions to first level controllers.

Furthermore Managing Authorities, Certifying Authorities and Intermediate Bodies have to be aware of the new audit requirements in order to be best prepared for audit visits. The day-to-day obligation of Audit Authorities is to conduct audit on operations, audit on projects, audit on payment claims, which causes such difficulties as choosing the right sampling method, handling of error rates and auditing of state aid and public procurement. Besides, Audit Authorities have to meet new requirements and assessment criteria in system audit and audit of accounts, and effectively conduct audit of management declaration.

Irregularities and fraud at any stage of these processes can bring to repayments and financial corrections. When the amounts cannot be recovered and this is a result of fault of a Member State, the latter is obliged to reimburse these amounts to the budget of the Union. Therefore, national authorities have to meet the challenges of stronger financial controls and carry out the respective verifications and audits.

Programme
The three-day Summer Course focuses on the following topics:

• Control and audit framework for MA, CA, AA and IB in 2014-2020 and prospective for 2021-2027
• Life cycle of operations and tasks of the authorities involved
• Administrative and on-the-spot verifications of ESI Funds
• Verification of Simplified Cost Options
• Verification of State aid and public procurement
• Audit findings and recommendations in system audits, in audits on operations and projects
• Audit of Simplified Cost Options
• Management of and most common irregularities in ESI Funds
• Reporting and financial corrections: How to conduct financial corrections
• Audit findings in State aid and public procurement
• Audits by the European Court of Auditors
• Combating fraud & corruption in ESI Funds
• Assurance Package 2020 and challenges with annual accounts

Who should participate?
• Representatives from public authorities in dealing with different aspects of financial control and audit of ESI Funds, especially from:
• Managing Authorities
• Certifying Authorities
• Audit Authorities
• Intermediate Bodies

• ESI Funds experts from regional and local authorities and experts involved in ETC Programme
• Auditors controlling and auditing ESI Funds programmes and projects
• Experts from EU, National and regional Court of Auditors
• Experts from Institutions involved in implementation of ESI funds
• Consultants and lawyers specialized on ESI Funds
• Beneficiaries of EU funded projects

2019 Speakers

Stavri Ttofa
Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus

Marina Mandac
Senior Auditor in Independent Service for Methodology and Quality Assurance, Agency for Audit of European Union Programmes Implementation System (Croatian Audit Authority), Zagreb

Olga Guza
Deputy Director of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia

Simon Hannah
ERDF Compliance and Quality Assurance Manager, East of England ERDF Growth Delivery Team, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Cambridge

Inese Levana
Senior Auditor of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, AFCOS Member, Riga

Irena Vrkljan Didić
Head of Independent Service for Methodology and Quality Assurance, Agency for Audit of European Union Programmes Implementation System (Croatian Audit Authority), Zagreb

Kurt Bungartz
Principal Auditor, European Court of Auditors, Luxembourg