INTERREG IVA 2 Mers Seas Zeeën Crossborder Cooperation Programme Part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Second level audits, audit trail Seminar for the projects approved in the seventh call for proposals JTS INTERREG IV A 2 Seas Lille, 1 st July 2011

Levels of control 2 Audit : Second level auditing (SLA) is performed by external auditors. The duty of the second level auditors is to carry out the audits on operations on the basis of an appropriate sample to verify the expenditure declared. First level control- 100% of expenditure Quality control CA- Sample of projects Quality control MA- Sample of projects 2 nd level audit- System audit and sample of projects (external auditors) Visits by JTS

Target of the audit 3 Focus on: The compliance with Community and national rules The respect of the selection criteria for the operation under discussion The implementation of the operation in accordance with the approval decision The correspondence of the expenditure declared by the beneficiary to the accounting records and supporting documents held by the beneficiary The payment to the final beneficiary of the ERDF (LP and PP)

Audits 4 System audit: on programme authorities (end of March 2010) Projects audits: Random selection (beginning of January each year) Audit on-the-spot (between February and April) The audit team will be made up of: auditors of the external firm + national member of the Group of Auditors (if the case) Random means that a project could be picked up several times, but expenditure will not be audited twice if an operation if selected twice The auditors will speak your language!

Audits on operations 5 Procedure If an operation is selected: The LP will be always audited One PP will be picked up Information given in advance, clear and complete communication to LP/PP selected ( documents, participants, dates, information about visits on the spot) Contradictory procedure The project will not have to pay for the second level audits because this cost is paid by the Programme Technical assistance budget directly

Documents to be provided 6 (list not exhaustive) Approved Application Form Subsidy Contract Partnership Agreement Relevant project correspondence (financial and contractual) Project/Partner Progress Reports Control certificates, control checklists and control reports List of declared expenditure Bank account statements proving the reception and the transfer of Programme funds Invoices/receipts Bank account statements / proof of payment for each invoice Proofs of delivery of products (studies, brochures, publication, newsletters, etc…) Proofs of compliance with information and publicity requirements Proofs of compliance with national and community rules (public procurements, etc…)

How to ensure good audit results ? 7 Satisfactory and efficient first level control Good and accurate audit trail Availability of responsible persons and documents Quick reaction during the contradictory phase