European Rural Development Seminar Effective Management and Control of EAFRD

Transcription

1 European Rural Development Seminar Effective Management and Control of EAFRD Simplified Cost Options Selection Criteria Irregularities Anti-Fraud Strategy 14 th 15 th November 2016, Berlin With following experts: Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Managing Authority of Rural Development and Fisheries Fund Coordination, Austria Brochure Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Head of Managing Authority of Agency for Rural Development, Director of the Department for Financial Management, Finland Rural Payments Agency, Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board, Anti-Fraud Adviser, Estonia AgrarMarkt Austria, Internal Audit Service, Austria 1

2 EUROPEAN RURAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR Effective Management and Control of EAFRD Be prepared for efficient implementation of EAFRD The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy brought significant changes in the implementation of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) by calling for simplifying rules for implementation of national and regional Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) and for reducing the related administrative burden. The Common Provisions Regulation for ESI Funds , the EAFRD Regulation 1305/2013 and the delegated and implementing regulations have introduced the responsibilities for the Member States regarding the implementation of EAFRD and RDPs. The authorities involved in the management, implementation and control of the programmes are challenged by these questions: How to introduce and implement the simplified cost options (SCO) for RDP How to improve the administrative verifications and on-the-spot controls for EAFRD funded projects How to decrease the error rates in the management and control of RDPs How to develop an anti-fraud strategy and efficient anti-fraud measures for EAFRD funded projects How to proceed in case of irregularities and financial corrections How to define good selection procedure and selection criteria Who is this seminar for? Members of staff dealing with management and control of EAFRD including Directors, Heads of Units, Managers, Experts, Controllers, Auditors, Officers, Lawyers from: Managing Authorities Paying Agencies Coordinating Bodies Certifying Authorities Intermediate Bodies and other Authorising Bodies Local Action Groups Beneficiaries of EAFRD Funds National and Investment Banks, Private Banks National and Regional Courts of Auditors Regional and Local Governments, Municipalities Consulting Companies, Advisory and Audit Services Masterclass Management in EU Funds This Seminar is also an Optional Masterclass seminar for the Masterclass Management in EU Funds For further Information, please click here. Very technical issues presented in a very pleasant way. Good mix of highly relevant content presented enthusiastically and combined with excellent organisation. 2

3 What will you learn in this seminar? What are the requirements of the European Commission regarding the management and control of EAFRD ? How to calculate and implement simplified cost options for EAFRD funded projects How to improve the verifiability and controllability of measures How to draw samples and decrease error rates in your Rural Development Programme What to be aware of during administrative verifications and on-the-spot checks What is the right procedure in case of irregularities and financial corrections? How to introduce effective anti-fraud measures in your RDPs implementation How to ensure compliance with EU public procurement law rules How to create efficient selection criteria and procedure How to identify and mitigate the risk of conflict of interest in RDP How to satisfy internal and external auditors with a special focus on key and ancillary controls Your benefits Familiarise yourself with EU legislation relevant to EAFRD and RDP Implement SCO in your RDP and learn about the possible consequences of the control and audit processes Learn how to define efficient selection procedure and criteria in order to improve the selection process for EAFRD supported projects Strengthen your administrative verifications and on-the spot checks Choose the right number of samples for on-the-spot checks and decrease the error rates Define efficient anti-fraud measures for your Rural Development Programmes Increase the quality of EAFRD supported projects Ensure quick and wide absorption of EAFRD Much can be learned both from the top organisation of the seminar and from the excellently prepared and skilled speakers. The seminar was very useful, informative, enjoyable and interesting, and it was very well organised. 3

4 PROGRAMME DAY 1 Effective Management and Control of EAFRD Registration and Handout of Seminar Material Opening Remarks from the European Academy for Taxes, Economics & Law Welcome Note from the Chair and Round of Introductions Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, JOHN PLACE Head of Managing Authority, Rural Development Programme for England, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, John Place is the Head of the Managing Authority for the Rural Development Programme in England, working in the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government. He is responsible for agreeing the selection criteria for schemes implemented under the England RDP and for the Managing Authority sign-off of the verification and control arrangements. He is the main contact with the European Commission for the England RDP and also leads the monitoring and evaluation arrangements as well as the management and implementation of the England programme Verifiability and Controllability of Measures Ex-ante assessment Developing a control framework Assessment of measures during implementation Respecting control results Adjusting measures Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Coffee Break and Networking Opportunity The Challenges of Simplified Cost Options in EAFRD Simplified Cost Options (SCO) in the legal framework Simplification scope in rural development: why to use SCO? Establishing flat rate financing, standard scale of unit costs and lump-sums SCO in the Austrian Rural Development Programme Consequences for the management and control system: the audit approach Veronika Madner, Managing Authority, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Rural Development and Fisheries Fund Coordination, Austria VERONIKA MADNER Managing Authority, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Rural Development and Fisheries Fund Coordination, Austria Veronika Madner is Deputy Head of the Managing Authority for the Rural Development Programme in Austria. She is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the Austrian RD Programme, focusing on horizontal topics, i.e. simplification and the use of simplified cost options. In close cooperation with the Paying Agency she was preparing and managing the introduction of SCO in the Austrian Programme. She was also deeply involved in the programme negotiations with the European Commission and represents the Managing Authority in a number of policy implementation boards on the national level Defining Selection Criteria for Operations in EAFRD What has to be taken into account when defining the criteria Ensuring equal treatment of operations How to secure better use of resources Right criteria for fulfilment of rural development priorities Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Lunch Break and Networking Opportunity 4

5 Administrative Verification and On-the-Spot Checks Legal requirements and administrative checks Methodologies for verifications and key compliance checks In situ visits and checks on payments Quality of on the spot checks and follow-up Undue payment and administrative penalties Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Stubbs, Rural Payments Agency, Coffee Break and Networking Opportunity Impact of EU Public Procurement Law on EAFRD Funded Projects Key elements of EU Public Procurement law Designing the tender procedure Managing the contract and any changes to the contract Preventing irregularities and avoiding the most common errors Michael Stubbs, Rural Payments Agency, Practical Workshop MICHAEL STUBBS Rural Payments Agency, Michael Stubbs has worked in the public sector since He has undertaken a variety of roles during that time. From 2006 to December 2015 he was responsible for the management, implementation and control of EAFRD funding with responsibility for compliance of EAFRD funding (Axis 1, 3 & 4 in the programme and the equivalent measures in the programme). Furthermore, he oversaw the development of all elements of business process that controls both procured and grant funded activities within the programme programme. Michael Stubbs also managed the compliance regime within the delivery team, ensuring business process is followed and demonstrating and assuring adherence to the control framework. He also managed all audit activity (from the delivery perspective), both domestic and European (European Commission and European Court of Auditors), meaning he had end to end oversight the control framework throughout the programme lifecycle within England. Since January 2016, Michael Stubbs now heads up Defra s investigation service. His team is responsible for investigating suspected breaches of Defra owned legislation, including CAP pillar 1 and 2 (EAFRD) activity Defining Selection Criteria for Operations Legal requirements Kind of measures and operations Criteria to be taken into account Practical exercise The participants will be asked to define the most suitable selection procedure and criteria for a practical exercise. Furthermore, they should elaborate which criteria have to be taken into account in order to best contribute to fulfilment of the particular measure. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Stubbs, Rural Payments Agency, This is a seminar you must attend! Very useful seminar! Very well presented and very useful reference for materials for the programming period End of Day One 5

6 PROGRAMME DAY 2 Effective Management and Control of EAFRD Welcome Note from the Chair Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Effective Handling of Irregularities and Financial Corrections Irregularities vs. fraud cases how to identify irregularities? The effective handling of irregularities Financial risks and financial corrections An adequate system of dealing with financial corrections Action Plan Consequences Erja Loppi, Director, Department for Financial Management, Paying Agency, Agency for Rural Development, Finland Coffee Break and Networking Opportunity Decreasing Error Rates, Irregularities and Penalties under Rural Development Programmes Root causes of error rates in rural development expenditure The error rate exercise: action plans of the Member States Controls and penalties: main differences with the period Administrative and on-the-spot checks Penalties and reductions Simplification proposals Erja Loppi, Director, Department for Financial Management, Paying Agency, Agency for Rural Development, Finland Anti-Fraud Activities Based on Accreditation Criteria for Paying Agencies New accreditation criteria for EAFRD EU Guidance Note on Anti-Fraud EU document on Fraud Risk Assessment Role of internal audit in preventing and detecting Implementation of an Anti-Fraud-Programme Hans-Peter Lerchner, Senior Audit Manager, Internal Audit Service, Paying Agency, AgrarMarkt Austria Lunch Break and Networking Opportunity ERJA LOPPI Director, Department for Financial Management, Paying Agency, Agency for Rural Development, Finland Erja Loppi has been Director of the Department of Financial Management in the Finnish Agency for Rural Affairs (the only Paying Agency in Finland) since She is responsible for the whole financial management development and implementation especially concerning support payments for farmers as well as financial and development aid in rural areas in Finland (including administrative checks and irregularity handling). Furthermore, she is responsible for steering, advising and training the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY-centres) and municipal rural business authorities (delegated bodies) concerning financial management such as support payments, accounting, reporting, irregularity handling, recovery and other agencyspecific duties. During the years of , she was the Leading Account Manager in the Finnish Forest Centre and responsible for financial management of EU-funded projects. The Finnish Forest Centre is a state-funded organisation covering the whole country for promoting forestry and related livelihoods, advising landowners on how to care for and benefit from their forests and the ecosystems therein, collecting and sharing data related to Finland s forests and enforcing forestry legislation. It is one of the biggest beneficiaries on EU Funds in Finland. HANS-PETER LERCHNER Internal Audit Service, Paying Agency, AgrarMarkt Austria Hans-Peter Lerchner is Senior Audit Manager of Internal Audit Service of Agrarmarkt Austria, the Austrian Agricultural Paying Agency (EAFRD & EAGF). Moreover, he is head of the working group Information Security Auditing in German, Luxembourg and Austrian Agricultural Paying Agencies and works as expert in several EU Twinning and Technical Assistance projects in some of the new EU Member States and EU-Candidate Countries. He holds certifications of IIA (Certified internal Auditor, Certified Quality Assessor IIA Standard 1300) and of ISACA (Certified Information Systems Auditor). He is member of IIA Global s Professional Issues Committee and works there on new guidance for the IIA s International Professional Practice Framework.

7 Identifying and Mitigating the Risk of Conflict of Interest in RDP Wider scope of conflict of interest in RDP Private procurement as source of fraud and COI in RDP Application of EU principles to private procurement of RDP (Case Law) Possible measures to mitigate the risk of COI in RDP Rando Undrus, Anti-Fraud Adviser, Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board Coffee Break and Networking Opportunity Workshop Audit Trail How to Satisfy Internal and External Auditors? Requirement vs realities Paper vs electronic trail Auditors view on an effective audit trail RANDO UNDRUS Anti-Fraud Adviser, Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board Rando Undrus has been working as Anti-Fraud Adviser at the Paying Agency for Estonia since His main responsibilities are developing antifraud measures, raising awareness for detecting fraudulent activities while processing applications and raising administrative investigation skills of special control unit. Furthermore, he is responsible for communication and networking with partners with administrative and criminal investigation powers (such as tax authorities, criminal investigators, etc). Rando Undrus has been involved in the projects related to designing and implementation of the new approaches for controlling suspected fraud cases of EAFRD and EAGF as well as for horizontal risk assessment system in the paying agency (in order to raise effectiveness of serving law obedient clients and controlling clients with higher risk). He participated as an expert for COCOLAF Fraud prevention working group with the project for Adaptation of the guidelines on conflict of interests in structural sector to the agricultural sector. Before joining the Paying Agency, he worked for over ten years in the Estonian tax authorities (Estonian Tax Board and later Estonian Tax and Customs Board) as Field Tax Auditor, Team Manager and Head of Regional Tax Audit Department responsible for 60 to 100 tax auditors. Experiences with EU audits regarding sufficient audit trails Workshop: Special focus on key and ancillary controls - Absolut MUST vs. good to HAVE - Top-ups to the controls already defined by DG Agri In this workshop the participants will have the opportunity to discuss and develop different examples based on their experiences with good practice. Presentation and introduction to the workshop Interactive group work on selected practical exercises Presentation of group work results Discussion of group work results Hans-Peter Lerchner, Internal Audit Service, Paying Agency, AgrarMarkt Austria Helpful to confirm many ideas of regulation, that we implement in the same way as others and identify some ideas where we can improve Final and Review of the Seminar End of Seminar and Handout of Certificates The seminar was well organised, well structured and with good speakers, who were practitioners in the field. 7

8 ORGANISATIONAL MATTERS Effective Management and Control of EAFRD Date of Event 14 th 15 th November 2016 Booking Number S-1327 MC Event Language The event language is English. Event Price 1.289,- Euro excl. German VAT (19%) The above price covers the following: Admission to the seminar Hand-out documents Seminar certificate, if seminar fully attended Soft drinks and coffee/tea on both event days Lunch on both event days Upon request you can receive a digital version of the seminar documents after the event for 60,- Euro excl. German VAT (19%) in addition to the seminar. BOOKING booking@euroacad.eu Phone: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) For online booking please visit our website: Contact European Academy for Taxes, Economics & Law At Potsdamer Platz, Entrance Leipziger Platz 9, Berlin, Germany Phone: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) info@euroacad.eu Internet: Your contact persons for the programme: Regina Lüning, M. Sc. econ. Head of Marketing and Sales Phone: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) regina.luening@euroacad.eu Alala Darweshi, MLE. Conference Manager Phone: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) alala.darweshi@euroacad.eu (Programme is subject to alterations) Event Location InterCityHotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof Katharina-Paulus-Straße Berlin, Germany Phone: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) berlin-hauptbahnhof@intercityhotel.com Internet: Please contact the hotel directly and refer to the European Academy for Taxes, Economics & Law if you wish to benefit from a limited room availability-contingent. Of course you can always look for an alternative hotel accommodation. 8

9 BOOKING Phone: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) For online booking please visit our website: Booking Booking Number: S-1327 MC (DM) 14 th 15 th November 2016, Berlin Herewith we register the following persons for the European Rural Development Seminar: Effective Management and Control of EAFRD Delegate 1 First name Last name Your organisation Department Unit Job position Tel. Fax I hereby order the digital version of the seminar documents (fee required) in addition to the seminar. Street Postcode / City Country Delegate 2 First name Last name Your organisation Department Unit Job position Phone Fax I hereby order the digital version of the seminar documents (fee required) in addition to the seminar. Street Postcode / City Country Invoice Organisation First name Last name Your Organisation Department Unit Street Postcode / City Country Phone Fax Job Position With my signature I confirm my registration and accept the General Terms and Conditions as legally binding. I herewith agree to receive further information from the European Academy for Taxes, Economics & Law In case of registration of more than one delegate do you prefer: Single invoice? Collective invoice? NOTE Only Valid with Signature and Stamp. Place, Date Authorised Signature and Stamp European Academy for Taxes, Economics & Law Brauner Klingenberg GmbH Leipziger Platz Berlin Phone +49 (0) Fax +49 (0)

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