NEW. Intensive Summer Course: Financial Control and Audit of ESI Funds 3-Days Intensive Summer Course May 2019 Stockholm, Sweden

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1 NEW Intensive Summer Course: Financial Control and Audit of ESI Funds Experts Simon Hannah ERDF Compliance and Quality Assurance Manager, East of England ERDF Growth Delivery Team, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Cambridge Stavri Ttofa Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus Olga Guza Deputy Director of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia Inese Levana Senior Auditor of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, AFCOS Member, Riga 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 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 The three day Summer Course focuses on the following topics: Control and audit framework for MA, CA, AA and IB in and prospective for Life cycle of operations and tasks of the authorities involved Administrative and on the spot verifications 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

2 General Information Overview Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies have to conduct administrative and onthe-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. Target Group 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 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.

3 Programme Day 1: Wednesday, 22 May :45 Registration and Welcome Coffee 09:00 Welcome Note by Lexxion and Chair, Introduction Round Session 1: Financial Management and Control System in this Programming Period and Outlook into :30 Financial Management and Control Requirements for Managing, Certifying, Audit Authorities and Intermediate Bodies Regulatory environment Roles and responsibilities of the bodies involved Implementation of a control framework: control checklists and control reports 10:00 Outlook into the future: Regulatory Framework Proposal for the Regulatory framework What are the main expected changes and challenges? Points for discussion at national level Speaker of Session 1: Stavri Ttofa, Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus 11:00 Coffee Break Session 2: Audit Findings and Recommendations in ESI Funds (incl. Lunch Break 12:30 13:30) 11:30 Audit Findings Practical Insights 14:30 Workshop Newest legal requirements: Chapter on good practices promoted by Audit Community (EC and national AAs) when carrying out audits under ESI funds, by DG REGIO Audit findings and recommendations in system audits Audit findings and recommendations in audits on operations/projects Process of the audit of projects (planning, execution, reporting) During this practical session participants from managing, certifying authorities and intermediate bodies will be asked to brainstorm, what and how they would prepare for audit control. Auditors will be asked to consider their expectations to the auditees. Finally we will examine the gap between auditors and auditees. 14:45 Quiz You are welcome to take part in the quiz and to test your gained knowledge. Don t miss the chance to win special prizes from our speaker! 15:00 Coffee Break Session 3: Irregularities and Financial Corrections in ESI Funds 15:30 Management of and Most Common Irregularities in ESI Funds Definition of an irregularity and difference between error and irregularity Overview on most common types of irregularities Who can determine irregularities? Which irregularities can be identified by first level controllers? Which irregularities are typically identified by auditors? How to treat irregularities? 16:15 Practical exercises Practical exercises on how to detect and handle irregularities. You are welcome to contribute to this session. Just send us your questions in advance and we will discuss them during the event. 16:30 Reporting and Financial Corrections When do irregularities lead to recoveries, withdrawals and financial corrections? Rules and obligations for bodies involved Purpose and types of financial corrections Pre- and post-payments Reporting requirements New rules on treatment and reporting of irrecoverable amounts Recoveries and withdrawal workflow 17:15 Group Exercises How to Choose the Right Type of Financial Correction and how to Calculate the Rate of Corrections Speaker of Sessions 2 + 3: 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 17:45 End of Day 1 18:30 Boat tour and common dinner with all speakers and participants

4 Programme Day 2: Thursday, 23 May 2019 Session 4: Assurance Package for 2020 and Challenges with Annual Accounts 8:30 Introduction into the Assurance Package Regulatory framework What is the Assurance Package Requirements and obligations of involved actors Management declaration and annual summary (Managing Authority) Annual accounts (Certifying Authority) Audit opinion and annual control report (Audit Authority) Timing obligations for programming bodies and division of tasks 09:00 How to Draw up, Certify and Submit Annual Accounts to the EC: Exchange of Experiences from 2017, 2018 and 2019 Timeline for structure of annual accounts Preparation, documentation and reporting requirements Content of annual accounts Which information can be added after submission to the EC How to treat irregularities Planning the activities for upcoming months 10:00 Coffee Break 10:30 Practical Exercise on Annual Accounts Participants will be offered to go through the template for annual accounts and discuss on concrete examples, how to fill it in. 11:00 Audit of Annual Accounts 11:30 Workshop Regulatory framework Timeline for conducting audit of annual accounts Communication between certifying and audit authorities How to use results of system audits for the audit of accounts How to use results of audit of operations for the audit of accounts Final additional verifications of the draft certified accounts Audit opinion on the accounts 12:00 Lunch Break Session 5: Effective Management Verifications in ESI Funds 13:00 Guidance on Management Verifications Legal requirements Verification methodologies Delegation principles Timing / nature / frequency of verification 13:45 Administrative versus On-the-Spot Verifications Strategy and planning: Administrative versus on-the-spot verification Cooperation between Managing Authorities and Intermediate Bodies Segregation of duties Record-keeping and reporting requirements How to put together a verification methodology for on-the-spot checks How to deal with personnel and overhead costs? The importance of documentation in the verification process 15:00 Coffee Break 15:15 Group Exercises Verification of Simplified Cost Options 16:00 Group Exercises Verification of State aid and public procurement 16:30 Group Exercises 17:00 Workshop Verification of Eligibility of Expenditure Sampling and On-the-Spot Verification Speaker of Session 5: Simon Hannah, ERDF Compliance and Quality Assurance Manager, East of England ERDF Growth Delivery Team, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Cambridge 17:30 End of Day 2 Participants will go through the check list for audit of accounts and discuss in groups the most important issues to be checked and the common errors. Speakers of Session 4: Olga Guza, Deputy Director of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia Stavri Ttofa, Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus

5 Programme Day 3: Friday, 24 May 2019 Session 6: Combatting Fraud and Corruption in ESI Funds - Practical Insight 08:00 Requirements and Tools The anti-fraud cycle KR 7: Anti-Fraud Measures Instruments and methods for the prevention and detection of irregularities, fraud and corruption How to identify red flags of fraud and corruption? Cyber fraud Capability of IT tools: The obligatory fraud risk self-assessment tool and Arachne 08:45 Best practice Best practice from Latvia: cooperation between AFCOS and Audit Authority 09:00 Practical exercises How to conduct a (fraud) risk analysis with fraud risk self-assessment tool, and how to define effective and proportionate measures based on the outcome of that risk analysis. Speaker of Session 6: Inese Levana, Senior Auditor of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, AFCOS Member, Riga 09:30 Coffee Break Session 7: Audit of Simplified Cost Options 10:00 How to Ensure Good Cooperation between Managing and Audit Authorities? 10:30 Audit of Simplified Cost Options Using SCOs: Considerations for Audit Authorities Implications for the audit procedure: Audit of methodology Specific audit trail requirements Compliance with eligibility rules, public procurement and State aid rules Errors and irregularities in SCOs how to avoid them? 11:30 Practical Exercises and Group Work on Eligibility of Costs: How to Avoid Errors and Irregularities in SCO? Participants will work on practical exercises and will discuss different situations where SCO are being applied. Given the use of different options, participants will assess whether and why there is ground for an irregularity. Speakers of Session 7: Inese Levana, Senior Auditor of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, AFCOS Member, Riga Olga Guza, Deputy Director of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia 12:00 Lunch Break Session 9: Audit of Public Procurement and State Aid 13:00 Audit Findings in State Aid and Public Procurement Use of professional expert institutions in public procurement and State aid Public procurement and State aid errors detected and corrected during management verifications Audit findings in public procurement and State aid Practical examples 14:00 Practical examples of Audit findings in State aid and public procurement from the ongoing audits Using Arachne when auditing public procurement Speaker of Session 9: 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 14:15 Coffee Break Session 10: Audits by the European Court of Auditors 14:30 Audits by the European Court of Auditors Financial and compliance audits Performance Auditing Reasons & Objectives Performance audit approaches and methodologies Typical audit results/weaknesses in EU funded programmes 15:30 Case Study A Real-life Performance Audit Speaker of Session 10: Kurt Bungartz, Principal Auditor, European Court of Auditors, Luxembourg 16:00 End of Summer Course & Distribution of Certificates

6 Experts Kurt Bungartz Principal Auditor, European Court of Auditors, Luxembourg Kurt Bungartz (DE) He joined the European Court of Auditors in 1999 where he devoted the first ten years to conducting performance, compliance and financial audits of EU external action and development cooperation programmes with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as Northern Africa and the Near East. Since 2009, he has been leading various performance audit tasks in the field of EU energy policy and expenditure programmes (mainly co-financed by the Cohesion policy and Structural Funds instruments, Trans European Networks, IFI financed programmes, and research programmes (Research Framework programmes and Horizon 2020). Prior to his time as a senior Auditor at the Court, Mr Bungartz commenced his EU career at the European Commission in 1995 and had, previously, worked for the German Ministry of Finance. Mr Bungartz has comprehensive knowledge of and experience with EU policies, procedures and institutions, notably in the area of the budget as well as in the policy areas of external action/development cooperation; cohesion and regional and structural and investment funds (including implementation in the Member States); energy and climate; transport, environment, research as well as customs and fiscal policies. 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 Marina Mandac is responsible for audit of technical assistance projects in IPARD and for management and implementation of Technical Assistance projects of which the AA is beneficiary. She is participating in drafting and preparing quality control manual and procedures for ARPA Services; in monitoring and quality assurance of the respect of policies and procedures related to independence, integrity, impartiality, confidence and professional behaviour. She has profound experience in performing monitoring of audits performed by all services in ARPA, drafting accompanying reports and providing recommendations and as well in developing related checklists and working documentation. As an audit member she has participating in audit engagements of various IPA funds. She is responsible for audit of projects financed under Norwegian Financial Mechanism and EEA grants in the Republic of Croatia. Marinas responsibilities range over management and implementation of Twinning projects of which ARPA is beneficiary, fulfilling the functions of Risk Manager, Irregularity Officer and Publicity Officer to coordination and dissemination of irregularity alerts in the function of ARPA s representative in Croatian Anti-Fraud Coordinative Services network. Simon Hannah ERDF Compliance and Quality Assurance Manager, East of England ERDF Growth Delivery Team, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Cambridge Simon Hannah is currently responsible for the financial management and programme compliance of the East of England s ERDF programme. Since 2007 his main responsibilities have been the development and operation of the East of England s management and control systems and processes covering contract management, grant payments, irregularity handling, and project monitoring and verification functions. He has over 8 years experience in ERDF policy, programme development and delivery at both Managing Authority and Intermediate Body levels, and actively contributes to the English ERDF programmes national policies and in the establishment and review of national procedures and controls. Prior to the current round of programmes, since 2003 Mr Hannah was involved in the programmes for the Government Office, conducting on-the-spot verifications and desk based checks on EU funded projects, identifying and coordinating irregularity management information and reports.

7 Experts Stavri Ttofa Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA), with a BSc Hons in Management Sciences and Masters in Public Sector Management with more than 20 years of progressive work experience as a leader in control, auditing and compliance, with a background in multiple industries, company sizes, and subject matter. A track record of success with both large and small teams, focusing on providing value-added results, growing talent, improving processes and adding to the end result. 8 years of hands-on experience in external audit and compliance followed by a further 14 years of experience in risk management, control and process improvement in public sector entities involved in the management of co-financed Programmes. Diligent control of projects and schemes co-financed by the European Union Funds to ensure financial accountability, transparency and timely implementation, in accordance with relevant national and European Union Legislation and to prevent the loss of Funds through irregularities. Fundamental role in the design of the Management and Control System for the Funds in Cyprus, through developing guidelines, providing the respective user requirements for the development of the Monitoring Information System and ensuring compliance with regulative requirements, training responsible officials of entities involved in the administration of the Funds and providing on-going assistance for the smooth implementation of the Operational Programmes. Responsible for redesigning and simplifying the system of controls (including through the development of simplified cost option methodologies), reformulating the authorities involved in the management of Funds and the MIS to enhance flexibility and proportionality of available resources, speed up the delivery of the programmes by reducing the time lag between payments effected for project implementation and recovery of funds from the European Union and limit the administration costs. Head of the Self-Assessment Team responsible for undertaking the fraud risk assessment exercise and development of the action plan with measures to mitigate the fraud risks identified Olga Guza Deputy Director of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia is Senior Expert in the Audit Authority for ESF, ERDF, CF and other financial mechanisms. She has been working in the area of auditing EU Funds since She started as an internal auditor for auditing the EU pre-accession instruments and continued performing and managing system audits of the EU Funds. Her current responsibilities are related to the quality control for the Audit Authority s work. She also is responsible for the management of EU Funds Technical Assistance project for the Audit Authority, including budget planning, management of the implementation of the Technical Assistance project, budget monitoring and participation in procurement procedures necessary for the implementation of the Technical Assistance project. In 2014 she also participated as an expert in a Twinning project with Croatia Strengthening the competence of public internal auditors in the Republic of Croatia in auditing Cohesion and Structural Funds in line with the best EU practice.

8 Experts Inese Levana Senior Auditor of EU Funds Audit Department, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, AFCOS Member, Riga Inese Levana works in the Audit Authority for EU Funds at the Ministry of Finance in Latvia. The Department is acting also as Anti-fraud Coordination Service (AFCOS) member in Latvia ensuring cooperation between ministries and authorities in matters concerning the protection of EU financial interests. Inese has been focusing on structural funds audits, specifically on programming period designation process and system audits on MA and IB levels. Significant part of the current period system audits is devoted to effective implementation of proportionate anti-fraud measures. Main anti-fraud measures subject to her audits have included fraud risk assessment, preventive and detective measures, red flags, follow-up processes, usage of tools. Prior to EU funds audits, she has also worked with Ernst & Young Baltic office risk advisory services, which included a range of assignments in public sector in Latvia. 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 Irena Vrkljan Didić currently holds the position of Head of Independent Service for Methodology and Quality Assurance in Agency for Audit of European Union Programmes Implementation System (Croatian Audit Authority). She has been working in the area of auditing EU Funds since She started as an auditor for auditing the EU preaccession instrument (IPA IV Human Resources Development) and continued performing audits of the EU Funds (ESF). Her responsibilities on the current position are audit of projects financed under Norwegian Financial Mechanism and EEA Financial Mechanism in the Republic of Croatia and management and implementation of Technical Assistance projects of which the AA is beneficiary.

9 Registration Venue Kapitel 8 Klarabergsviadukten 90 Stockholm, Sweden Phone marie@kapitel8.se Participation fee YES, I would like to participate for the reduced fee for public authorities EUR 2.230,00 (excl. VAT). YES, I would like to participate for the regular fee of EUR 2.630,00 (excl. VAT). 25% Swedish VAT will be added where applicable. The participation fees include the workshop material, drinks and snacks during the breaks and lunch. Newsletter subscription Please send me information about Structural and Investment Funds issues for free. I may unsubscribe from this service any time. Cancellations Cancellations should be made in writing per post or fax. Please note that the full fee will be charged for cancellations received after 07 May Nomination of a substitute remains possible. A cancellation arising by reason of too small a number of participants is effected no later than two weeks prior to the seminar. In this case the participation fee will be refunded. A requirement for reimbursement of travel and accommodationexpensesaswellaslossofworkinghoursisnotpossible, unless such costs result from wantonly negligent or deliberate behaviour on the part of the organiser. For more detailed information, scope and conduct of contract as well as cancellation policy, please check the Terms & Conditions on our website. Please register with: Anya Zuschke Lexxion Publisher Güntzelstr Berlin, Germany Phone: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) E mail: zuschke@lexxion.eu online: Name Position, Department Company Name Address Address Phone, Fax E Mail VAT Reg. No. Date, Signature Upcoming Events Technical Assistance: How to Prepare for the Upcoming Period Intensive Workshop May 2019 Budapest (Hungary) Which costs are eligible in Technical Assistance and which are non-eligible? What kind of support can be delivered to beneficiaries with Technical Assistance money? What are the impacts and effectiveness in monitoring the delivery of Technical Assistance in Member States? All these topics will be discussed in the 2-day intensive workshop. Summer Course on Irregularities and Fraud in Public Procurement 5-7 June Lake Como (near Milan), Italy During this Summer Course you will learn about differences between errors, irregularities and fraud, about common types of irregularities, about irregularities resulted from State aid, about simplified cost options and irregularities, and how to proceed with irregularities and financial corrections. The second day will be devoted to anti-fraud cycle and detecting and combating of fraud in management of ESI Funds. Irregularities and Fraud, resulted from Public Procurement will be the topic of the third day. Finally we will discuss remedial actions to be undertaken in order to prevent irregularities and fraud in any form. For more information on any of our events please visit: