Financial Management and Control of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds: Management Verifications, the Audit Trail and the New Draft Regulations 2021-2027, Maastricht

Maastricht
© Kevin Bergenhenegouwen / PDC
date November 27, 2019
city Maastricht
organisation European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) i

What are the key issues for Financial Control and what do the new (draft) Regulations mean for Financial Management and Financial Control in 2021-2027? How are we presently trying to reduce the administrative burden of Management Verifications and what is envisaged for the next programming period?

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SKU: 1930205 Categories: EU Policies, Law and Practice, EU Structural Funds Tags: audit trail, EU Structural and Cohesion Fund, EU Structural and Cohesion Funds, EU Structural Funds, financial management, financial management and control programmes and projects, OP

About this seminar

How can authorities minimise the administrative burden of Management Verifications and still protect the audit trail? What changes can be made in 2021-2027?

This seminar examines the Financial Management, Financial Control and Audit for Operational Programmes in the 2014-2020 period and looks forward to 2021-2027 and how the new Regulations will have an impact on these areas. There will be a special focus on management verifications and simplification, the most frequent audit issues, and financial planning in programmes.

How we work

Participants will work with live issues and practical solutions for challenges in the fields of financial management, financial control and audit. They will enjoy quality speakers from Member States’ authorities, as well as regional experts and consultants.

The seminar will include numerous workshops and exercise sessions where examples and case studies will be presented. Participants will be encouraged to exchange practical examples, experiences and good practice in managing EU Structural Funds.

Participants are invited to send us their problems, issues and questions before the seminar, if they wish. We will do our best to address the problems / answer the questions during the seminar!

Who will benefit most?

This seminar is intended for practitioners from national, regional and local authorities and from other public bodies of EU Member States (and associated countries) working with ESI Funds. The seminar is also open to economic and social partners working with the Structural and Investment Funds, such as universities, NGOs, employers’ associations, consultants.

What our previous participants said

  • Grazie per il corso, è stato meraviglioso!
  • Thank you very much again for last two days, I really enjoyed it and I also learned a lot.

What you will learn in this course

  • How to make management verifications simpler and more efficient
  • Good solutions for the more problematic areas of management verifications
  • How to guarantee the eligibility of expenditure, without gold-plating
  • How best to use the range of Simplified Cost Options and what are the verification and audit issues arising
  • the changes in the new OMNIBUS regulation
  • how control and audit differ
  • how to conduct audits of accounts, systems and operations
  • how to deal with risk, irregularities and corrections
  • proposed changes to financial tables and financial planning
  • changes to the accounting year and the calculation of the annual balance

Marco Lopriore (IT)

EU Funds

Robin Smail

EU Structural Funds - External Expert

Practical information

Course venue

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA)

O.L. Vrouweplein 22

6211 HE, Maastricht

the Netherlands

Programme Organiser

Ms Winny Curfs

Tel: + 31 43 3296320

w.curfs@eipa.eu

Fee

The fee includes documentation and refreshments. Lunches, a reception or dinner are included if mentioned in the programme. Accommodation and travel costs are at the expense of the participants or their administration.

Discounts

EIPA offers a 10% discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.

Who are the supporting countries?

Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Meals

Lunches, the reception or dinner will be served at a restaurant in town. Special dietary requirements (e.g. vegetarian, diabetic) can be indicated once you receive the confirmation of the seminar.

Hotel reservations

EIPA has special price arrangements with a number of hotels. All hotels are within 10 minutes walking distance from EIPA. Should you wish to make use of this possibility, please book directly via the links below. Payment is to be made directly and personally to the hotel upon checking out. At the time of booking, please mention in the requested field the EIPA project number for your course.

Payment

Prior payment is a condition for participation.

Cancellation policy

For administrative reasons you will be charged €150 for cancellations received within 15 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants.

EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 2 weeks before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed. EIPA accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred (travel, accommodation, etc.).

The programme

 

08.30

Registration of participants

09.00

Welcome of participants and opening of the conference

Marco Lopriore, Expert, EIPA Maastricht

09.10

The new draft Regulations, 2021-2027: policy context and highlights

  • The new unified legal framework of CPR
  • Link to the European Semester and National Reform Programmes
  • Simpler and more flexible rules, synergies between policy instruments

Marco Lopriore

09.30

Programme Finance, Financial Management and Control: moving from 2014-2020 to 2021-2027

  • the new programmes and finances
  • programme finance, financial planning, commitments, automatic de-commitment
  • pre-financing, interim payments and relationship to n+3
  • the accounting year and calculation of the annual balance

Robin Smail, Visiting Expert EIPA, Consultant, (and former Detached National Expert, EC)

10.45

Coffee break

11.15

Programme Finance, Financial Management and Control (contd).

  • financial information, financial control
  • timetables for payments, reporting and closure

Robin Smail

11.30

Financial Management and Control Issues, Management Verifications and the eligibility of projects and expenditures

  • simplification of the administrative burden, 2014-2020 and 2021-2027
  • efficient management and on-the-spot verifications
  • impact of simplified cost options on management verifications
  • verification of public procurement, state aid rules
  • eligibility of expenditure issues, in-kind contributions, durability of operations etc.

Maeve Hamilton, ERDF/ESF Managing Authority, Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland

13.00

Lunch break

14.30

Workshop and discussion: management verifications

  • in-kind contributions
  • ERDF and ESF cases
  • Member State issues - discussion

Maeve Hamilton

16.00

Coffee break

16.30

Control and Audit of Structural Funds, 2014-2020 and 2021-2027

  • management and control systems (MCS)
  • key challenges for the authorities
  • risk assessment and risk mitigation
  • most frequent problems and the ECA viewpoint eg. public procurement
  • anti-fraud measures
  • simplification in 2021-2027

Dermot Byrne, ERDF Audit Authority, Department of Public Expenditure Reform, Dublin

18.00

Question and answer session

18.15

End of first day

18.30

Reception, Hotel Derlon

 

09.15

Simplified Cost Options and extending simplification in 2021-2027

  • current legal provisions for SCO and the OMNIBUS regulation
  • EC proposals for further simplified costs options

Marco Lopriore, Expert, EIPA

10.00

Workshop: simplified costs options

  • Verifications when using flat rates
  • Verifications in using standard scales of unit costs and lumpsums

Marco Lopriore

10.45

Coffee break

11.15

Audit of accounts, systems and operations

  • annual Accounts - preparation, audit and acceptance by Commission
  • audits of systems
  • audits of operations (and sampling procedures)
  • calculating error rates for programmes
  • simplifying audit work
  • irregularities and corrections

Dermot Byrne

12.45

Lunch break

14.00

Programme Finance, Financial Management and Control (contd).

  • timetables for payments, reporting and closure
  • the new Performance Framework: output and result indicators: exercise
  • monitoring and reporting performance

Robin Smail

15.30

Coffee break

15.45

Simplification and Eligibility of Expenditure: outstanding issues

  • OMNIBUS changes to eligibility of expenditure
  • exercises

Marco Lopriore, Expert, EIPA Maastricht

16.30

Evaluation of seminar

16.35

Close of seminar

The detailed programme of this course will be available soon.

Course venue

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA)

O.L. Vrouweplein 22

6211 HE, Maastricht

the Netherlands

Programme Organiser

Ms Winny Curfs

Tel: + 31 43 3296320

w.curfs@eipa.eu

Fee

The fee includes documentation and refreshments. Lunches, a reception or dinner are included if mentioned in the programme. Accommodation and travel costs are at the expense of the participants or their administration.

Discounts

EIPA offers a 10% discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.

Who are the supporting countries?

Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Meals

Lunches, the reception or dinner will be served at a restaurant in town. Special dietary requirements (e.g. vegetarian, diabetic) can be indicated once you receive the confirmation of the seminar.

Hotel reservations

EIPA has special price arrangements with a number of hotels. All hotels are within 10 minutes walking distance from EIPA. Should you wish to make use of this possibility, please book directly via the links below. Payment is to be made directly and personally to the hotel upon checking out. At the time of booking, please mention in the requested field the EIPA project number for your course.

Confirmation

Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.

Payment

Prior payment is a condition for participation.

Cancellation policy

For administrative reasons you will be charged €150 for cancellations received within 15 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants.

EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 2 weeks before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed. EIPA accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred (travel, accommodation, etc.).


1.

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA)

Het Europees instituut voor bestuurskunde (beter bekend als The European Institute of Public Administration - ofwel EIPA) streeft ernaar om de kennis van ambtenaren die zich met de EU bezighouden te vergroten door het ontwikkelen en organiseren van trainingen. Het instituut wil wetenschappelijke kennis en praktische 'know–how' met elkaar verbinden. EIPA bestaat al meer dan 35 jaar.

Het hoofdkantoor van EIPA is gevestigd in Maastricht en heeft dependances in Luxemburg en Barcelona. Gemiddeld nemen 14.000 nationale en Europese ambtenaren per jaar deel aan de trainingen. Daarnaast biedt EIPA ook consultancy, onderzoek en op maat gemaakte programma’s/trainingen aan. Bij EIPA werken circa 120 hoogopgeleide medewerkers.

2.

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