Financial Management and Audit of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds: Key issues for 2021-2027

How have Programme Finance, Financial Management and Audit rules changed for the new 2021-2027 period? What are the key live issues for finance, control and audit at present and how are these likely to evolve in the future? What do new Programmes look like and have they taken advantage of the new, extraordinary financial flexibilities?

About this course

How have Programme Finance, Financial Management and Audit rules changed for the new 2021-2027 period? What are the key live issues for finance, control and audit at present and how are these likely to evolve in the future? What do new Programmes look like and have they taken advantage of the new, extraordinary financial flexibilities?

This course will compare the Financial Management and Audit rules between the 2014-2020 and the 2021-2027 programming periods. There will be a special focus on financial planning, increasing the use of Simplified Costs Options, anti-fraud measures and protecting the audit trail.

We will also ask what financial management and audit lessons the new Structural Funds programmes and the new national RRF plans can learn from the 2014-2020 Cohesion Policy programming period.

What will you learn:

  • Dermot Byrne, a leading Member State audit practitioner, will underline how control and audit differ, looking in detail at the audit of accounts, systems and operations for 2021-2027, and highlight key audit issues for Cohesion Policy and the RRF.
  • Using ARACHNE may become a requirement for some projects in the future. Krzysztof Iwanski, the European Commission’s ARACHNE IT Project Manager, will explain and illustrate how ARACHNE works and how you can use it.
  • We will look at how to complete the Simplified Cost Options section of the new programme template.
  • We will look at a sample of new Programmes and examine the special link between finance and performance; we will also look at the Reporting template for the new programmes and how will you report programme progress.
  • Finally, we take a special look at the urgent actions of the RRF (as well as under the CARE, FAST-CARE and REPowerEU initiative) and the live issues of project selection, financial control and audit.

Course methodology/highlights:

We aim to make the course as interactive as possible. Participants will have ample opportunity to exchange views informally on the course topics. Workshops and exercises will be used to help participants get to grips with practical tools and methodologies.

This course is intended for:

  • Managers and practitioners from managing authorities (Managing, Certifying and Audit authorities, Accounting Functions) whether they are national, regional or local authorities; and from other public bodies of EU Member States (and associated countries) working with Structural Funds
  • Economic and social partners /stakeholders working with the Structural and Investment Funds, such as employers’ associations, consultants, NGOs, education bodies etc.

Online Course
For this online course we make use of Zoom

Programme Organiser
Ms Rafaella Giussani
Tel: +31 43 32 96 372
r.giussani@eipa.eu

Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a 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.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies

Early bird discount
The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.

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.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

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 € 50 for cancellations received within 7 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants.

EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 1 week before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed.

A few days before the start of the course you will receive the log-in details for accessing the course materials. You can log in here.

Download the brochure

I have a question

Our experts

Expert Robin Smail
Project leader

Robin Smail

Robin Smail Training & Consultancy
Dermot Byrne

Dermot Byrne

Former Head of ERDF Audit Authority Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in the Republic of Ireland

Programme

08.40 Opening of ZOOM platform
09.00 Welcome of participants, opening of the online course, Tour de Table
Marco Lopriore, Expert, EIPA, Maastricht
09.15 The New Regulations, 2021-2027: policy context and highlights for financial management and audit

  • The new legal framework of CPR regulation and EC guidance
  • Use of funds to react to emergency responses and the new RepowerEU initiative
  • Protecting the EU budget, Integrity Pacts and the Rule of Law mechanism
  • New EU initiatives on conflict of interest, corruption and whistleblowing

Marco Lopriore

10.00 Break-out rooms: financial allocations
10.20 Coffee break
10.35 The new programmes, 2021-2027

  • Partnership Agreement, programme structure, justifying priorities, financial allocations
  • conditionality, concentration, use of funding instruments
  • new financial flexibilities
  • from Programme template to new Programmes

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

11.20 Coffee break
11.45 Discussion: your Financial Management issues
12.00 The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)

  • Comparing financial management and audit between Cohesion and RRF
  • EC guidance in control and audit frameworks for Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)
  • RRF serious irregularities: double funding, prevention of fraud and corruption and conflict of interests

Marco Lopriore

12.30 Programme Finance

  • the new programmes and programme finance
  • financial planning, commitments, automatic de-commitment

Robin Smail

13.00 Question and answer session
13.15 End of first day
12.45 ZOOM Platform opens
13.00 Financial Management

  • pre-financing, interim payments, technical assistance
  • the accounting year and calculation of the annual balance
  • financial information, financial control
  • timetables for payments, reporting and closure

Robin Smail

13.40 EXERCISE: management verifications and project risks
Robin Smail
14.00 Short break
14.10 Efficient financial management with Simplified Cost Options in 2021-2027

  • The two levels system of SCO
  • Combinations of flat-rates, unit costs and lumpsums
  • EU level SCO in ESF+ and ERDF
  • Financing not linked to costs

Marco Lopriore

14.55 Break-out rooms: audit and control of flat-rates

  • Errors in methods and application of flat rates for different cost categories
  • verifications steps in using flat-rates

Marco Lopriore

15.30 Coffee break & meet Guest Speaker
15.45 Control and Audit of Structural Funds, 2014-2020 and 2021-2027

  • Management and Control Systems (MCS), audit of systems, new Key Requirements
  • annual Accounts – preparation, audit and acceptance by Commission
  • audits of operations, sampling, changes for 2021-2027

DISCUSSION: your most frequent audit issues, and simplifying audit work

  • protecting the audit trail for REACT-EU projects
  • audit issues for RRF

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

17.10 End of second day
08.45 Opening of ZOOM platform
09.00 Eligibility of Expenditure

  • Review of changes in eligibility of ERDF, CF and ESF+
  • Highlight on direct staff costs, VAT, durability and relocation, location, and visibility
  • New flat-rates for technical assistance
  • Compliance with State Aid and Do No Significant Harm Principle (DNSH)
  • most common errors: direct or indirect costs? Time-keeping records? Double-funding? Synergies with other grants?

Marco Lopriore

09.55 Break-out rooms: eligible expenditures
Marco Lopriore
10.30 Coffee break & meet Guest speaker
10.50 Anti-fraud: using the ARACHNE system

  • What is ARACHNE? Objectives and benefits
  • ARACHNE overview – Data sources and dataflow, State of the play in the Member States, basic concepts of Arachne
  • Risk indicators and categories, risk scoring principles
  • experiences, cases, lessons learned

Wim Smets, Team Leader ARACHNE DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Unit F5 – Information Technologies, European Commission, Brussels (BE)

11.50 Short Coffee Break
12.00 Measuring Value for Money / Evaluation questions
Robin Smail
12.15 Programme Finance and Programme Performance

  • programme performance, the project pipeline, project selection
  • monitoring and reporting performance
  • finance and performance: the new Performance Framework, output and result indicators
  • reporting performance: new Reporting template
  • evaluation and Value-for-Money (VfM)

Robin Smail

13.00 Question and answer session
13.05 Evaluation feedback from participants
13.15 End of course

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Financial Management and Audit of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds: Key Issues for 2021-2027

19 Sep 2023 - 21 Sep 2023
Online
English

Simultaneous interpretation can be offered. Contact the programme organizer for more information and conditions.

SKU: 2330207
Register before: 12 Sep 2023
 700 per attendee
 630 for EIPA members
Registration closed

Discount policy

EIPA offers a 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.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Early bird discount

For a limited number of training courses, EIPA offers an early bird discount.

For more information please contact us.

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SKU: 2330207
Register before: 12 Sep 2023

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