Understanding the roles and functions of Certifying and

Understanding the roles and functions of Certifying and Audit Authorities in European Territorial Cooperation Programmes Lisbon, 28/29 April 2009 Experience of a Certifying Authority Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Summary § IFDR - Financial Institute for Regional Development § IFDR - Certifying Authority Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI Mission § Executes regional development policy through the financial coordination of the community structural funds and of the Cohesion Fund. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

IFDR - Financial Institute for Regional Development Main responsabilities § National financial coordination of the Structural Funds § National coordination for operational monitoring and management of the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund § Payment Authority / Certifying Authority § Payment entity for ERDF and CF. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

IFDR - Financial Institute for Regional Development The organizational model The organs Flexible Structure, based on § Directive Council § Units § Statutory Auditor § Groups § Project Teams Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

IFDR - Financial Institute for Regional Development Statutory Auditor Support for Institutional Management Legal Support and Litigation Directive Council Information Systems Financial Coordination of Operational Management Certification Control and Audit Financial and Asset Administration IS NSRF Programming and Financial Monitoring Support for Operational Management ERDF and Cohesion Fund Planning and Programming Human Resources SIFEC Monitoring and Evaluation Territorial Cooperation and Community Initiatives Control of Expense Declarations Audit Financial Management Internal IS Internal Audit Communication Technical Documentation Body Unit Group Temporary project team Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

IFDR - Financial Institute for Regional Development Statutory Auditor Directive Council Vice-Chairman Support for Institutional Management Legal Support and Litigation Information Systems Financial and Asset Administration Chairman Financial Coordination Vice-Chairman Coordination of Operational Management Certification Control and Audit IS NSRF Programming and Financial Monitoring Support for Operational Management ERDF and Cohesion Fund Planning and Programming Human Resources SIFEC Monitoring and Evaluation Territorial Cooperation and Community Initiatives Control of Expense Declarations Audit Financial Management Internal IS Internal Audit Communication Technical Documentation Body Unit Group ERDF TA OP Technical Secretariat Temporary project team Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Directive Council Chairman Vice-Chairman Payment Control and Audit Internal Audit Certification Support for Institutional Management Control and Audit Certification Unit Vice-Chairman Function IFDR - Financial Institute for Regional Development Internal Audit Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Unit Function IFDR - Certifying Authority Community Rules Payment Support for Institutional Management National Correspondent Coordination of Operational Management Certification Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

IFDR - Certifying Authority Community Rules Summary Chart MA CA AA PT/ES ES PT PT ES ENPI IT IT IT Atlantic Area PT PT PT SUDOE ES ES ES MAC ES PT PT ES MED FR FR FR IV C FR FR FR INTERACT SK SK SK Cross-Border A Transnational B Inter-regional C Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

IFDR - Certifying Authority Community Rules Functions as Certifying Authority § Drawing up and submitting to the Commission certified statements of expenditure and applications for payment; Certifying that: § the statement of expenditure is accurate, results from reliable accounting systems and is based on verifiable supporting documents; § the expenditure declared complies with applicable Community and national rules and has been incurred in respect of operations selected; Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

IFDR - Certifying Authority Community Rules Functions as Certifying Authority § Ensuring for the purposes of certification that it has received adequate information from the managing authority on the procedures and verifications carried out in relation to expenditure included in statements of expenditure; In the description of the management and control systems are defined the information to be provided by the MA – Certificate – Statement of expenditure by priority axis – list of projects Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

IFDR - Certifying Authority Community Rules Functions as Certifying Authority § Taking account for certification purposes the results of all audits carried out by or under the responsibility of the audit authority; § Maintaining accounting records in computerised form of expenditure declared to the Commission; § Keeping an account of amounts recoverable and of amounts withdrawn following cancellation of all or part of the contribution for an operation. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Functions as Certifying Authority § Providing an Information System of ERDF and Cohesion Fund; § An integrated and modular system, to simplify procedures and to enable the flow of information, fully coherent with the European Commission SFC 2007 information system; § A system providing communication and integration with the information systems of the MA and AA, supported on Web services. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Separation of Functions Directive Council Vice-Chairman Certification ERDF and Cohesion Fund Staff Control of Statements of Expenditure Staff Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Groups: ERDF and Cohesion Fund Responsible for technical and financial analysis by checking the reception of claims and their completeness (numerical checks), and for drawing up of statements of expenditure and proposing their submission to the Commission. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Groups: Control of Statements of Expenditure Responsible for checking the substance of the information provided (checks of conformity with the community law, assessement of management verifications carried out by the Managing Authority and Intermediate Bodies, review of the results of audits carried out by the Audit Authority, etc). Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Workflow Technical and financial analysis and control of statements of expenditure Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Workflow Certified statements of expenditure and applications for payment Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority The Certifying Authority will: § Reconcile the amount declared with the relevant accounting and monitoring documents; § Check results of the compliance assessment related to the programme management and control systems description; § Check control and audit reports of the Audit Authority, and ensure that negative findings have been satisfactorily addressed. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority In addition, the Certifying Authority, in the scope of Control of Statements of Expenditure, can also Audit the procedures carried out by the Managing Authority, using an appropriate sample of projects, to ensure that: § Projects are selected in accordance with the criteria defined in the programme; § Expenditure declared has actually been incurred and complies with Community and national rules; § An adequate audit trail is held in accordance with the regulation requirements; § Irregularities are prevented, detected, and the necessary correcting measures are provided. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Certification Unit – Additional Tasks § Forecast of payment requests; § Centralised accounting and reporting on withdrawals and recoveries. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Forecast for Payment At the latest by 30 April each year, the Certifying Authority shall send to the Commission a provisional forecast of their likely applications for payment for the current financial year and the subsequent financial year. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Withdrawn and Recovered Amounts and Pending Recoveries By 31 March each year as from 2008, the Certifying Authority shall send to the Commission a statement identifying for each priority axis of the operational programme: the amounts withdrawn from statements of expenditure submitted during the preceding year following cancellation of all or part of the public contribution for an operation. the amounts recovered which have been deducted from those statements of expenditure; a statement of amounts to be recovered as at 31 December of the preceding year, classified by the year in which recovery orders were issued. Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Financial Flows Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Certifying Authority Financial Flows Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI

Thank you for your attention! More information at your disposal or for specific requests www. qca. pt uc@ifdr. pt Financial Institute for Regional Development, PI