1. page 1 Audit of EU-Funds in Austria Presentation to a Delegation of the Provincial Secretariat for Finance, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia

2. 16. Dezember 2008 page 2 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Audit of EU-Funds in Austria ex EC Basic Principles  Art 248 (1) of the EC-Treaty: The external auditor of the EU budget is the European Court of Auditor (ECA).  Annual Statement of Assurance (“DAS” - financial audit) and performance audits  ECA performs its own audits directly on the spot.  About 85 % of EU-expenditure is spent in shared- management between the Commission and the EU-Member States (MS).  Art 248 (3) of the EC-Treaty: ECA audits in liaison with national audit bodies; cooperation in a spirit of trust while maintaining independence

3. 16. Dezember 2008 page 3 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Audit of EU-Funds in Austria Role of the ACA has vital interest in working together to improve sound and efficient management of EU-funds General EU Budget 2008 - EUR 120,3 billion Shared management in:  around 44 % natural ressources - agriculture  around 42 % sustainable growth - structural funds EUR 2,2 billion of EU-funds received by Austria in 2007 Austria is net contributor

4. 16. Dezember 2008 page 4 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Audit of EU-Funds in Austria ECA - ACA cooperation in practice information on planned audits ACA takes normally part in the audits of the ECA  by performing own audits in parallel  by accompanying as observer  added value for both sides performs its own EU-related audits publishes an EU-Financial Report

5. 16. Dezember 2008 page 5 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Audit of EU-Funds in Austria Coordinated Audits with other SAIs To exchange experiences and promote knowledge transfer  Common audit plan  Use of comparable audit criteria  Common conclusions & recommendations  Joint report Examples

6. 16. Dezember 2008 page 6 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Audit of EU-Funds in Austria Contact Committee (CC) declaration contained in Treaty of Nice structure  annual meeting of the Heads of the EU SAIs and the ECA  bi-annual meetings of the Liasion Officers  Working Groups, Task forces, Networks

7. 16. Dezember 2008 page 7 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Audit of EU-Funds in Austria Examples of active participation by ACA within the CC network Working Group on Structural Funds (SF) III: Audit on the performance of the SF programmes in the areas of employment and/or environment Working Group on Common Auditing Standards and Comparable Audit Criteria  to develop common auditing standards and criteria  based on internationally recognised auditing standards  tailored for the EU area  both in the field of compliance and performance audits

8. 16. Dezember 2008 page 8 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Audit of EU-Funds in Austria EU-Financial Report 2007 To provide information on the EU-budget and the use of EU-funds in Austria Target group: National and Regional Assemblies and the public No specific audit for the purpose of the report Consultation of competent authorities in Austria Published in Summer 2007

9. 16. Dezember 2008 page 9 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Audit of EU-Funds in Austria LINKS ACA: http://www.rechnungshof.gv.at http://www.rechnungshof.gv.at Reports on coordinated audits: http://www.rechnungshof.gv.at/internationales/kooperationen.html

10. 16. Dezember 2008 page 10 Margit Margit SPINDELEGGER Thank you for your attention! Audit of EU-Funds in Austria