Commission audit chief to be an outsider

Date: 09/03/2000

By Simon Taylor

The European Commission is planning to recruit the head of its new internal audit service from outside the administration after failing to find a suitably qualified candidate within its own ranks.

After searching among existing staff for a high-calibre official to fill the post, the Commission has decided that the service should be headed by an external candidate to ensure it is run by a "world-class auditor".

"We are setting the bar very high because this will be a flagship service and our safety net. Professional auditing qualifications are hard to find in the Commission at the moment," explained one official, who added that there would also be a special procedure for recruiting auditing experts to work in the service.

The search for new staff is getting under way as Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer prepares to unveil detailed plans next week for the new service, which will be tasked with minimising the risk of fraud in EU spending. The full Commission is also due to approve proposals to create a new Centralised Financial Service (CFS), which will advise directors-general and all staff dealing with financial decisions.

Under Vice-President Neil Kinnock's reform plans, the existing directorate-general for financial control will be abolished, to be replaced by the internal audit and central financial services, with individual directorates-general taking on responsibility for financial decisions. This reflects Kinnock's determination to foster a new culture of responsibility within the institution.

The new internal audit service will have about 60 staff and the CFS 40, compared to the 260 who currently work in the existing financial control and audit directorate-general. But individual departments will also get additional experienced auditing personnel through redeployment and new recruitment.

Kinnock regards the new audit service, which will report to him, as a key element of his strategy to improve the Commission's ability to stamp out fraud and spend taxpayers' money more effectively. The move comes a year after the committee of wisemen's report on the failings of the Santer administration severely criticised the institution's financial controls.

The White Paper on internal reform unveiled last week states that the role of the internal audit service will be to "control risks, monitor compliance, advise on the quality of management and controls systems, make recommendations for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of operations and ensuring that Commission resources are used cost-effectively".

While the search for someone to lead this service has moved outside, officials say the head of the CFS will probably be recruited from within the Commission.

While both bodies will officially begin work on 1 May, Commission officials say it could take until the end of the year to fill all the vacancies.

The European Commission is planning to recruit the head of its new internal audit service from outside the administration after failing to find a suitably qualified candidate within its own ranks.