Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Annual report to the Discharge Authority on internal audits carried out in 2012 (Article 99(5) of the Financial Regulation)

This report on the work carried out by the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) informs the Discharge Authority, as required by Article 99(5) of the Financial Regulation. It is based on the report that the Commission’s Internal Auditor drew up under Article 99(3) of the Regulation, regarding IAS audit- and consulting reports completed in 2012 on Commission Directorates-General, Services and Executive Agencies. It describes the identified weaknesses and action taken to remedy these, and includes information on significant risk exposure, control issues and governance aspects.

The mission of the IAS is to contribute to sound management in the European Commission by auditing internal management and control systems to assess their effectiveness with a view to achieving on-going improvements. The IAS is under the authority of the Member of the Commission responsible for Audit and is accountable to the APC. The independence of the IAS is enshrined in the Financial Regulation and its Mission Charter adopted by the Commission. The IAS performs its work in accordance with the Financial Regulation and the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing and the Code of Ethics of the Institute of Internal Auditors.

The IAS does not audit the Member States’ systems of control over the Commission’s funds. Such audits, which reach down to the level of individual beneficiaries, are carried out by Member States’ internal auditors, national Audit Authorities, other individual Commission DGs and the European Court of Auditors (ECA). The IAS does, however, audit measures taken by the Commission services to supervise and audit bodies in the Member States, and other bodies which are responsible for disbursing EU funds, such as the United Nations. As provided for in the Financial Regulation, the IAS can carry-out these duties on the spot, including in the Member States.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)606: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:606:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)314: Summary of executive summaries - Internal audit engagements finalised by the IAS in 2012 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:314:FIN

---