Are International Audit Standards useful for First Level Control

Are International Audit Standards useful for First Level Control? Some lessons learnt from the INTERACT workshop on International Audit Standards and First Level Control by Susanne Volz, Financial Control Expert Much has been said by the European Commission and by Member States on requirements for the work of the Audit Authority in the programming period 2007-2013. Compared to this, it has been remarkably quiet when it came to the requirements of First Level Control to be fulfilled by Member States, Managing Authorities and First Level Controllers. By and large responsible bodies are free to choose their own solution for structure, reporting lines and control provisions, provided they stay within the flexible boundaries of the Regulations such as those of Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 and Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1828/2006. As there is a high variety of management and control systems throughout the EU-27, flexibility is important. However, many important questions remain unanswered, even though a Guidance Note on Management Verifications was 1released in June 2008. The Guidance Note on Management Verifications clarifies some of the legal requirements in such a way that the enormous control requirements are somewhat downsized. The specific nature, timing and extent of the verification work to be performed is, however, largely left to the individual programmes putting much pressure on Member States and Managing Authorities to ...