# CE2004088EN.01000101.xml

| 8.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 88/1 |
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8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 88/1

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(2004/C 88 E/0001)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2236/02

by Gabriele Stauner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 July 2002)

Subject:   Award of Commission contracts to audit firms

Subject:

I gather from Mrs Schreyer's answer to Written Questions E-0372/02, P-0443/02 and E-0450/02 (1) that the Commission awarded contracts in 1999-2001 for a total value of EUR 77 million to the private auditing firms of KPMG, Andersen Group, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

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| 1. | Can the Commission provide me with a full and detailed list of these contracts, stating for each one:






  (a) | the subject of the contract; |
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1.

Can the Commission provide me with a full and detailed list of these contracts, stating for each one:

(a)

the subject of the contract;

| (b) | the agreed fee; |
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(b)

the agreed fee;

| (c) | whether the contract was the subject of a proper tendering procedure in accordance with the Financial Regulation? |
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(c)

whether the contract was the subject of a proper tendering procedure in accordance with the Financial Regulation?

| 2. | Can the Commission explain why contracts of this magnitude were given to private firms, even though the Commission has its own audit services and is also subject to detailed auditing by the European Court of Auditors? |
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2.

Can the Commission explain why contracts of this magnitude were given to private firms, even though the Commission has its own audit services and is also subject to detailed auditing by the European Court of Auditors?

Supplementary answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(26 April 2004)

(26 April 2004)

| 1. | Management of contracts is the responsibility of the local contract managers within each Directorate-General (DG). The decentralised organisation of contract management has proved to be the most efficient approach as local managers have the information on requirements and conditions that govern the execution of individual contracts. Each service is responsible for ensuring that proper tendering procedures are adhered to.
  In view of the volume of information requested and the time needed to analyse the files, the data requested by the Honourable Member are not currently available.
  However, the Commission has decided to develop a central contracts and contractors database, Interactive Contracts Network Database (ICON-DB). The work is progressing well. Centralised and consolidated statistics, broken down by Commission department, will thus be available, in due course, more rapidly.
  The Honourable Member may be aware of the tight staffing situation in the Commission. |
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1.

Management of contracts is the responsibility of the local contract managers within each Directorate-General (DG). The decentralised organisation of contract management has proved to be the most efficient approach as local managers have the information on requirements and conditions that govern the execution of individual contracts. Each service is responsible for ensuring that proper tendering procedures are adhered to.

In view of the volume of information requested and the time needed to analyse the files, the data requested by the Honourable Member are not currently available.

However, the Commission has decided to develop a central contracts and contractors database, Interactive Contracts Network Database (ICON-DB). The work is progressing well. Centralised and consolidated statistics, broken down by Commission department, will thus be available, in due course, more rapidly.

The Honourable Member may be aware of the tight staffing situation in the Commission.

| 2. | The use of selected management consultants is a way of enlisting the services of specialists who have in-depth expertise and have also probably performed comparable tasks in similar public or private organisations. Their combination of skills enables them to contribute a new and different perspective, which is both useful and necessary for dealing with specific dossiers.
  Like many international and national public institutions, the Commission occasionally avails itself of the services of private accountancy and consultancy firms to get their advice. However, the contracts to which the Honourable Member is referring cover a wide range of consultancy activities, with audit being only a part. Where such companies have been called in to audit particular projects or programmes, such as in research, this is not meant to replace the external audit work of the Court, but to provide the authorising officer with assurance regarding the regularity of the expenditure claimed by beneficiaries. |
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2.

The use of selected management consultants is a way of enlisting the services of specialists who have in-depth expertise and have also probably performed comparable tasks in similar public or private organisations. Their combination of skills enables them to contribute a new and different perspective, which is both useful and necessary for dealing with specific dossiers.

Like many international and national public institutions, the Commission occasionally avails itself of the services of private accountancy and consultancy firms to get their advice. However, the contracts to which the Honourable Member is referring cover a wide range of consultancy activities, with audit being only a part. Where such companies have been called in to audit particular projects or programmes, such as in research, this is not meant to replace the external audit work of the Court, but to provide the authorising officer with assurance regarding the regularity of the expenditure claimed by beneficiaries.

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(1)  OJ C 229 E, 26.9.2002, p. 82.

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