The Court’s statement of assurance on the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th EDFs to the European Parliament and the Council — Independent auditor’s report
Date: 2017-07-13
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: EU budget, European Development Fund, activity report, audit, auditing, budgetary assessment, budgetary control, closing of accounts, financial year








C_2017325EN.01013901.xml










28.9.2017   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 325/139





THE COURT’S STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE ON THE 8TH, 9TH, 10TH AND 11TH EDFS TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL — INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
(2017/C 325/02)


Opinion















I.


We have audited:






(a)


the annual accounts of the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th EDFs, which comprise the balance sheet, the statement of financial performance, the statement of cash flow, the statement of changes in net assets, and the report on financial implementation for the financial year ended 31 December 2016, approved by the Commission on 23 June 2017, and










(b)


the legality and regularity of the transactions which underlie those accounts and of which financial management falls to the Commission (1),




as required by Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 49 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF, which also applies to previous EDFs.










Reliability of the accounts








Opinion on the reliability of the accounts









II.


In our opinion, the annual accounts of the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th EDFs for the year ended 31 December 2016 present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position as at 31 December 2016, the results of their operations, their cash flows and the changes in net assets for the year then ended, in accordance with the EDF Financial Regulation and with accounting rules based on internationally accepted accounting standards for the public sector.










Legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts



Revenue







Opinion on the legality and regularity of revenue underlying the accounts









III.


In our opinion, the revenue underlying the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 is legal and regular in all material respects.









Payments







Adverse opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accounts









IV.


In our opinion, because of the significance of the matters described in the basis for adverse opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accounts paragraph, the payments underlying the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 are materially affected by error.










Basis for opinion















V.


We conducted our audit in accordance with the IFAC International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and Codes of Ethics and the INTOSAI International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities section of our report. We are independent in accordance with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (IESBA Code) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the IESBA Code. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.





Basis for adverse opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accounts









VI.


Expenditure recorded in 2016 under the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th EDFs is materially affected by error. Our estimated level of error for expenditure underlying the accounts is 3,3 %.










Key audit matters















VII.


Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, but we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.





Accrued charges









VIII.


We assessed the accrued charges presented in the accounts (see note 2.9) which are subject to a high degree of estimation. At year-end 2016, the Commission estimated that eligible expenses incurred but not yet reported by beneficiaries amounted to 3 903 million euro (year-end 2015: 3 797 million euro).












IX.


We examined the calculation of these accrual estimates and reviewed a sample of 30 individual contracts to address the risk that the accrual was misstated. The work performed led us to conclude that the accrued charges recognised in the final accounts were appropriate once the Commission had made all necessary corrections we identified.










Responsibilities of management















X.


In accordance with Articles 310 to 325 of the TFEU and the 11th EDF Financial Regulation, management is responsible for the preparation and presentation of the annual accounts of the EDFs on the basis of internationally accepted accounting standards for the public sector and for the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them. This responsibility includes the design, implementation and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. The Commission bears the ultimate responsibility for the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the EDF accounts.












XI.


In preparing the EDF accounts, the Commission is responsible for assessing the EDFs’ ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless management either intends to liquidate the entity or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.












XII.


The Commission is responsible for overseeing the EDFs’ financial reporting process.










Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the EDF accounts and underlying transactions















XIII.


Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the EDF accounts are free from material misstatement and the transactions underlying them are legal and regular and to provide, on the basis of our audit, the European Parliament and the Council with a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit will always detect a material misstatement or non-compliance when it exists. These can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these EDF accounts.












XIV.


As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs and ISSAIs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:






—


Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the EDF accounts and of material non-compliance of the underlying transactions with the requirements of the EDF legal framework, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement or non-compliance resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.










—


Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the internal control.










—


Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management.










—


Conclude on the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the EDFs’ ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the consolidated accounts or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the entity to cease to continue as a going concern.










—


Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the annual accounts, including the disclosures, and whether the annual accounts represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
















XV.


We communicate with those charged with the management regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.












XVI.


For revenue, we examine all contributions from Member States and a sample of other types of revenue transactions.












XVII.


For expenditure, we examine payment transactions when expenditure has been incurred, recorded and accepted. This examination covers all categories of payments (including those made for the purchase of assets) other than advances at the point they are made. Advance payments are examined when the recipient of funds provides justification for their proper use and the Institution or body accepts the justification by clearing the advance payment, whether in the same year or later.












XVIII.


From the matters communicated with the Commission, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the EDF accounts of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor’s report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.









13 July 2017

Klaus-Heiner LEHNE

President

European Court of Auditors
12, rue Alcide De Gasperi, Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG




(1)  Pursuant to Articles 43, 48-50 and 58 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF, this statement of assurance does not extend to the EDF resources managed by the EIB.