European Court of Auditors
When deciding whether to grant, postpone or refuse the discharge, the Parliament takes into consideration the Integrated Financial Reporting Package prepared by the Commission along with the European Court of Auditors' Annual Report on how the budget has been spent and any relevant Special Reports from the Court. More particularly, every year the European Court of Auditors, which is the European Union's independent external auditor, examines the reliability of accounts, whether all revenue has been received and all expenditure incurred in a lawful and regular manner, and whether the financial management has been sound.