Statement of assurance by the national authorising officer
Article 27
1. In accordance with Article 25(5), the national authorising officer shall make an annual management declaration, which shall take the form of a statement of assurance to be presented to the Commission by 28 February each year. He shall forward a copy of the statement of assurance to the competent accrediting officer. 2. The statement of assurance shall be based on the national authorising officer's actual supervision of the management and control systems throughout the financial year. 3. The statement of assurance shall be drawn up as specified in the framework agreement, and shall include: (a) a confirmation of the effective functioning of the management and control systems; (b) a confirmation regarding the legality and regularity of underlying transactions; (c) information concerning any changes in systems and controls, and elements of supporting accounting information. 4. If the confirmations required in accordance with points (a) and (b) of paragraph 3 are not available, the national authorising officer shall inform the Commission of the reasons and potential consequences, as well as of the actions being taken to remedy the situation and to protect the interests of the Community. He shall forward a copy of this information to the competent accrediting officer.