Functions and responsibilities of the audit authority
Article 12
1. In accordance with point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 60(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the structures and authorities referred to in Article 7(1) established by the IPA II beneficiary and the management structure referred to in Article 7(2) established by the NAO shall be subject to an independent external audit performed by the audit authority referred to in Article 7(3) which shall be independent from the aforementioned structures and authorities. The IPA II beneficiary shall ensure that the Head of the audit authority possesses adequate competence, knowledge and experience in the field of audit. 2. The audit authority shall carry out audits on the management and control system(s), on actions, transactions and on the annual accounts in line with internationally accepted auditing standards and in accordance with an audit strategy prepared on a tri-annual basis. The audit strategy shall be updated annually. 3. The audit authority shall prepare an annual audit activity report and an annual audit opinion drawn up in accordance with internationally accepted auditing standards. 4. At the end of the implementation of a programme, the audit authority shall prepare a final audit activity report and provide an audit opinion on the final statement of expenditure.