ANNEX IIISupplementary provisions
ANNEX III Model for the audit opinion To the European Commission, Directorate-General … 1. INTRODUCTION I, the undersigned, representing the …[name of the audit authority designated by Member State], independent in the sense of Article 31(4) [and (5), where applicable] of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014, have audited the accounts for the accounting year started on 1 July … [year] and ended 30 June … [year] ( 1 ) and dated … [date of the accounts submitted to the Commission] (hereafter ‘the accounts’), the legality and regularity of the expenditure for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission in reference to the accounting year (and included in the accounts), the functioning of the management and control system, and verified the management declaration, for the purposes of Article 59(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 2 ) in relation to the operational programme …[name of operational programme, CCI number] (hereafter ‘the programme’), in order to issue an audit opinion in accordance with Article 34(5)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014. 2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MANAGING AND CERTIFYING AUTHORITIES …[name of the managing authority], designated as the managing authority of the programme, and the …[name of the certifying authority], designated as the certifying authority of the programme, are responsible for ensuring a proper functioning of the management and control system with regard to the functions established by the Articles 32 and 33 of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014. In particular, it is responsibility of the …[name of the certifying authority], designated as the certifying authority of the programme, to draw up the accounts (in accordance with Article 49 of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014) and certify their completeness, accuracy and veracity, as provided for in Article 33(b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014. Moreover, in accordance with Article 33(c) of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014 it is the responsibility of the certifying authority to certify that the expenditure entered in the accounts complies with applicable law and has been incurred in respect of operations selected for funding in accordance with the criteria applicable to the programme and complying with applicable law ( 3 ) . 3. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AUDIT AUTHORITY As established by Article 34(5)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014, my responsibility is to independently express an opinion on whether the accounts give a true and fair view, whether expenditure for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission and which are declared in the accounts is legal ( 4 ) and regular, and whether the management and control system put in place functions properly. My responsibility is also to include in the opinion a statement as to whether the audit work puts in doubt the assertions made in the management declaration ( 5 ) . The audits in respect of the programme were carried out in accordance with the audit strategy and took account of internationally accepted audit standards. These standards require that the audit authority complies with ethical requirements, plans and performs the audit work in order to obtain reasonable assurance for the purpose of the audit opinion. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to support the opinion set out below. The procedures performed depend on the auditor's professional judgment, including assessing the risk of material non-compliance, whether due to fraud or error. The audit procedures performed are those I believe are appropriate in the circumstances. I believe that the audit evidence gathered is sufficient and appropriate to provide the basis for my opinion, [ in case there are any scope limitation: ] except those which are mentioned in section 4 ‘Scope limitation’. The main findings drawn from the audits in respect of the programme are reported in the attached annual control report pursuant to Article 34(5)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014. 4. SCOPE LIMITATION Either There were no limitations on the audit scope. Or The audit scope was limited by the following factors: (a) … (b) … (c) …. [Indicate any limitation on the audit scope, for example any lack of supporting documentation, cases under legal proceedings, and estimate under ‘Qualified opinion’ below, the amounts of expenditure and the Union contribution affected and the impact of the scope limitation on the audit opinion. Further explanations in this regard shall be provided in the annual control report, as appropriate.] 5. OPINION Either (Unqualified opinion) In my opinion, and based on the audit work performed: — the accounts give a true and fair view, as established by Article 7(5) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 532/2014; — the expenditure in the accounts for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission is legal and regular, — the management and control system put in place functions properly. The audit work carried out does not put in doubt the assertions made in the management declaration. Or (Qualified opinion) In my opinion, and based on the audit work performed: — the accounts give a true and fair view, as established by Article 7(5) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 532/2014; — the expenditure in the accounts for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission is legal and regular; — the management and control system put in place functions properly, except in the following aspects: — in relation to material matters related to the accounts: … and/or [delete as appropriate] — in relation to material matters related to the legality and regularity of the expenditure in the accounts for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission: … — and/or [delete as appropriate] in relation to material matters related to the functioning of the management and control system ( 6 ) : …. Therefore, I estimate that the impact of the qualification(s) is [limited]/[significant]. [delete as appropriate] This impact corresponds to … [amount in EUR and %] of the total expenditure declared. The Union contribution affected is thus … [amount in EUR]. The audit work carried out does not put/puts [delete as appropriate] in doubt the assertions made in the management declaration. [Where the audit work carried out puts in doubt the assertions made in the management declaration, the Audit Authority shall disclose in this section the aspects leading to this conclusion.] Or (Adverse opinion) In my opinion, and based on the audit work performed: — the accounts give/do not give [delete as appropriate] a true and fair view, as established by Article 7(5) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 532/2014; — the expenditure in the accounts for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission is/is not [delete as appropriate] legal and regular; — the management and control system put in place functions/does not function [delete as appropriate] properly. This adverse opinion is based on the following aspects: — in relation to material matters related to the accounts: … and/or [delete as appropriate] — in relation to material matters related to the legality and regularity of the expenditure in the accounts for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission: … and/or [delete as appropriate] — in relation to material matters related to the functioning of the management and control system ( 7 ) : … The audit work carried out puts in doubt the assertions made in the management declaration for the following aspects: … [The audit authority may also include emphasis of matter, not affecting its opinion, as established by internationally accepted auditing standards. A disclaimer of opinion may be foreseen in exceptional cases. ( 8 ) ] Date Signature ( 1 ) Accounting year means the period from 1 July to 30 June, except for the first accounting year, in respect of which it means the period from the start date for eligibility of expenditure until 30 June 2015. The final accounting year shall be from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. ( 2 ) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 ( OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1 ). ( 3 ) As defined in Article 5(12) of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014. ( 4 ) As established by Article 5(12) of Regulation (EU) No 223/2014. ( 5 ) In line with Article 59(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. ( 6 ) In case the management and control system is affected, the body or bodies and the aspect(s) of their systems that did not comply with requirements and/or did not operate effectively shall be indicated in the opinion, except where this information is already clearly disclosed in the annual control report and the opinion paragraph refers to the specific section(s) of this report where such information is disclosed. ( 7 ) Same remark as in previous footnote. ( 8 ) These exceptional cases should be related to unforeseeable, external factors outside the remit of the audit authority.