About this course

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) carries out three types of audit in the area of the EU Cohesion Policy: financial, compliance and performance audits. Each of them has different objectives, addresses different audit questions and applies different methodology.

The legal framework 2014–2020 had the ambition to be a more results-oriented spending framework, where performance and results were the keywords. Performance will be even more important in the next programming period 2021–2027, for which preparations are in full swing.

This highly practical course presents all aspects of each stage of the performance audit process. It includes the unique feature of providing an insight into how the European Court of Auditors teams plan, prepare and implement their audit assignments, covering real-life audit case studies and experiences, and the advice of the Court’s teams.

It also explains the rules proposed for performance measurement for the 2021–2027 period, which has some unique features and insights with regard to cost–benefit analysis (CBA), and explains key tools used such as benchmarking, and how to use key performance indicators (KPIs).

Who will benefit most?

Audit, Managing and Certifying Authorities, Intermediate Bodies, beneficiaries of EU funds, independent auditors dealing with or interested in EU funded projects and programmes; consulting companies specialised in auditing EU co-funded programmes and projects, and representatives of ministries dealing with, and responsible for, spending public (national and EU) money.