How have Programme Finance, Financial Management and Audit rules changed for the new 2021-2027 period? What are the key live issues for finance, control and audit at present and how are these likely to evolve in the future? What do new Programmes look like and have they taken advantage of the new, extraordinary financial flexibilities?

This course will compare the Financial Management and Audit rules between the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods. There will be a special focus on financial planning, increasing the use of Simplified Costs Options, anti-fraud measures and protecting the audit trail.

We will also ask what financial management and audit lessons the new Structural Funds programmes and the new national RRF plans can learn from the 2014-2020 Cohesion Policy programming period.

What you will learn?

Dermot Byrne, a leading Member State audit practitioner, will underline how control and audit differ, look in detail at the audit of accounts, systems and operations for 2021-2027, and highlight key audit issues for Cohesion Policy and the RRF.
Using ARACHNE may become a requirement for some projects in the future. Luc Molemans, the European Commission’s ARACHNE Project manager, will explain and illustrate how ARACHNE works and how you can use it.
We look at how to complete the Simplified Cost Options section of the new OP template.
We will take a close look at the Programme and Reporting templates for the new Structural Funds programmes, examining the special link between finance and performance, and how will you report programme progress.
Finally, we take a special look at the urgent actions of the RRF (as well as under the CARE initiative) and the live issues of project selection, financial control and audit.
How we work

We aim to make the course as interactive as possible. Participants will have ample opportunity to exchange views informally on the course topics. Workshops and exercises will be used to help participants get to grips with practical tools and methodologies.