European Structural and Investment Funds
Summer Course |
26.07.2023 - 28.07.2023 |
Dublin |
Language: English

Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI Funds

The massive EU emergency and recovery packages of the last few years have significantly increased the risks of irregularities, fraud, and corruption. Thus, expanding the already high number of cases reported to the European Commission. Member States must work towards the minimisation and prevention of such rates, and fight against fraud and corruption on programme and project level.

Join us in Dublin for this summer course, which will prepare you for the daily challenges in your work with ESI funds. Our course combines presentations, case studies and discussions on practical problems with both our experts and participants from other Member States.

Participants receive a certificate upon participation.

Starting from € 2450,- (excl. VAT)

+++ Do not hesitate to let us know if you have any budget restrictions: we will be happy to find a solution together! +++

Share

Details

Who Should Participate?

  • Representatives from public authorities in charge
    of management and control of ESI Funds, especially from

    • Managing Authorities
    • Certifying Authorities
    • Audit Authorities
    • Intermediate Bodies
  • ESI Funds experts from regional and local authorities and experts involved in ETC Programme
  • Auditors controlling and auditing ESI Funds programmes and projects
  • Experts from EU, National and regional Court of Audit
  • Experts from Institutions involved in implementation of ESIF
  • Consultants and lawyers specialized on ESI Funds
  • Beneficiaries of EU funded projects

Course Material – No need to miss anything!

If you are unable to attend the course you may want to order all the presentations shown during the event. The price is € 299,- (excl. of VAT). If interested, please contact Camilla Coltorti.

Methodology

The three-day intensive course offers the possibility to meet with experts from EU institutions, Member States as well as the private sector. The different perspectives of our experienced trainers will support you in applying complex rules to your practical day-to-day work. To achieve the best results, we employ a mixture of learning methods.

Our approach combines the three stages of learning to ensure that the participants obtain the best possible understanding of the applied rules:

1) Identification of the main rules and principles,
2) Appreciation of the complexities and limitation of the principles,
3) Application of the rules and principles.

The participants will be actively involved in the course. The sessions will combine presentations, case studies and discussion on practical problems. You will have ample opportunity to present your own issues and discuss them with the speakers and participants from other Member States.

Just send to us your cases and questions in advance! We will forward them to our speakers, who will include your issues in the programme and answer them during the course. All information concerning such problems and cases will be treated confidentially.

We will organise different social activities for our participants on site, during which you will have an opportunity to meet the experts and other participants and to discuss your questions in an informal atmosphere.

Course materials are available to download after the event.

Programme

Day 1: Wednesday, 26 July | Errors, Irregularities and Financial Corrections in ESI Funds

Chair of the Seminar
Jo Kremers Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
08:30

Registration & Welcome Coffee

09:00

Introduction Round & Fraud and Corruption in ESI Funds

  • Introduction Round
  • EU Guiding Principles & Target Standards for Anti-Fraud and – Corruption
  • The Anti-Fraud Cycle, introduction
  • Identifying risks
  • Essential Basics Anti-Fraud & – Corruption, introduction
Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
11:30

Coffee Break

12:00

Treatment of Irregularities, Reporting and Financial Corrections – Current Requirements

  • Regulations and guidance notes for 2021-2027
  • Responsibilities of the Member States
  • When do irregularities lead to recoveries, withdrawals, and financial corrections?
  • Purpose and types of financial corrections
  • How to calculate financial corrections?
  • Pre- and post-payments
  • What accounting records must be kept?
  • How to treat financial corrections in the annual accounts?
  • Withdrawals and recoveries: definitions and workflows
  • Annual accounts timeline
  • Amounts undergoing assessment
  • Irrecoverable amounts
Stavri Ttofa ,  Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus
13:00

Lunch Break

14:00

Best & Worst Cases on How to Detect and Handle Irregularities

Stavri Ttofa ,  Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus
14:45

Short Break

15:00

Choosing the Right Type of Financial Correction and Calculating the Rate of Corrections

  • Identification of errors and ineligible expenditure
  • How to calculate a correction
  • Financial correction regarding the performance framework and system deficiencies
Stavri Ttofa ,  Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus
16:00

End of Day 1

Day 2: Thursday, 27 July | Irregularities and Fraud in Public Procurement & Remedial Actions

Chair of the Seminar
Jo Kremers Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
10:00

Most Common Irregularities and New Sources for Irregularities related to the Green Deal and the RRF

  • Definition of an irregularity
  • Difference between error, irregularity, and fraud
  • Overview on most common types of irregularities
  • New sources for errors and irregularities in new projects related to the Green Deal and the RRF
  • State aid as a source for irregularities?
  • Simplified cost options and irregularities
  • Role of programme bodies towards irregularities
  • How to avoid irregularities?
Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
11:00

Coffee Break

11:30

Effective Management Verifications – Finding Errors before they become Irregularities

  • The role and obligations of Managing Authorities
  • Regulatory Framework 2021-2027
  • Risk analysis
  • Administrative vs. On-the-spot verifications
  • Carrying out verifications in practice
  • Sampling
  • Lessons learned from the verification process in 2014-2020
Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
12:30

Lunch Break

13:30

Common Procurement Errors

  • The EU public procurement regime
  • Requirements for EU-funded programmes
  • Regulatory requirements and the application of public procurement to EU-funded programmes
  • Types of breaches and irregularities
  • Key areas of risk: In which areas irregularities occur and why?
  • Case study on typical irregularities and fraud from the pre-tendering to the contracting phase
Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
14:30

Coffee Break

15:00

Remedial Actions against Irregularities and Fraud in ESI Funds and Public Procurement

Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
16:00

End of Day 2

17:00

Guided Tour of Dublin followed by a Common Dinner

Day 3: Friday, 28 July | Anti- Fraud and -Corruption in ESI Funds

Chair of the Seminar
Jo Kremers Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
09:00

Fighting Fraud & Corruption in ESI Funds, RRF and Green Deal

  • Improve your anti-fraud SKILLS
  • Play the NEW 2023 EU-awarded Anti-Fraud & Corruption Game, a Team Game
  • New risks of fraud connected with the EU recovery and health packages
  • Risks of corruption, bribery, manipulation, non-integrity
  • Anti-Fraud and – Corruption Symbols and Instruments
  • Analysing the risks: Identifying the risk cases
  • Jo’s Motto : To catch a Fraudster , you should (learn to) think like a Fraudster
  • Which methods and procedures can be implemented for prevention?
  • How to apply risk rating in the control activities?
  • How to design, implement and incorporate a culture of integrity effective anti-fraud policies, deterrence techniques and vigilance systems
  • Innovate the AFC by Introduction and Implementation of Risk Scoring Tools
Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
11:00

Coffee Break

11:30

Live Demonstrations

  • Exercises on using innovative and sophisticated (audit) software as part of selection of operations, management verifications, effective anti-fraud measures, system audit, and audits on operations
  • Successful tools in times of crisis
  • How to use various IT tools (incl. how to detect possible electronic manipulations, to spot plagiarism using a special software) and IT-based tips and tricks
Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
12:30

Lunch Break

13:30

The Anti-fraud Game Individual, New edition 2023

  • Strengthen your personal SKILLS in fighting fraud and corruption in ESI Funds
  • By playing the NEW 2023 EU- Awarded Individual Anti-Fraud Game
  • Test your healthy scepticism
  • Real world cases of fraud and corruption
  • Is there something out of ordinary?
  • Can you beat the fraudster?
  • A New way of thinking
  • The Winner takes it all, will it be you, or………the Fraudster

Please bring your laptops!!

Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
15:30

Award Ceremony

Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
16:00

End of the Summer Course & Distribution of Certificates

Speakers

Jo Kremers
Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague

More info
Stavri Ttofa
Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus

More info
Simon Hannah
Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge

More info

Venue

Exclusive Venue in the Centre of Dublin

N/A
Dublin, Ireland
Phone
Map Unavailable

Online-Registration

Summer Course | 26.07.2023 - 28.07.2023 | Dublin | Language: English

Participation fees for participation in Dublin:
Reduced fee for public authorities and full-time academics: € 2.450,- (excl. VAT)
Regular fee: € 2.650,- (excl. VAT)

VAT will be added if applicable.

Seating limit
The number of participants in Dublin is limited.

Please contact events@lexxion.eu if you have technical problems with the booking. 

Are you a public authority?

Tickets

Ticket Type Price Spaces
Early Bird / Frühbucherrabatt | Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI Funds | Dublin
Reduced fee for public authorities / Reduzierter Preis für Angehörige einer Hochschule/Behörde		 €2.205,00 N/A
Early Bird / Frühbucherrabatt | Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI Funds | Dublin
Regular fee / Regulärer Preis		 €2.385,00 N/A
Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI Funds | Dublin
Reduced fee for public authorities / Reduzierter Preis für Angehörige einer Hochschule/Behörde		 €2.450,00
Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI Funds | Dublin
Regular fee / Regulärer Preis		 €2.650,00

Registration Information









(Data Privacy Policy)

Payment and Confirmation


Related content

Subscribe to our newsletter to be regularly informed about our upcoming conferences, Lexxion Trainings, on-the-spot workshops and updates on Lexxion’s publications.

Don’t miss the news by signing up for our free newsletters. Sign up now!