European Structural and Investment Funds
Hybrid Summer Course |
18.07.2022 - 20.07.2022 |
Prague |
Language: English

Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI & IPA Funds and AMIF/ISF/BMVI

As the risk of irregularities, fraud and corruption significantly increases with new EU initiatives and projects, such as the European Green Deal and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Member States need to work towards their minimisation and prevention at all levels.

Join us in Prague for our Summer Course to better face the daily challenges in your work with ESI, IPA and Migration & Security funds (AMIF/ISF/BMVI). You will be able to analyse case studies, to discuss and solve practical problems with our experts and to exchange best practices with other participants.

The event will take place as a hybrid event, which gives speakers and participants the opportunity to participate face-to-face or online.

Starting from € 1.490,- (excl. VAT)

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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.

Day 1: Monday, 18 July

09:00

Registration & Welcome Coffee

09:30

Most Common Irregularities and New Sources of Irregularities

  • Definition of irregularity and the difference from error and fraud
  • The most common kinds of irregularities
  • New sources of errors and irregularities in projects related to the Green Deal and the Recovery and Resilience Facility
  • State aid as a source of irregularities
  • Simplified cost options and irregularities
  • The role of programme bodies
  • How to avoid them
Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
10:30

Coffee Break

11:00

Effective Management Verifications: Measures to Find Errors before They Become Irregularities

  • The role and obligations of Managing Authorities
  • Regulatory Framework 2021-2027
  • Risk analysis
  • Administrative vs. On-the-spot verifications
  • How to practically carry out verifications
  • Sampling
  • Lessons learned from 2014-2020
Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
12:00

Lunch Break

13:30

Treatment of Irregularities, Reporting and Financial Corrections: Requirements of the Current and Future Programming Periods

  • Lessons learned from 2014-2020
  • New regulations and guidance notes for 2021-2027
  • The responsibilities of 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 have to be kept?
  • How to treat financial corrections in the annual accounts:
    • Withdrawals and recoveries
    • Annual accounts timeline
    • Withdrawal & recovery workflows
    • Amounts under assessment
    • Irrecoverable amounts
Stavri Ttofa ,  Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus
14:45

Coffee Break

15:15

Best & Worst Cases on How to Detect and Handle Irregularities

Stavri Ttofa ,  Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus
16:00

How to Choose the Right Type of Financial Correction and How to Calculate the Rate of Corrections

  • Identification of errors and ineligible expenditure
  • How to calculate a correction
  • Financial corrections under the performance framework and system deficiencies
Stavri Ttofa ,  Head of the Verifications and Certification Directorate, Treasury of Cyprus
17:00

End of Day 1

Day 2: Tuesday, 19 July

09:00

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?
Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
09:45

Case Study: Typical Irregularities and Fraud in the Procurement Cycle

  • Pre-tendering phase
  • Tendering phase
  • Post-award/contracting phase
Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
10:30

Coffee Break

11:00

Remedial Actions Against Irregularities and Fraud in EU Funds and Public Procurement

Simon Hannah ,  Business Assurance and Risk Management Lead, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Cambridge
12:00

Lunch Break

13:30

Fraud and Corruption in EU Funds (incl. 30-minute Coffee Break)

  • New sources for fraud and corruption, related to the massive EU emergency and recovery packages
  • An „Alert on Fraud and Corruption“ (BP)
  • Identifying risks
  • Risk areas (public procurement, HR, tax)
Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
15:30

End of Day 2

19:00

Common Dinner

Day 3: Wednesday, 20 July

09:30

Conducting Fraud Risk Assessment and Risk Analysis

  • Threats inside and outside the organisation
  • Identifying risks
  • New risks of fraud connected with the EU recovery and health packages
  • Risks of corruption, bribery, manipulation, non-integrity
  • How to control those risks?
  • Analysing the risks: Identifying the risk cases
  • 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
  • IT tool (ARACHNE)
Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
10:30

Coffee Break

11:00

The Anti-fraud Cycle: Implementing Effective and Proportionate Anti-fraud Measures

  • Preventive, detective, corrective measures
  • The most important fraud symbols
  • How to use them to recognise cases of fraud and corruption?
  • The most important instruments, methods, standards, (new) techniques and sources
  • What are red flags and signals for fraud?
  • Which methods and procedures can be implemented for detection and correction?
  • Fraud hotlines and helpdesks:
  • Critical success factors, financing of hotlines, successful cases
Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
12:00

Lunch Break

13:30

Live Demonstrations

Exercises on How to Use Innovative and Sophisticated (Audit) Software as part of:

  • selection of operations
  • management verifications
  • effective anti-fraud measures
  • system audit
  • audits on operations
  • useful tools in times of pandemic and crises

Please bring your laptops and we will demonstrate how to use different IT tools, for example how to detect possible electronic manipulations, to spot plagiarism using a special software, as well as many other helpful IT-based tips and tricks!

Jo Kremers ,  Former Senior Audit Manager, Audit Authority EU Funds, Ministry of Finance, The Hague
15:00

Award Ceremony: THE WINNERS TAKE IT ALL!

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

End of the Summer Course & Distribution of Certificates

Speakers

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

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

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

More info

Venue

Exclusive venue in the centre of Prague

n/a
Prague, Czech Republic
Phone
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Online-Registration

Hybrid Summer Course | 18.07.2022 - 20.07.2022 | Prague | Language: English

Participation fees for participation in Prague:
Reduced fee for public authorities and full-time academics: € 2.230,- (excl. VAT)
Regular fee: € 2.630,- (excl. VAT)

Participation fees for online participation:
Reduced fee for public authorities and full-time academics: € 1.490,- (excl. VAT)
Regular fee: € 1.890,- (excl. VAT)

VAT will be added if applicable.

Seating limit
The number of participants in Prague is limited.

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

Where do you want to participate?
Ticket Type Price Spaces
Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI & IPA Funds | Prague
Regular fee / Regulärer Preis		 €2.630,00
Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI & IPA Funds | Prague
Reduced fee for public authorities / Reduzierter Preis für Angehörige einer Hochschule/Behörde		 €2.230,00
Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI & IPA Funds | Online
Regular fee / Regulärer Preis		 €1.890,00
Summer Course: Irregularities and Fraud in ESI & IPA Funds | Online
Reduced fee for public authorities / Reduzierter Preis für Angehörige einer Hochschule/Behörde		 €1.490,00









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