Signed Agreement on the Establishment of the Audit Authority within the Decentralized Implementation System of the Instrument for Pre – accession Assistance (IPA)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mr. Igor Lukšić, PhD., and the President of the Senate of the Supreme Audit Institution, Mr. Miroslav Ivanisevic, signed the Agreement on the establishment of the Audit Authority within the Decentralized Implementation System of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA). The establishment of adequate institutions achieving qualitative functioning of the management system and control within the DIS, as well as Audit Authority representing the body responsible for verification of the adequate functioning of the system, Montenegro will simultaneously prepare for the use of significantly higher amounts of resources from the structural and cohesion funds, once becoming the member of the European Union. The Audit Authority, being functionally independent institution from any other body in the management and control system, should be responsible for verification of the effective and efficient functioning of systems within the DIS. In the light of the above emerged the need to define normative and legal establishment of the Audit Authority within the Supreme Audit Institution, ensuring its functional independence from all actors in the management and control system. Hence, the Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Supreme Audit Institution was prepared regulating the establishment of the Audit Authority within the Decentralized Implementation system of the Instrument for Pre - accession Assistance (IPA). The Agreement envisages that the Supreme Audit Institution establishes a special and functionally independent unit - Audit Authority responsible for the audit of the IPA funds. Moreover, the Agreement stipulates the organizational structure and required number of employees in the Audit Authority. The Head of the Audit Authority, being appointed by the Senate of the Supreme Audit Institution, shall have the authority and responsibility to make decisions and to sign all documents relating to functions and responsibilities of the Audit Authority. During each year, the Audit Authority, under the authority of its manager/head, shall be required to prepare the annual audit plan, in order to verify the effective functioning of the management and control system, as well as the reliability of accounting data to be submitted to the EC. The subject of supervision and financial control of the Audit Authority will be all Financial Agreements, and programmes and contracts thereon.