Angela, Working to Ensure the Sound Financial Management of EU Bodies

FROM PREPARING ANNUAL REPORTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU BUDGET AND THE EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT FUNDS, TO AUDITING INSTITUTIONS' ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE: THIS IS ALUMNA ORTIZ MUNOZ'S TRAJECTORY AT THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS

"My current assignment to the Lithuanian Cabinet at the European Court of Auditors means being active in tasks such as the audit of the administrative expenditure of the EU institutions and bodies, the review on Rule of Law reporting and auditing the latest Anti-Fraud strategy from the EU Commission. Before taking on this new duty, my daily work at the Spanish cabinet consisted in contributing to the preparation of both the Annual Report on the implementation of the EU budget and the European Development Funds-EDF, used in those countries with which a partnership has been signed," says Angela Ortiz Munoz, Audit Assistant Analyst in the Lithuanian Cabinet at the European Court of Auditors. The primary objective of the EDF is to reduce and ultimately eradicate poverty and by on-the-spot checks in some of the 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific-ACP countries such as Togo, Burundi or Haiti, and the goal is to see firsthand the progress of EU-funded projects on the ground. Projects that involve, among other things, the creation of educational or health services, the construction of roads and infrastructure, providing access to drinking water and even reducing climate change by facilitating alternative energy supply systems.

"We analyze the projects with our audit methodology based on international standards, examining whether they are performed in line with the principles of sound financial management and whether they fulfil key performance indicators (KPIs) and related targets. We check the reliability of accounts as well as the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. Furthermore, we also involve final beneficiaries so that we can build projects that perform well and that are sustainable over time,” explains the Bocconi University Alumna with a Master of Science in International Management. "Because of Covid, however, a lot of planning has been halted and many projects are at a standstill, at the same level as in the pre-pandemic period. But the important thing is to keep the work monitored and also to engage in training end users, other institutions and NGOs. Finally, it should not be forgotten that the European Parliament now has a chance for a greater say in how funds are distributed as the EDF has been incorporated into the Global Europe program under the current multiannual EU financial framework."

by Camillo Papini