Division 2.5

The Sapard agency shall dispose of an internal audit service. The objective of this service or equivalent procedure is to ensure that the agency's system of internal control operates effectively; the internal audit service shall be independent of the agency's other departments and shall report directly to the agency's top management. The internal audit service shall verify that procedures adopted by the agency are adequate to ensure that compliance with the programme and financing agreement is verified, and that accounts are accurate, complete and timely. Verifications may be limited to selected measures/sub-measures and to samples of transactions provided that an audit plan ensures that all significant areas, including the departments/bodies responsible for authorisation and those departments to which functions have been delegated, are covered over a period not exceeding three years. The service's work shall be performed according to internationally accepted auditing standards, shall be recorded in working papers and shall result in reports and recommendations addressed to the agency's top management. The audit plans and reports shall be made available to the certifying body and to officials of the European Union mandated to undertake financial audits and for the sole purpose of appraising the effectiveness of the internal audit function.