At ECES, we consider audits, financial checks, evaluations, and monitoring of projects as essential to our commitment for transparency and constitute occasions to further improve the implementation of activities in line with effective financial management.
Each project is constantly monitored throughout its lifetime using a set of auditing, financial and management benchmarks. ECES also does this via a specifically designed internal tracking software system where for each expense all the scanned supporting documents are stored in the software. Each expense, along with all the supporting documents scanned, is linked in the software to specific budget lines of the approved budget, thus allowing constant control of the level of expenses and preparing the ground for the final expense verifications and external audits.
Our projects are audited according to our donors’ requirements, with external verifications of expenditures, Courts of Auditors, external systems audits, Result-Oriented Monitoring evaluations and final audits. We also perform internal audits regularly. You will find more details about these different types of audits below.
ECES has been supported in the preparation of all its audit and financial verification exercises by PME-Conseils, the firm specialized in accountancy, business management and taxation that support ECES since 2013 in the overall financial management.
Given the size reached by ECES the annual accounts, after being externally audited, are submitted to and published by the National Bank of Belgium. Since 2011, the ECES accounts were submitted and audited.
For example, considering only the contracts signed by ECES since 2017 with the EU (for a value of 95.340.322 EUR), ECES has had a total of 71 assessment exercises between project expenditure verifications, external system and financial audits contracted by both ECES and the EU.
Indeed, out of the 15 grant contracts awarded by the EU to ECES since 2017 and according to article 16 of the general conditions applicable to European Union-financed grant contracts for external actions, ECES has carried out on its projects:
• 26 project expenditure verifications
• 24 evaluations which were accepted by the EU Delegations concerned.
In addition to this, the EU has externally contracted:
• 10 External Financial Audits
• 3 External System Audits
• 3 External ROM Evaluations
• 2 External Final Evaluations
Finally, the Court of Auditors of the EU with the relevant EU Delegations has deployed systems and financial audits for our project in South Africa, Nigeria and Jordan.
You can find the detailed list of audits below.
Verification of Expenses and Financial/System Audits are carried out mostly following the indications of the donors concerning audit companies that they would like ECES to use for specific countries or projects. Otherwise, ECES collaborates with the best audit companies at the global level like KPMG , PWC , Deloitte, Moore and Ernst & Young.
We have been extremely pleased with the positive results of the above audits and evaluations and have appreciated the report comments both from the EU delegations and internal auditors. Since our creation, all of expenses verifications and audits have been successful and no wrongdoing or mismanagement issues have been reported.
Unfortunately, the project expenditure verifications and audits reports cannot be made public as per the respective rules of the donors, organisations and electoral management bodies funding ECES, these remain at their disposal for any use they would require.
Lastly, all HQ personnel have passed the ISO:9001 certification on quality management standards in order to better prepare and supervise both external and internal audits.
List of External Evaluation and External Expenditure Verification contracted by EU for ECES projects 2017-2022
I. External project expenditure verifications/financial audits
Audits of development cooperation actions financed by the EU must be carried out by professional external auditors. For this purpose, the EU concludes service contracts with external auditors based on INTPA Audit Framework Contract, local/regional framework service contracts or following a call for tender.
Since 2018, ECES has had 10 external project expenditure verifications or financial audits in Nigeria, Jordan, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.
| N. |
Project
|
Type of Audit/Evaluation |
Date of Report
|
| 1 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | External Expenditure Verification – Year 1 | 2018 |
| 2 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | External Expenditure Verification – Year 2 |
2022
|
| 3 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Final Evaluation of the Project |
2021
|
| 4 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) | External Expenditure Verification – Year 1,2,3 | 2022 |
| 5 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) | External Expenditure Verification – Year 4 | 03/10/2022 - 07/10/2022 |
| 6 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia (EURECS Ethiopia) | External Expenditure Verification | April 2023 |
| 7 | Prevention, Mitigation and Management of Electoral Conflicts and Potential Violence in Ethiopia (PEV Ethiopia) | External Expenditure Verification | 14/11/2022 – 18/11/2022 |
| 8 | Project in Support of Sustainability and Electoral Integrity in Afghanistan (PROSES) | External Expenditure Verification | 14/11/2022 - 18/11/2022 |
| 9 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia Plus (EURECS+ Ethiopia) | External Expenditure Verification | April 2023 |
| 10 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Residual Error Audit | December 2023 |
II. Court of Auditors
As the EU's independent external auditor, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) looks after the interests of EU taxpayers. It does not have legal powers but works to improve the European Commission's management of the EU budget and reports on EU finances.
ECES has had one Court if Auditors’ evaluation in 2021 in Nigeria and two in 2022 in South Africa and Ethiopia.
| 11 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia (EURECS Ethiopia) | Court of Auditors – Year2 | 2022 |
| 12 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Court of Auditors – Year 3 | 2021 |
| 13 | Project in Support of the Prevention, Mitigation and Manage Election-Related Conflict and Potential Violence in South Africa (PEV-RSA) | Court of Auditors – Full Project | 2022 |
III. External System Audits
Systems audits focus on the design and/or operating effectiveness of ECES's internal control system.
Systems audits can be useful before the start of a project, at the early stages of project implementation and sometimes at mid-term. In these cases, system audits can make an impact through the auditor's analysis of the internal control systems and through subsequent recommendations for improvements.
ECES had 3 external system audits in 2018, 2019 and 2023, in Nigeria, Jordan et Ethiopia respectively.
| 14 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | System Audit – Year 1 | 2018 |
| 15 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) | System Audit – Year 1 | 2019 |
| 16 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia (EURECS Ethiopia) | System Audit | April 2023 |
IV. External ROM Evaluations
The Results-Oriented Monitoring (ROM) is the external monitoring system of DG INTPA and DG NEAR, aimed at enhancing the European Commission's internal control, accountability and management capacity with a strong focus on results. It supports operational units in HQ and EU Delegations in their internal monitoring and reporting functions, complementing their work with an independent and external monitoring service provided along the different phases of the intervention cycle.
ECES has 3 ROM evaluations since 2017 in Jordan and Comoros.
| 17 | Project in support of the Credibility and the Transparency of the Elections in Comoros (PACTE Comoros) | ROM Evaluation |
2017 |
| 18 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) | ROM Evaluation |
2019 |
| 19 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) | ROM Evaluation | 2021 |
V. External Final evaluations
Systematic and timely evaluation of its programmes and activities is an established priority of the European Commission and it is conducted by independent consultants.
The interventions are systematically evaluated on the quality and the results of actions in the context of an evolving cooperation policy ensuring a specific focus on results-oriented approaches and the contribution towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
| 20 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) | Final Evaluation of the Project | 2021 |
| 21 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Final Evaluation of the Project | 2021 |
VI. List of Evaluation and Expenditure Verification contracted by ECES for ECES projects 2017-2023
In line with the regulations of its donors, ECES underwent several internal project verifications of expenses and external audits. Since 2018, ECES has performed twenty internal verifications of expenses and external audits in Comoros, Jordan, Nigeria, Gabon, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Afghanistan and South Africa.
| N. | Project | Type of Audit/Evaluation | Date of Report |
| 1 | Project in support of the Credibility and the Transparency of the Elections in Comoros (PACTE III Comoros) | Expenditure Verification – Full Project | 2018 |
| 2 | Projet d’Appui à l’Observation Electorale Nationale et au plaidoyer démocratique au Gabon (PAON GABON) | Expenditure Verification – Full Project | 2018 |
| 3 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) | Expenditure Verification – Year 1 | 06/08/2018 |
| 4 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) | Expenditure Verification – Year 2+3 | 23/01/2019 |
| 5 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Expenditure Verification – Year 1 |
2019 |
| 6 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Expenditure Verification – Year 2 | 2020 |
| 7 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Expenditure Verification – Year 3 | 2020 |
| 8 | Projet d'Appui au Dialogue Démocratique au Gabon (PADD GABON) | Expenditure Verification – Full Project |
2020 |
| 9 | Prevention, Mitigation and Management of Electoral Conflicts and Potential Violence in Ethiopia (PEV Ethiopia | Expenditure Verification – Year 1 | 2020 |
| 10 | Preventing Electoral Violence in Madagascar (PEV Madagascar) | Expenditure Verification – Full Project | 2020 |
| 11 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID | Expenditure Verification – Year 3 | 14/04/2021 |
| 12 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Expenditure Verification – Year 4 | 2021 |
| 13 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia (EURECS Ethiopia) | Expenditure Verification – Year 1 | 2021 |
| 14 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia (EURECS Ethiopia) | Expenditure Verification – Year 2 | 2021 |
| 15 | Project in Support of Enhanced Sustainability, and Electoral Integrity in Afghanistan (PROSES) | Expenditure Verification – Full Project | 2021 |
| 16 | Project in Support of the Prevention, Mitigation and Manage Election-Related Conflict and Potential Violence in South Africa (PEV-RSA | Expenditure Verification – Full Project | 2021 |
| 17 | "Projet d’Appui à l’Observation citoyenne du Cycle électoral de la Transition 2020-2022 au Mali - PRO Observation Mali | Expenditure Verification – Year 1 | 2022 |
| 18 | EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID | Expenditure Verification – Year 4 + No Cost Extension | 06/01/2022 |
| 19 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia (EURECS Ethiopia) | Expenditure Verification – Year 3 | 2022 |
| 20 | Prevention, Mitigation and Management of Electoral Conflicts and Potential Violence in Ethiopia (PEV Ethiopia | Expenditure Verification – Year 2 + No Cost Extension (1) | 2022 |
| 21 | Prevention, Mitigation and Management of Electoral Conflicts and Potential Violence in Ethiopia (PEV Ethiopia) | Expenditure Verification – No Cost Extension (2) | 2022 |
| 22 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia Plus (EURECS+ Ethiopia) | Expenditure Verification – Year 1 | 2022 |
| 23 | "Projet d’Appui à l’Observation citoyenne du Cycle électoral de la Transition 2020-2022 au Mali - PRO Observation Mali | Expenditure Verification – Year 2 | 23/05/2023 |
| 24 | Project for the Promotion of Peace and Cohesion in Kenya by Preventing and Mitigating Electoral Conflicts | Expenditure Verification -Year 1 | 26/05/2023 |
| 25 | EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria - Support to INEC (EU SDGN) | Expenditure Verification – Full Project | 2023 |
| 26 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia Plus (EURECS+ Ethiopia) | Expenditure Verification – Full Project | 2023 |
VII. List of evaluations contracted by ECES for ECES from 2017 to 2023
| N. | Project | Type of evaluation | Date of Report |
| 1 | A European Response to Electoral Cycle Support - Ethiopia (EURECS Ethiopia) | Midterm Evaluation | 2021 |
| 2 | Prevention, Mitigation, and Management of Electoral Conflicts and Potential Violence in Ethiopia (PEV Ethiopia) |
Final Evaluation |
2022 |
| 3 | European Union support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions & Development (EUJDID) | Final Evaluation | 2020 |
| 4 | European Union support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions & Development (EUJDID) | Midterm Evaluation | 2019 |
| 5 | Initiative Citoyenne pour la Consolidation de la Paix, Leadership et Stabilité (INCIPALS Madagascar) | Final Evaluation | 2016 |
| 6 | Preventing electoral violence in Southern African Development Community (PEV SADC) | Final Evaluation | 2017 |
| 7 | Project in Support of the Prevention, Mitigation and Management of Election Related Conflict and Potential Violence in South Africa (PEV RSA) | Final Evaluation | 2020 |
| 8 | Projet d'Appui à l'observation électorale nationale et au plaidoyer démocratique au Gabon (PAOEN Gabon) | Final Evaluation | 2018 |
| 9 | Projet d'Appui à la Crédibilité et à la Transparence des Elections en République de Guinée II (PACTE Guinee II) | Final Evaluation | 2017 |
| 10 | Projet d'Appui à la Crédibilité et à la Transparence du processus Electoral Union des Comores (PACTE COMOROS) | Final Evaluation | 2015 |
| 11 | Projet d'Appui à la Crédibilité et à la Transparence du processus Electoral Union des Comores II (PACTE Comoros II) | Evaluation | 2016 |
| 12 | Projet d'Appui à la Crédibilité et à la Transparence du processus Electoral Union des Comores III - (PACTE Comores III) | Evaluation | 2018 |
| 13 | Projet d'appui à la prévention et la gestion de conflits et violences potentiels liés aux élections à Madagascar (PACTE Madagascar) | Final Evaluation II | 2014 |
| 14 | Projet d'appui à la prévention et la gestion de conflits et violences potentiels liés aux élections à Madagascar (PEV Madagascar) | Final Evaluation | 2019 |
| 15 | Projet d'Appui au Dialogue Démocratique au Gabon (PADD Gabon) | Final Evaluation | 2020 |
| 16 | Projet d'Appui au Processus électoral au Senegal (PAPES) | Evaluation | 2017 |
| 17 | Projet d'Appui pour le renforcement des capacités de la société civile et des institutions nationales en droits humains, en genre et en démocratisation (PARCDD) Comoros | Final Evaluation | 2018 |
| 18 | Projet d’Appui à la Crédibilité et à la Transparence des Elections au Burkina Faso | Final Evaluation | 2016 |
| 19 | Projet d’Appui à la Crédibilité et à la Transparence des Elections au Burkina Faso | Midterm Evaluation | 2016 |
| 20 | Projet d’Appui à la Crédibilité et à la Transparence des Elections au Burkina Faso (PACTE BF) | Ex-post Evaluation - External | 2021 |
| 21 | European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Component 1 (EUSDGN) | Midterm Evaluation | 2020 |
| 22 | Project for the Promotion of Peace and Cohesion in Kenya by Preventing and Mitigating Electoral Conflicts | Final Evaluation | 2023 |
| 23 | European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia Plus (EURECS+ Ethiopia) | Final Evaluation | 2023 |
| 24 | "Projet d’Appui à l’Observation citoyenne du Cycle électoral de la Transition 2020-2022 au Mali - PRO Observation Mali | Final Evaluation | 2023 |
