Audit of Budget Programs in European Union Countries

Audit of budget programs in EU countries requires a detailed study of the audit procedure in order to minimize possible deviations and errors in the implementation of programs. The principal result of the audit of budget programs' indicators financed from EU funds is to verify the cost-effectiveness, efficiency and effectiveness of the use of budget resources. The purpose of the academic paper is to study the results of the audit of budget programs in EU countries in order to identify the causes and factors that influenced the violations and errors in the use of budget funds. The research methods are as follows: system and logical analysis; information synthesis method; systematization and generalization; comparison method; statistical analysis. Study contributes relevant information and processed data regarding to internal and external audit standards and mechanisms to improving their efficiency. Limitations of the study are possible unknown violations of the budget programs that result in inaccurate data analysis. Results. Conducting audit of the budget programs in the EU in accordance with international auditing standards complies with the generally accepted procedure for audit of using budget funds by beneficiaries. In 2019, as a result of the audit of budget programs by European Commission, it was found that 51 out of 130 transactions (39%) contained violations and errors. A significant number of errors have been found in programs that direct budget funds to research and innovation. It has been revealed that most of the errors were found in the budget program Horizon 2020, in connection with which the European Court of Auditors calls in question the eligibility of all costs declared by the beneficiary for the audit period. The main errors in reporting in other budget programs were reimbursements of travel expenses not related to the implemented EU budget program; the erroneous exchange rate used in the programs was not that provided by the rules of the program. The level of error in conducting audit of budget programs in 2019 has been 4.0%, which is a significant reserve for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit