Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts
for the financial year 2012 and the balance sheet at 31 December
2012 of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for
Electronic Communications (BEREC), as well as the Court of
Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Office for the
financial year 2012, accompanied by the Office's replies to the
Court's observations, the Council recommends the European
Parliament to give a discharge to the Management Committee of the
Office in respect of the implementation of the budget for the
financial year 2012.
The observations in the Court of Auditors' report in
relation to the financial year 2012 call for some comments by the
Council, which may be summarised as follows:
in general, the Council welcomes the Court's opinion
that, in all material respects, the Office's annual accounts
present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2012 and
the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then
ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Office's Financial
Regulation and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission's
accounting officer, and that the underlying transactions for that
financial year are legal and regular.
- Carry-overs:
notwithstanding this favourable opinion, the Council regrets,
however, that certain appropriations were carried over without an
existing legal commitment and urges the Office to remedy the
situation in compliance with the Financial Regulation.
- Controls: the Council
urges the Office to complete its internal control procedures, to
implement a number of Internal Control Standards and to put in
place procedures related to the inventory management and the
management of exceptions and deviations from policies and
procedures. In line with the budgetary principle of annuality, the
Council also calls on the Office to continue to improve its
financial programming and monitoring of the budget implementation,
in order to reduce the level of commitments carried over and
amounts cancelled at the end of the following year to the minimum
necessary.
- Procurement:
furthermore, the Council encourages the Office to take actions to
remedy the weaknesses found by the Court in the management of its
procurement procedures, the transparency of the Office's
recruitment procedures and the control of mobile communication
expenses.
- Treasury: lastly, the
Council expects the Office to take the necessary measures in terms
of implementation of a sound treasury policy.