2007 discharge: European Network and Information Security Agency ENISA

PURPOSE: presentation of the report by the Court of Auditors on the 2007 annual accounts of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA).

CONTENT: the Court of Auditor’s report includes a detailed section on the Agency’s expenditure and an analysis of the expenditure, as well as the Agency’s replies.

• Analysis of the accounts by the Court: in its report, the Court makes a series of observations, in particular as regards budget management. It notes that the appropriations carried over did not always correspond to legal commitments in four cases. Moreover, more accurate financial information needs to be prepared by the operational departments to minimise the risks of errors in the accounts.  The inventory of fixed assets was managed using a spreadsheet, which did not guarantee the integrity of the data, and no exhaustive physical inventory was made. Recurrent weaknesses were noted in the procurement procedures: the pre-selections of bids were not justified, the evaluation documents were not signed by the evaluation committee, and the files were not structured and were incomplete. In one case relevant information could not be found. This situation was at odds with the principle of transparency.
• Agency’ replies: the Agency notes that indeed external factors such as the late release of funds partially affected the implementation of operational activities. It states that in the meantime the Agency has closely planned and follows up the execution of 2008 budget.  In certain cases with a significant number of variables, the appropriations carried over were calculated with some degree of approximation. The Agency is aware of this risk and strives to ensure to the highest degree possible the accuracy of appropriations carried over.  Fixed assets are managed in the accounting software of the Agency. The administrative inventory is managed in spreadsheets due to the limited number of items. The Agency recognises some shortcomings in three procurement files.