ROMANIAâ€(tm)S FACTS ABOUT INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT OF EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND FINANCED PROJECTS

The malfunctioning of internal control system of European Social Fund (ESF) financed interventions may prejudice the sound financial management principle. Incorporating COSO principles in the beneficiaryâ€(tm)s internal control systems may provide some warranties about compliance to the above mentioned principle as described in the EC Regulation 1605-2002. This study aims to explore some facts in actual internal control environment, as a base for future improvements of Romanian ESF beneficiaryâ€(tm)s internal control systems ESF financed interventions covers a large range of costs for implementing labor market related services. But supporting costs according to the sound financial management principle calls for best value for money in real and legal operations. Without some specifics from the donor or a mutual accepted best practice model, most of the ESF beneficiaries are reporting their efforts to actual researches and specialized literature regarding internal control system implementation in services. This study was realized in April 2012 by applying an investigation instrument, an on-line questionnaire collecting both opinions and factual data as well to a number of 962 members of a practice community for ESF interventions implementation. This technique was used to test hypotheses regarding the premises existence for a future improvement of the existing internal control system model. 100 members of this community: managers, accountants, auditors financial responsible and other team members answered anonymously, revealing a real concern for internal control, providing as well a different side image for this. Analyzing all stakeholder answers, we may consider that our hypothesis is correct and there is a real need for internal control environment improvements. This study is a part of a larger research “New models of the accounting and internal control systems of ESF financed interventions in Romania†, addressing a qualitative approach of ESF absorption through improved practices. The research is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Tatiana Dãnescu and elaborated by PhD student Cristian Dogar.