%A Marina Mandac, %D 2019 %T The Audit Authority in Irregularity Management %! The Audit Authority in Irregularity Management %X <p>All bodies in the management and control system of EU Funds as well as the Audit Authority, under their respective mandatory jurisdictions, are required to take part in the process of irregularity management. The ideal procedure is the one which fully prevents the occurrence of irregularity. However, if the irregularity is not prevented, it is important to detect it timely (ideally prior to certification to the European Commission), and then adequately correct it and request the recovery from the entity which committed the irregularity. In this process and generally in the management and control of EU Funds, the bodies in the system and the Audit Authority should be partners. In the world of EU Funds, an auditor should acquire reasonable assurance that the system functions well and that the expenditures are legal and regular. All disagreements on whether an irregularity is or is not under question, or on the amount of illegal and irregular expenditure, should be agreed upon at the level of the beneficiary country of EU Funds – definitely before certifying the expenditures to the EC. In this article, I will present a theoretical background and practical approach to several fields – institutional framework for protection of EU financial interests and irregularity management in Croatia as the youngest EU Member State; mission and functions of the Audit Authority; Audit Authority and identification of irregularities – and I will give the conclusion on the positioning of the Audit Authority. There was a lot of experience that national institutions could have gathered throughout the pre-accession period; however, the post-accession dedication to irregularity management is largely highlighted and institutions are largely dedicated to irregularity and fraud combat mechanisms.</p> %U %0 Journal Article %J European Structural and Investment Funds Journal %V 7 %N 3