RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SELECTION OF AN AUDITOR IN LITHUANIA/BELARUS

As a general rule, one of the key steps to be taken after the signing of the Grant Contract is a selection of an audit company.

In compliance with the provisions of the Grant Contract the Lead Beneficiary becomes solely responsible and financially liable towards the Contracting Authority for efficient implementation of the Project and the pre-financing will be paid by the Contracting Authority only after the approval of an auditor(s). Selecting an auditor is an important decision that should not be taken lightly.

The main documents to be followed by the Beneficiaries in terms of a selection procedure of an auditor/audit company are the Guidelines for the Applicants and Beneficiaries and the Grant Contract signed.

Nevertheless, based on the practical observations, the Beneficiaries, in order to ensure an efficient and successful auditor selection process are advised to consider the following additional possible qualification requirements:

The audit company shall have:

  • Experience of the audit company in auditing EU co-financed projects (international technical assistance projects for Belarus).
  • Employees experienced in EU co-financed projects (international technical assistance projects for Belarus).
  • Employees having knowledge of English or assurance of interpretation.
  • Experience of the auditing company in auditing EU co-financed projects of a specific theme/subject (considering projects’ objectives, specifics and needs, e.g. construction, science, IT, etc.)
  • Experience on checking/verifying public procurements.

Above mentioned requirements are recommendatory and not obligatory. Each Beneficiary is responsible for the appropriate selection procedure of an auditor which should be in line with procurement related legislation and Beneficiaries’ needs.

Please note that the selected auditor shall obligatory follow the rules of impartiality.

For more information on the list of the auditors in Lithuania please follow publicly available information:

http://lar.lt/www/new/page.php?55

The beneficiaries of our projects from Belarus should use the published updated list of audit companies when selecting auditors for expenditure verification within their projects. Project beneficiaries can use the services of any of the 12 companies or individual entrepreneurs included in this list.

List of auditor companies in English and Russian.