The 2010 Anual Activity Report provides an overview of the key results and achievements of the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Among this results a key indication of impact: 90% of audit recommendations have been accepted by the auditees.

External experts review the content of a sample of the ECA’s audit reports and it shows that the ECA is meeting its quality goals. The indicators reveal some potential for improvement, notably in the time taken to confirm the facts found during the audit with the auditees. In addition, it also confirms that the independent external audit of the ECA gave its books a clean bill of health, just as in previous years.

The ECA’s staff carried out financial and performance audits of the EU’s budgets that resulted in two annual reports -on the EU general budget and the European Development Funds-, 40 specific annual reports on the agencies and bodies of the EU, 14 special reports largely on the performance of EU spending and six opinions on matters related to the financial management of the EU budget. This together with an overview of the new working structure of the ECA which includes the introduction of chambers to streamline decision making. These reports and opinions make an important contribution to improving financial management of EU finances. In order to gather audit evidence for these audits, a total of 376 field work assignments were carried out in not only EU member states, but also to countries outside the EU that benefit from EU funding.

The president of the ECA, Vítor Caldeira, stressed that the institution has proven itself to be an effective guardian of the financial interests of the EU’s citizens through the independence, integrity and impartiality.