CHAPTER 2

CONFERRAL OF MANAGEMENT

Tasks of the competent authority
Article 4
1
The tasks of the competent authority shall include those set out in Article 1(3), (4), (6) and (7) of Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 mutatis mutandis. Accreditation may be provisionally granted for a period to be fixed in relation to the seriousness of the problem pending the implementation of any requisite changes to the administrative and accounting arrangements.
2
The decision of the competent authority to accredit the Sapard agency shall be taken on the basis of an examination covering the administrative, payment, control and accounting procedures and structures, which includes the arrangements regarding the selection of projects, tendering, contracting and the respect of procurement rules taking account of the criteria set out in the Annex. The examination shall be conducted according to internationally accepted auditing standards. In instances where a provisional accreditation is envisaged, there must be satisfactory compliance with the provisions of the Annex, in particular with the obligations for written procedures, segregation of duties, pre-project approval and pre-payment checks, payment procedures, accounting procedures, computer security, internal audit and where appropriate public procurement provisions.
3
The competent authority shall monitor accreditation and withdraw it, without delay, if the accreditation criteria are no longer fulfilled and shall inform immediately the Commission.
4
The competent authority may delegate the examination task referred to in paragraph 2 to other bodies. In all cases the national authorising officer retains overall responsibility.