1.Initiation of an operation shall be understood as all the operations which are normally carried out by the staff referred to in Article 46 and which are preparatory to the adoption of the acts implementing the budget by the authorising officer responsible.
2.Ex ante verification of an operation shall be understood as all the ex ante checks put in place by the authorising officer responsible in order to verify its operational and financial aspects.
3.Ex ante controls shall verify the coherence among supporting documents requested and any other information available.
The extent in terms of frequency and intensity of the ex ante controls shall be determined by the authorising officer responsible taking into account risk-based and cost-effectiveness considerations. In case of doubt, the authorising officer responsible for validating the relevant payment shall request complementary information or perform an on-the-spot control in order to obtain reasonable assurance as part of the ex ante control.
The purpose of the ex ante controls shall be to ascertain that:
(a)the expenditure and revenue are in order and comply with the provisions applicable, in particular those of the budget and the relevant regulations and of any acts adopted in implementation of the Treaties or regulations and, where appropriate, the terms of contracts;
(b)the principle of sound financial management referred to in Chapter 7 of Title II of Part One of the Financial Regulation is applied.
For the purpose of controls, a series of similar individual transactions relating to routine expenditure on salaries, pensions, reimbursement of mission expenses and medical expenses may be considered by the authorising officer responsible to constitute a single operation.
4.The ex post controls may be carried out on the basis of documents and, where appropriate, on the spot.
The ex post controls shall verify that operations financed by the budget are correctly implemented and in particular that the criteria referred to in paragraph 3 are complied with.
The outcomes of ex post controls shall be reviewed by the authorising officer by delegation at least annually to identify any potential systemic issues. The authorising officer by delegation shall take measures to address those issues.
The risk analysis referred to in Article 66(6) of the Financial Regulation shall be reviewed in the light of the results of controls and other relevant information.
In case of multiannual programmes, the authorising officer by delegation shall establish a multiannual control strategy, specifying the nature and extent of controls over the period and the manner how the results are to be measured year-on-year for the annual assurance process.