Presentation "Auditing PPP" made during the SIGMA workshop on Auditing Public Private Partnerships and Concessions. Ankara, 2-3 May 2018. Presentation made by Frederic Angermann, SIGMA.

1. © OECD
Auditing PPP
Frederic Angermann, Conseiller maître
Cour des comptes, France]
Ankara, 2-3 May 2018

2. © OECD
THE COURT’S MISSIONS

3. Since the constitutional revision of July 23, 2008,
the Cour has four different missions:
judging, controlling, assessing and certifying
 The Court judges the public accountants’ accounts
verifying regularity of revenues and expenditures.
 It controls the use of public resources looking after
regularity, efficiency and efficacy of their
management.
 It evaluates public policies
 It certifies State’s and Social Security’s accounts to
guarantee that public administration’s accounts reflect
a fair view of their financial situation.

4. A STRENGTHENED CONSTITUTIONAL MISSION OF ASSISTANCE
TO GOVERNMENT AND TO PARLIAMENT
• Art. 47-2 of the Constitution :
« The Court of Accounts assists the Parliament in controlling
Government’s action. It assists the Parliament and the Government in
controlling the enforcement of finance laws and the implementation of
laws on the financing of Social Security as well as for the assessment of
public policies. It contributes to inform the citizens through its public
reports.»

5. REPORTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE 2001
CONSTITUTIONAL BYLAW ON FINANCIAL (« LOLF »)
• Report on the fiscal balance and execution of finance laws
(« RRGB »)
• Report on the situation and prospects of public finance
(« RSPFP »)
• Annual audit opinion on the State’s account (« certification »)
• Reports on Social Security
• Other assistance missions :
 Assistance for evaluation and audit missions for finance committees (Art.
58-1 of the LOLF)
 Enquiries requested by the finance and social affairs committees of both
Parliamentary assemblies (Art. 58-2 of the LOLF)
The following reports are not delivered to Parliament :
- Reports on the jurisdictional controls (discharges, rulings…),
- Reports of the CRTC concerning local public bodies.

6. A mission of informing the
citizens
• The most important proportion of the Court’s
work is made public :
 The annual public report (« RPA », early February)
 The RRGB, the RSPFP, the certification reports
 The thematic public reports
 The reports on bodies calling on public generosity
 The reports written at the request of Parliament (Article 58-2
of the LOLF)
 Letters adressed to Ministers regarding specific problems
(posted on the website of the Court after 2 months)

7. © OECD
THE COURT’POWERS

8. The Cour des comptes is a jurisdiction : it assesses, it judges, and it
can impose sanctions.
The Cour des comptes :
a « French style » jurisdiction
The Court assesses the compliance of the accounts rendered with the standards and
rules applicable to public sector accounting.
Judging the accounts of public accountants
Scenario 1: no mistake:
The control leads to a release of the
accountant who is « discharged ».
Scenario 2: irregularities have been
identified:
The control may lead to a declaration of
financial liability (« débet ») or to a fine.
The decision is made after a public
hearing.

9. Auditing the proper use of public funds
The Court controls the use of public funds. These controls are often assimilated to
performance audits.
These controls are administrative controls: they cannot lead to a ruling.
The Cour des comptes has no mandate to judge the managers (« the authorising
officers », unless they are identified as « de facto accountants »).
It is the Budget and Finance Disciplinary Court (CDBF) that may adjudicate on
financial management mistakes potentially made by the managers.
The Cour des comptes :
a « French style » jurisdiction

10. THE AUDIT PROCESS

11. The audit process
 Audit opening “notification” letter
 Meeting between the controlling staff in charge of
control and the managers of the audited organisation
 Inquiry process : full access to all material
 Collegial deliberation (decides on the follow-ups)
 Sending of a provisional report (ROP)
• The ROP may be unnecessary if the Court has made a
final decision after the first collegial deliberation.
 Possible hearings of the managers of the audited
organisation and written “right to answer”
 Second collegial deliberation
 Definitive follow-ups:
• Control ending letter with the definitive report
• Letter to the minister (“référé”)
• Letter from the General Prosecutor;
• Possible publication

12. Quality control
• The framework :
 The legal and regulatory framework : it defines the Court’s
competences, how the magistrates should be recruted, what
should be their level of experience and qualifications.
 Internal rules and decisions made by the First president : they
organise the work of the Court.
• But also :
 The collegial decision-making : that is applicable for all the
Court’s reports and that leads to a great number of deliberations.
 The role of the Public ministry :
 Regarding the procedures: it checks the compliance with the rules,
the quality and completion of the adversarial proceedings, the
existence of all supporting documents needed in the legal file.
 Regarding the content of a control: it ensures the correct
interpretation of the law, the internal consistency of the report, the
consistency with the global Court’s message.

13. • Seven chambers:
 Each Chamber is composed of about forty magistrates and
rapporteurs, as well as of experts and assistants to the
President and a clerk’s office (“greffe”).
• Each chamber is responsible for :
 Auditing the management of the ministries in its remits and
all public accounts relating to their transactions ;
 Auditing the accounts and the management of public
organisations or corporations, be they administrative,
industrial or commercial, and all the bodies placed under the
authorities of the ministries.
The Court’s organization

14. The staff:
 The Court : more than 700 personnel, among them more than 400
audit personnel
 The Regional and territorial chambers : more than a 1000 personnel,
among them more than 700 audit personnel
The Court’s reports:
Year 2015 2016 2017
Reports on public finance and social
finance
7 7 7
Reports at the Parliament’s request 13 17 11
Organizations calling on public
generosity
3 4 1
Annual public reports 1 1 1
Thematic public reports 7 9 11
Communications of the General
Prosecutor
30 41 51
Summary judgments (référés) 24 32 35
Key figures : Staff and reports

15. Source : Rapport public annuel 2018
The follow-up on recommendations:
The Court makes recommendations in all its reports (except for
jurisdictional reports). The follow-up of these recommendations
consists in:
- An annuel follow-up during the three years following the audit.
- A renewed audit after a few years.
2015
(follow-up of the
recommendations
made in 2012, 2013
et 2014)
2016
(follow-up of the
recommendations
made in 2013, 2014
et 2015)
2017
(follow-up of the
recommendations
made in 2014, 2015
et 2016)
Number of
recommendations
that have been taken
into consideration
1 792 1623 1647
of which : number of
recommendations
that led to a reform
1 256 1 168 1 197
Rate 70% 72% 72,7%
Key figures: the impact of the Court’s work