The accounting function is a role in the fund management system that ensures the preparation of expenditure statements and the programme's accounts, and their submission to the European Commission. In Slovakia, it is performed by the Ministry of Finance, and in previous periods it was referred to as the certifying authority. It verifies the completeness and correctness of expenditure reported by the managing authority and is responsible for ensuring that amounts identified as an irregularity are not reported to the Commission. For the recipient, it is not a body they communicate with directly, but its work affects the speed of the flows: only after the statement has been submitted and approved are funds from the Union's budget returned to the state. Understanding this chain explains why the provider insists on flawless documentation for a payment request.
See also: Paying unit, Payment claim, Financial management system.
