6.02.2012

A delegation of 9 civil servants and an interpreter of the Republic of Croatia visited the Netherlands Ministry of Finance for a second study visit organised by the National Academy for Finance and Economics. This second study visit was organised as part of a bilateral project supported by the Constituency Support Facility, to further develop the Financial Management and Control system in Croatia.

As one of the first activities for this project, a first study visit was organised for directors in January 2011 to exchange practical experience with peers. Since January 2011, a lot has happened in Croatia. EU and Croatian leaders have signed Croatia's EU Accession Treaty. Subject to the Treaty's ratification by all Member States and Croatia, the country will become the 28th Member State of the European Union on 1 July 2013 . As part of the project, a kick off meeting was held in Zagreb in February 2011, following several workshop on 6 topics (strategic planning, risk management, recording and reporting systems, guidelines, a pro active approach and Central Harmonization Unit) to support the good and enthusiastic work of the Central Harmonization Unit, lead by mrs. Danijela Stepić. Last December a new minister of Finance was appointed following elections with strong support for Public Internal Financial Control and for this project.

The participants were eager to learn and shared their experiences with Dutch experts. Like with friends, it was very nice to meet each other again, to talk about what is going on in our countries, the field of work and to share views on the future. A record number of questions were raised which showed their interest and the right timing for this activity. The topics covered gave food for thoughts and plenty of inspiration for continuing the good bilateral relation and cooperation. Different ideas for future cooperation resulting and the hope to meet again expressed.

Topics covered:
- Inspector of the budget
- Financial Management and Control in a Dutch Agency
- Rules and regulations
- Risk management and Public Private Partnership in control
- Netherlands Court of Audit

Lecturers:
- Mr. Arjan Wildschut
- Mr. Mattheus Wassenaar
- Mr. Gerard van Reijsen
- Mrs. Margreet Cammel
- Mr. Ron Berkhout
- Mr. Abdel Ellabassi
- Mr. Ton Kok
- Mrs. Suzan Ouwerkerk

For more information, please contact Suzan Ouwerkerk, Dutch project leader for this project.
s.a.j.ouwerkerk@minfin.nl

With help of the Constituency Support Facility, a bilateral project between the Netherlands and Croatia aims to further develop the Financial Management and Control system in Croatia. The focus is to strengthening the existing directorates/sectors for finance and budget users at State level. Also attention is addressed to further strengthen the coordination role regarding PIFC at the Ministry of Finance.

The main objective of this study visit was to raise awareness about the Dutch situation and its context and also to create commitment towards the project. Another objective was to further strengthen the professional and personal relations between the budget users concerned. To achieve these objectives the participants met several Dutch peers with whom they exchanged thoughts and experiences. The Croatian and the Dutch financial function have similarities and differences, especially since every situation in every organisation is different in time. With a step further in common understanding of each others back grounds and situations, we look with great enthusiasm further to the next activities in Zagreb.