The paper discusses the alignment of the Serbian legal and institutional framework
with the acquis communautaire in the area of Public Internal Financial Control
(PIFC). The author first analyses the PIFC concept, which comprises of three main
components: financial management and control, internal audit and the establishment
of a central harmonisation unit for developing methodologies and standards relating
to the first two pillars. The author explains that the establishment of internal financial
control in the Republic of Serbia started in 2006, and is still in progress. Although
significant efforts have been invested in developing the PIFC standards and practices
in the Serbian administration, internal control and internal audit are still in the very
nascent phase of the development. Therefore, the author concludes that it is necessary
to invest significant efforts in further alignment of the Serbian legislation in this area,
and strengthen the capacities of all budget users to adopt modern concepts of internal
management and control and internal audit, in order to ensure that the public money
is spent in the most efficient and effective way
