Permanent financial control for the Sierra Oeste fire aid

The General Comptroller of the Community of Madrid has issued a resolution, dated September 8, 2026, specifying the conditions for the application of permanent financial control over the economic-financial management of the aid intended to repair the damage caused by the forest fires that devastated the Sierra Oeste in July. The regulation develops the Agreement of September 2, 2026, of the Governing Council, which established this modality of control to ensure that public funds comply with the legal framework and the principles of sound financial management.

The resolution is published in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid number 220, of September 15, 2026, within section I.C) Other Provisions of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Employment, and is signed by the General Comptroller, Francisco Javier Carmena Lozano.

Regulatory Framework and Background

The magnitude of the July fires led to a request for a declaration of emergency of national interest, which was agreed upon through Order INT/748/2026, of July 23, for the territory of the Community of Madrid and the province of Ávila, under articles 28 and 29 of Law 17/2015, of the National Civil Protection System.

The internal control regime is based on Law 5/2025, of December 23, on the Treasury of the Community of Madrid, and its development by Decree 62/2026, of July 22. Article 116.3 of the law empowers the Governing Council to replace the auditing function with permanent financial control in certain management areas, such as that of these grants, due to their unity of purpose, their link to the same triggering event, and the involvement of different managing bodies.

Scope of Control

Permanent financial control will be exercised over the acts, documents, files, and procedures that comprise the management of the aid for the July 2026 fires in the Sierra Oeste, and will cover everything from processing and granting to justification, payment and, where applicable, reimbursement. The prior auditing of the regulatory bases is excluded from this substitution and will remain subject to the auditing function.

The actions will be directed and coordinated by the Sub-directorate General of Financial Control of the General Comptroller’s Office, and will be executed by the financial control bodies or the delegated audits determined by the annual control plan. The planned checks include:

• The adequacy of the economic and budgetary management of the files and the existence of sufficient credit.
• The existence and publication of the regulatory bases and the compatibility regime with other aid.
• The correct processing and resolution of the granting procedures.
• The justification of the aid, the application of funds, and the physical verification of the financed investments.
• The review of the computer systems that support the processing.

Reports, monitoring, and reversion

The results will be documented in provisional and final reports, subject to a claims process and forwarded to the bodies responsible for management. The General Comptroller’s Office will monitor the detected deficiencies and the corrective measures adopted.

When the results reveal significant risks or the singularity of certain files advises it, the General Comptroller’s Office may agree, by reasoned resolution, to subject those actions to the auditing function, as well as the total or partial termination of the substitution when the evolution of the management does not justify maintaining permanent control. The resolution takes effect from the day of its signature and is published in the bulletin for purely informative purposes.

The implementation of this control reinforces the guarantee that the urgent aid for the Sierra Oeste fires reaches those affected with agility, but also with the proper oversight of the use of public funds, in an emergency context that requires reconciling speed and rigor in management.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid, no. 220, September 15, 2026, section I.C) Other Provisions, pp. 296-301 (official reference: BOCM-20260915-55, exp. 03/14.511/26).