Financial Management Practical Aspects_Anania

8/14/2019 Financial Management Practical Aspects_Anania

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Speaker: Cristina Anania

Legal&Financial NCP

International Cooperation Department

Ministry of National Education





Understanding of the financial rules is very important

A beneficiary should use the same cost basis in all

contracts with the Commission within FP7 and maintain

it for all its participation in FP7 Grants



Read the financial rules

When financial monitoring will be done by the economic

department check if the European Commisson requirements are

correctly implemented (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/fp7_documents )

Check twice the eligbility of any costs before commiting it

Do not perform other expenses than those propose in Grant

Preparation Form and approved in ECGA

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/fp7_documents












All the costs reported must be real not

estimated, they must be actually paid

Implement within your institution a monitoringsistem for all expendinture of the FP7 projects

(excel, access) = easier to report

Ensure periodic monitoring, preferably and

more easier to report = monthly monitoring



...... If

you have doubts, questions or you need an

advice you can always contact the project

officer or the representative L&F NCP from your

country (http://www.cordis.europa.eu/fp7/get-support_en.html )

http://www.cordis.europa.eu/fp7/get-support_en.html


















..........to remember

Transfer of budget between activities and

beneficiaries is allowed without the need for an

amendment of the ECGA, a condition for this is

that the work be carried out as foreseen in Annex Ito ECGA

If the transfer has a significant impact on the DoW

(Annex I), an amendment is however needed



............ATTENTIONThe coordinator should verify this on a case-

by-case basis, but in practical terms,

coordinators are encouraged, where a transfer

with a potential impact on the DoW arises

(most cases), to check this (i.e. by e-mail)with the Project Officer





**For beneficiaries that are non profit public bodies, secondary and higher education establishments, researchorganizations and SMEs





Estimation of eligible costs of the project must

be shown in detail in the provisional budget

included in the Grant Preparation Forms (GPF)and subsequently in the Description of Work

(Annex I to ECGA).



In order to be considered for reimbursement,

costs incurred by the beneficiaries in the course

of the project, must satisfy the eligibility criterialaid down by the ECGA.



The Commission which takes the final decision on

the nature and amount of the costs to be

considered eligible, either when analysing

proposals for the establishment of the estimated

budget to be annexed to the ECGA or when

examining financial statements for the purposes of

determining the EU contribution







Essentially the forms are used to identify the

beneficiaries that will sign/accede to the grant

agreement, to determine the eligible costs and

Community contribution and to electronically

capture structured information on work

packages, efforts, milestones and deliverables.



Milestones Deliverables

Efforts

Work Packages



The project is divided into reporting periods of the following duration:

- P1: from month 1 to month X

- P2: from month X+1 to month Y

- P3: from month Y+1 to month Z

- (…)

- [final]: from month [N+1] to the last month of the project



After 01/01/2013 = electronictransmission of Form C = thesubmission of paper forms isabolished



Following the modification of the Grant Agreement adopted on 14.12.2012,

at the end of each reporting period, the Commission shall evaluate and

approve project reports and deliverables and disburse the corresponding

payments as follows:

for reporting periods ending before 31/12/2012 (including), within 105

days from the day

of receipt of project reports and deliverables.

for reporting periods ending as from 1/1/2013, within 90 days from the

day of receipt of project reports and deliverables.

The new time limit of 90 days applies to all grant agreements, includinggrants signed before 31/12/2012, for which the reporting period is due

after 1/1/2013.







Accounting records

The accounting records include, among others:

Accounting entries:

- Accounting journal

- General ledger

- Cash book

- Inventory register

- Fixed assets register





Other documents:

- Rules applied for depreciation

- Method of allocation of indirect costs

- Internal rules for reimbursement of travel

expenses

-



PROJECT ACCOUNTS

Normally project accounts for FP7 projects aremanagement account codes allocated solely toindividual FP7 projects which are integrated inthe double entry accounting system of the

beneficiary

This integration with the double entry system

reduces the likelihood of double counting andmakes it easier to reconcile the costs with theaccounting records



Thus the invoices (say for travel) which are

allocated to the project are posted via double entryto the individual project accounts, so that the travel

costs incurred for a particular project in a particular

period can be correctly identified

Other forms of recording project expenditure (e.g.

spreadsheets) are not considered as reliable as

management accounting directly linked to the

double-entry accounting system



To be considered eligible costs must be

Determined according to the usual accounting

and management principles and practices of the

beneficiary identifiable and verifiable



Costs must be determined according to the

applicable accounting rules of the country where

the beneficiary is established and "according to the

usual accounting and management principles and

practices of the beneficiary"

However, this principle is not absolute; it must be

considered together with the other eligibility

criteria, and therefore could not be invoked in order

to deviate from other provisions of the ECGA (e.g.

VAT)



Supporting documents proving occurrence, the

bookkeeping and the payment of the costs by

the beneficiaries must be kept for all costs and

for up to five years after the end of the project.



CONCLUSIONS:

Read and understand the financial rules for FP7

projects

Comply with both national and european legislationCollaborates with other departments within your

institution (especially financial and juridic

departments)

In case of doubt, ..............ASK



Thank you for your attention

Documents

Financial Management Practical Aspects_Anania