1. DG Justice
Financial Analysis
FRC Kick-off meeting

2. Procedure The financial officer will:
assess the financial statement by first checking that:
the financial statement is signed
the correct exchange rate has been used in converting costs to euro
the costs reported were foreseen in annex II of the grant agreement
the financial statement has been correctly filled in.
in most cases request a sample of supporting documents
Important: the payment period of 90days is suspended until receipt of the requested information and documents
DG Justice

3. General Requirements
Costs reported should be registered in the accounting of the beneficiary/co-beneficiaries.
Beneficiary should set up a cost-revenue centre specific to the project in its accounts.
Although the final report must be done in euros, cost must be declared in the currency in which they were incurred and converted to euros according to provisions in the grant agreement. E.g. salary in England is paid in GBP therefore cost should be reported in GBP.
DG Justice

4. General Requirements
On request of documentary evidence, only copies of the supporting documents should be sent to the Commission. Originals should be kept with the beneficiary
Where the amount on the invoice is not the same as the amount reported, please provide an explanation.
Before starting your project, kindly read the project management guide!
DG Justice

5. Supporting documents required per cost category
6 categories of costs
A – staff
B – travel
C – equipment
D – consumables
E – other direct costs
F – overheads
DG Justice

6. Supporting documents – Staff costs
Permanent staff:
existing contract
- secondment letter
with description of tasks, reference of the project, duration, time allocated to the project, hourly/daily rate
monthly salary slips
timesheets – not necessary for staff working full time on the project
calculation of the hourly/daily rate requested.
DG Justice

7. Supporting documents – Staff costs
Permanent staff: Civil servants
Besides all documents required for permanent staff we also require the following:
In case of over-time – proof of payment of overtime or proof of the additional days granted by the public body for compensating the overtime worked in the project
In case the person is replaced for his normal work - contract of the additionally recruited person
In case the staff cost does not represent an additional cost – no additional documents are required however please note that these costs are eligible only to the extent that they must be covered by the own contribution to the project and cannot exceed it.
DG Justice

8. Supporting documents – Staff costs
Non-permanent staff: specifically recruited for the project
- specific contract linked to the project
with indication of tasks, reference of the project, duration, time allocated to the project, hourly/daily rate
salary slips – if the staff is on the payroll
Invoices – if the staff concerned is not on the payroll – invoice must indicate the tasks performed, date, number of hours/days worked and the price per hour/day
Proof of payment by bank transfer
DG Justice

9. Calculation of staff costs for staff not fully allocated to the project
Annual gross salary + social charges
Total actual annual productive working days or hours X
actual days or hours working on the grant as substantiated by timesheets
Where:
Annual Gross Salary + Social Charges = costs actually paid by the beneficiary in the timeframe of a year, including: salary, taxes, employer's contribution for national security schemes etc.
Total actual annual productive time = total time in days or hours worked in the timeframe of a year. Please note that time used on meetings, activities, training and similar activities are considered as productive working time.
DG Justice

10. Common reasons of ineligibility – staff costs
Staff contracted by organisations other than those mentioned in the grant agreement.
Daily/hourly rates claimed are those budgeted
Wrong calculation of daily/hourly rates
Inflated daily/hourly rates
Lack of timesheets or unsuitable timesheets provided
Volunteer work costs
Work done outside the eligibility period
For more information on timesheets and the calculation of the daily/hourly rate kindly refer to the project management guide.
Staff must be directly contracted by the beneficiary or the co-beneficiaries.
DG Justice

11. Supporting documents – Travel and subsistence cost
Concerns 2 categories of costs:
Travel: travel costs directly linked to the project
(i.e. flight ticket, train ticket, local travel, etc.)
Subsistence allowance: accommodation, meals, local travel within the place of mission
DG Justice

12. Supporting documents for the travel costs
Travel invoice
Transport ticket (boarding pass, train receipts, bus ticket, etc.)
Travel by car: reimbursement claim – up to the equivalent of first class rail fare
Proof of payment or reimbursement (in case flight is purchased by a third party and not the beneficiary/co-beneficiaries)
Signed attendance list (in particular for meetings and conferences)
DG Justice

13. Supporting documents for the subsistence allowance
reimbursement on the basis of actual costs:
expenses reimbursement claim form
accommodation invoice
all receipts related to food, beverages, local transport, and other expenses
attendance list signed by the participants
proof of reimbursement (bank transfer is preferred)
2. reimbursement of a lump sum (application of beneficiary’s/co-beneficiaries' policy):
copy of the policy
reimbursement claim
proof of payment (bank transfer is preferred)
Calculation of the amount paid
Attendance list signed by the participants
DG Justice

14. Important notes on subsistence allowance
Subsistence allowance paid should be according to the normal practice of the beneficiary and within the limits per country set out by the Commission
The amount of subsistence allowance/per-diem paid depends on the duration of the travel: each successive 12 hour period is equivalent to 0.5 of the subsistence allowance.
e.g duration of the mission: from 15 January, 11h00 until 18 January, 20h00 = 3.5 Daily allowances (DA)
Reimbursement should be made by bank transfer. Payment in cash should be avoided
In case breakfast/ lunch/ dinner is offered during travel the perdiem should be reduced accordingly.
DG Justice

15. Common reasons of ineligibility – travel and subsistence allowance
Missing documents – e.g. missing boarding pass or other proof of travel
Use of taxi where public transport could have been used.
Undue subsistence allowance paid
Travel and subsistence allowance costs incurred outside the EU
Missing proof of payment – bank transfer
Subsistence allowance exceeding the threshold per county.
For more information on travel and subsistence allowance paid kindly refer to the project management guide.
DG Justice

16. Supporting documents – Equipment
Invoice showing date of purchase and delivery and proof of payment
Beneficiary's accounting practice
Calculation of the depreciation amount requested.
Common reasons of ineligibility
Invoice not addressed to beneficiary/co-beneficiary
Full cost claimed (when this is not in accordance with the beneficiary's/co-beneficiaries usual accounting practice).
Cost claimed does not reflect the period and percentage used for the implementation of the grant.
DG Justice

17. Supporting documents – Consumables
Invoice and proof of payment
Common reasons of ineligibility
Invoice not addressed to beneficiary/co-beneficiary
Cost cannot be linked to the project, cannot be traced or is part of the normal running costs.
Costs claimed are not consumables but general office supplies (pens, paper, folders) which are not eligible and are covered by overheads
Cost not foreseen in annex II of the grant agreement
DG Justice

18. Supporting documents for other direct costs and sub-contracting
Invoices indicating name of publication, number of pages, language, date of service provided, etc.
Proof of payment – bank transfer showing payment to the supplier
In case activities are subcontracted, the subcontracting rules must be applied
Supporting documents relating to sub-contracting
subcontracting agreement
proof of payment
proof of other offers received
the tender procedure followed
DG Justice

19. Common reasons of rejection – other direct costs
Invoice does not have any link to the project e.g name of publication missing, date activity took place missing, etc.
Lack of the visibility of the EU financial support and EU logo on publications
Costs not foreseen in annex II of the grant agreement
Cost incurred outside the eligibility period. Invoices can be dated outside the eligibility period but the cost must be contracted within the eligibility period and must relate to activities that took place within the eligibility period. In case of publications and audit costs the contract must be signed within the eligibility period. The invoice and proof of payment may then be dated outside the eligibility period.
DG Justice

20. Common reasons of rejection
Indirect Costs
No Supporting documents are required. Indirect costs do not need to be justified. They are calculated as a percentage of eligible direct costs (percentage specified in article I.4.2 of the grant agreement and in no way can exceed 7%) after analysis of the costs by the Commission
Common reasons of rejection
% overheads requested is higher than that agreed in article I.4.2 of the grant agreement
The beneficiary/co-beneficiary has an operating grant running within the same period as the action grant.
DG Justice

21. EX-POST Audit
Be aware that after the final EC contribution is established, your project could be randomly selected for an ex-post audit
=> all invoices, receipts, supporting documents, accounting records should be available
Keep all documentation for a period of 5 years after final payment/recovery (Art. II.20)
As a result of the audit the Commission may recover any payments made to the beneficiary.
DG Justice

22. Thank you for your attention!
DG Justice