FINANCIAL REPORTING Rules and Regulations European Commission Research DG-RTD-D-4 Alexis LONCKE alexis.loncke@ec.europa.eu +32/2/2993805 First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Financial Reporting Purpose  provide EC officers with clear and precise information for approval of activities and costs. Financial report  refers to the provisional budget of the proposal, the outcome of the negotiation process which is translated in the Grant Agreement. Financial report  reflects the quality of the financial management. First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

FP7 Financial Rules First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Eligible Costs Eligible costs must be: Actual (special case for personnel costs (average)) Incurred by the beneficiary during duration of project in accordance with the beneficiary’s usual accounting and management principles Recorded in the accounts of beneficiary (during the period of reference excepted for specific costs related to the production of the final report (60 days after the end of the project)) Dedicated to the sole purpose of achieving the objectives of the project Planned in the provisional (or amended) budget or agreed on by PO/FO First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING 4

Organise your financial monitoring on this basis ! Eligible Costs Eligible costs are classified in specific FP7 headings : staff, travel, durable equipment (! Depreciation !), ALL DIRECT COSTS subcontracting, DECLARED MUST consumables, ALWAYS BE REAL certificates costs, all these being direct costs, (not rounded, not averaged) - Indirect cost (different types according to calculation method) Organise your financial monitoring on this basis ! First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING 5

Not Eligible Costs e.g. Identifiable indirect taxes including VAT Duties (tax on imported items) Interest owed Exchange losses Costs declared reimbursed in respect of another Community project debt and debt service charges, excessive or reckless expenditures Etc. First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Reimbursement Rates First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

FP7 Certification First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Certification (1) 2 types of certificates: Certificate on financial statements Expenditure verification Compulsory for EC contributions > 375,000 € Certificate on the methodology Certifies methodology of calculating Personnel & Indirect costs Optional Once accepted valid for all subsequent FP7 financial statements submitted N.B.: The submission of any certificate does not waive the right of the Commission to carry out its own audits (Article II.22 of the FP7 model grant agreement) First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

FP7 Reporting First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Reporting Participant portal: for coordinator and beneficiaries http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/appmanager/participants/portal Access all your projects The role in the project is registered: Participant / coordinator Coordinator to grant access to participants Unique platforms for all project reporting SESAM: tool for submitting technical reports FORCE: tool for submitting financial reports Security: ECAS – European Commission Authentication System – Need to be identified First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Reporting Deliverables defined in Grant Agreement and its annexes Mandatory Reporting Forms annexed to the Grant Agreement Periodic report submission within 60 days after end period Overview progress work Explanation uses resources Form C together with a summary financial report and certificate on the financial statements if needed – Conversion rate (date incurred / first day) Final report within 60 days after end project Final publishable summary Report on societal implications Report on the distribution of EC contribution 30 days after receipt final payment All reports to be sent electronically through coordinator Original financial reports to be sent to the Commission First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Reporting Commission has 105 days to analyse the reports Commission may: Approve reports and deliverables Reject reports and deliverables Suspend the delay for approval: additional info, correction,… No tacit approval of reports Automatic payment of interest in case of late payment (except for public bodies member states) First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

External Audit and Sanctions FP7 External Audit and Sanctions First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

External Audit FP7 larger autonomy (no CFS) … BUT ‘at any time during the development of the project and up to 5 years after the end of the project, EC may arrange for audit to be carried out by external services or EC services themselves’ Purpose of the audit For the Commission to obtain assurance that it is not overcharged Declared Cost is backed by genuine expenditure All claimed expenditure is recorded in the accounts First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING 15

External Audit EC policy  increased number of audits on the spot Commission staff or outsourced Periodic Audit batch by sampling Audit on request by EC officer (PO/FO) if lack of cooperation and/or transparency doubt on costs declared Possibility of extension of audit results to all GA with the same beneficiary (extrapolation) First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Sanctions Recovery procedures (possible offset by EC (centrally) on other projects from the same beneficiary) Liquidated damages (if costs overstatement) strictly applied unjustified Community financial contribution x (overstated amount/total Community financial contribution claimed) Financial penalties (if false declarations) Between 2% and 10% of the EC contribution First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING 17

Thank you for your attention First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING

Information http://ec.europa.eu/research/enquiries Find a document  http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/find-doc_en.html FP7 Enqueries Service  http://ec.europa.eu/research/enquiries First INCO Conference: "Supporting Research Integration“ THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING 19