TACIS - Practical experiences Riga Rolf Wännström County Administrative Board of Västerbotten

Financial Management Crucial issues –Lead partner responsibilities –Legal status of Russian/Belorussian partners –Payments –Financial liquidity –Language

Financial Management Lead partner responsibilities –Lead partner receives pre-payment as soon as the Grant Contract is signed by both parties (EC Delegation and Lead partner) –Responsible for submitting Project updates, Interim and Final reports –Auditing done by Lead partner

Financial Management Legal status of Russian/Belorussian partners –Regional/national authorities can not usually receive EU funds! Regional authorities are financed through the Treasury The Treasury has no currency account Transferring of funds from foreign organisations is impossible! –Theatres, libraries which belong to a regional/national authority ARE allowed to open currency accounts! –Should be discussed in the project preparation phase

Financial Management Payments –Cash Limit of dollars –Bank transfer to organisation Opening of currency account in other country –Bank transfer to service providers Contracts with individuals, or sub-contractors

Financial Management Financial liquidity –Pre-payment very important –Second payment received when 70% of pre-payment is used –Final payment

Financial Management Language problem –Involve at least ONE english speaking person from each partner –Allocate resources for interpretation and translation