Upcoming Public Finance Helpdesk Workshops:
27/03/2007 2 Day in-depth FP7 Financial Workshop in Brussels, Belgium. ***Fully Booked***
08/05/2007 1 Day FP7 Financial Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.
09/05/2007 2 Day Proposal Writing Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.
14/05/2007 2 Day in-depth FP7 Financial Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.
FP7 Grant Agreement Update:
We have been receiving many questions regarding the FP7 Financial Rules / Regulations etc.
In January, the Commission published the 1st Drafts of the FP7 Grant Agreement as per our previous newsletter. Unfortunately no updates have been released since then, nor has the Commentary on the Grant Agreement which replaces the Financial Regulations.
As soon as any more information is officially published, then we will let you all know.
In the meantime, the Finance Helpdesk has had some information on what will be in the new drafts. Currently we are writing papers on such subjects as “Third Parties and FP7” and “Certificates on Financial Statement” these papers will be hopefully be available next week. Below are a few highlights;
Third Parties:
In FP7, Third Parties can be eligible costs if:
· There is a prior agreement between beneficiary and third party prior to contribution to project
· It has been foreseen in Annex I,
Other Points:
· If Third Party costs are not reimbursed by the beneficiary and contributed specifically for the project then the costs are classed as a receipt to the project.
· All Third Parties (apart from Subcontract) have to produce a Form C.
· There is an FP7 special clause that allows the participation of members of entities such as EEIG.
Important points for Universities:
· Professors being paid directly from Government and not from the University are eligible costs because the professor is made available to the department and not for a specific Project. In this case the Government agency would be a Third Party
· Universities that are not beneficiaries, rather – they work through another organisations set up by the Universities, are non-eligible in FP7 because the resources are for a particular project – these costs would be classed as receipts. The only way around this is to have the University be a beneficiary themselves, or for the University to become a JRC.
Audit Certificates:
In FP7, Audit Certificates have been renamed to “Certificate on Financial Statement”.
In the new Grant Agreement, which will be available shortly, there are differentiations between projects that last more than 2 Years and the ones that last 2 years or less.
For all projects that claim money via eligible costs; if the Partner's total claim is less than €375,000 then no Certificate is required even if the project is below or above 2 years.
If Partner's total claim is more than €375,000 and the project is 2 years or less, then only one Certificate is required - at the end of the project.
If Partner's total claim is more than €375,000 and the project is more than 2 years, then a Certificate is required at each reporting period where the cumulative amount of un-audited funding requested is above €375,000, any balance at end of project is un-audited.
Certification on the Methodology:
“Certification on the Methodology” is only an option to beneficiaries claiming actual indirect costs. If a beneficiary does have a “Certification on the Methodology”, then, the interim certificates that normally would be required if the Partner's total claim is more than €375,000 for a reporting period and the project is more than 2 years - are not required; instead only one certificate will be required at the end of the project.
This certification will only be available at the Commission's discretion to participants who are in many projects and will only be gradually introduced.
Lump Sum, NoEs and Third Countries:
“Lump Sum Amounts” are limited to €25,000 per category. The issue here is “what is a category?” It could be for example, per person, or per trip. The €25,000 is per unit, per year and the units are not yet defined.
It was thought that NoEs would be implemented via Lump- sums from the first calls; however this is not the case. NoEs will continue to use the Eligible Costs reimbursement method. It may be that in later calls they will be switched to use Lump-sums.
Under the Eligible Costs reimbursement method – even for NoEs, the R&D is funded at ether 50% or 75% depending on your funding regime.
Third countries receiving funding may elect themselves to receive their project funding as a Lump-sum rather than Eligible Costs reimbursement. Amounts will be allowed in this case to go above €25,000 per category via the use of annexes to the Grant Agreement.
Candidate Countries Status:
They are all 3rd countries unless they have an association agreement. The terminology of "Candidate Countries" is no longer used. Croatia, Turkey etc are now negotiating theirs.
Commission Email Changes:
Last year the Commission changed their Email contacts and URLs however, the old addresses were sill going to be operational for another year.
The year is almost up, so here is a reminder for those of you still using the old Email addresses.
firstname.surname@cec.eu.int should not be used anymore. The new format for Commission Email addresses is:
firstname.surname@ec.europa.eu
The old URLs are also about to be stopped – please update your bookmarks now.
Old URL = europa.eu.int/comm/
New URL = ec.europa.eu in all addresses.
Open Workshops:
1 Day FP7 Financial Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.
To answer the overflow of demand for our February and March Workshops in Brussels, the Finance Helpdesk will be holding an additional open 1 day FP7 Financial Workshop on 8 May 2007, in Brussels, Belgium.
The workshop will be aimed at project managers and is particularly relevant to anyone who wants to understand the FP7 Financial Rules and how to report correctly. This Workshop is aimed at the Cooperation Theme.
The Workshop will cover:
· Differences between FP6 and FP7
· FP7 Financial Rules
· Budgeting Rules
· Flat rate Overheads Vs Real Costs (FC Calculation)
· Derogation Scheme
· Cost Recording
· Eligible Costs
· In-House Financial Recording Systems
· Cost Reporting
· Management Reports (Form C)
· Audit Certificates
· Final Payments
For more information please click here.
2 Day Proposal Writing Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.
In response to requests, The Finance Helpdesk together with EFPConsulting, are holding an open 2 Day Proposal Writing Workshop on 9 & 10 May 2007, in Brussels Belgium.
The workshop is aimed at people from organisations who are interested in taking part in an FP7 project proposal. The workshops shortcut the learning curve for writing a quality proposal with a higher chance of success and cover such areas as: background reading and considerations before you begin; detailed discussion of the “do’s and don’ts” of each proposal section; budgetary and other financial considerations.
This workshop is an interactive workshop with the participants acting as evaluators in order to best understand what makes a good or a bad proposal.
For more information please click here.
2 Day in-depth FP7 Financial Workshop
The Finance Helpdesk will be holding a 2 Day in-depth FP7 Financial Workshop targeted at Accountants, Auditors and Financial Personnel on 14 & 15 May 2007 in Brussels, Belgium.
Workshop Aim:
To ensure the attendees have all the tools required to interpret and implement the new rules of FP7. This is key in enabling them to understand and implement their own, or their clients’ financial responsibilities and options in applying for and undertaking an EU RTD project. This Workshop is aimed at the Cooperation Theme.
The Workshops will include specially prepared materials including: presentations, exercises and workbooks with illustrated examples. These workshops will be conducted by experienced qualified accountants.
The Finance Helpdesk Workshop will be implemented through:
· Explaining and interpreting current written published material,
· Case Studies and examples,
· Discussion of problems and situations from the participants,
· Consultants’ extensive experience in the EU Framework Programs.
Workshop topics:
· Funding Schemes
· Differences between FP6 and FP7
· FP7 Participation, Subcontractors, Third Parties
· Risk-sharing Finance Facility, Guarantee Mechanism
· Funding Regimes, Lump Sums, Flat Rates
· Funding Rates, Activities
· Personnel Costs, Average Personnel costs, Employment issues, Students
· Receipts
· Eligible & Ineligible costs
· Going from AC to Full Costs
· Overheads, Possible Methods, Direct Costs Vs Indirect Costs,
· Financial Planning, Financial Spreadsheet
· Bookkeeping, Accounting Records, Timesheets, Cost Recording
· Financial Reporting, Timing and approval of financial reports
· Certificate on Financial Statement
· EU Audits / Liquidated Damages
· Consortium Agreement financial Issues
· The Role of the Coordinator
For more information please click here.
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