H2020 Finance Presentation

Requirements It is an STFC requirement to have a signed BID form for all external funding. There is a project being led by Mark Affonso to put a STFC corporate bidding process together.

H2020 BIDS The Bid Form is an important key financial document Involve finance, legal & commercial, line management and division heads from an early stage in the process. Contact finance for the relevant BID form to complete along with the STFC Corporate H2020 guidance. The BID form needs to be signed before any formal information is supplied to the external funder. When the BID form is completed it gives the following financial information: a) The costs submitted to the EC b) Funding the project will receive c) Internal costs to the department Any BIDS for over £100K need to have a BID review.

EC Costings The standard EU rule is STFC are reimbursed at 100% of eligible costs with a flat rate of 25% overhead on total direct costs. H2020 costing is supposed to be simple Identify what staff resources are required Identify other non staff eligible costs which include: a) Travel b) Consumables and Supplies (inc. VAT) Capital Equipment Capital can be purchased on EU projects but before bidding for this you need to ask is this the best way to purchase this as we can only claim the % of usage on the project.

Project Setup The project number is issued once the contract is awarded with a task structure that reflects the contract All receipts must be retained for 5 years. EC have a no receipt no claim policy All OTL bookings still need to be manually signed off The Form C is prepared by UKSBS. They will send everything to the project manager for approval and signature. It is important the management accountant is copied in on all correspondence. The current contact at UKSBS is Colin Childs. The form C and justification of costs are then submitted by the project manager via the EC online submission process. This then comes to finance for authorisation. Important note: when you take on an EC project it is a big responsibility and requires a substantial amount of administration.

Audit Requirements Retain appropriate supporting documentation and receipts including VAT receipts and boarding passes for air travel. Provide annotation if required, e.g. where receipts cover more than one project or to clarify which expense claim line is supported by a receipt. Ensure (OTL) time records are formally approved on either a weekly or a monthly basis. Ensure that the EU Project Claim form (Box 3) is ticked on the envelope used to submit hard copies of expenses claims to the UK SBS and that the envelope is marked with the EU project name. Use HRG for booking travel and accommodation. Any T&S should be booked in line with STFC 2014 Policy. Ensure STFC internal recharges are supported by adequate evidence including methodology of application available to the auditor. (Ridgeway House invoices etc) Audit certificates are required for projects that receive more than or equal to €325,000 (excluding flat rate overheads) and is only required at the end of the project.  However, if you have a large income or complicated project it would make sense to have the audit done more frequently and the audit cost should be taken in to account. The EC audit can only audit a project 2 years after it has finished.