1. Electronic-only submission of FP7 financial statements (forms C) NEXT

2. Forms C – current situation Electronic preparation and submission of forms C via the participant portal After submission, print-out of pdf version; signature by representative of the beneficiary, sending by post to the coordinator Coordinator sends package by post to Commission Commission checks paper version against electronically submitted data NEXT

3. Form C preparation Participant B Form C Participant C Form C Coordinator Form C Commission (Form C: including upload of scanned copy of certificates, if applicabe)

4. Form C submission Participant B Form C Participant C Form C Coordinator Form C Commission Scnt Rpt

5. Form C submission Participant B Form C Participant C Form C Coordinator Form C Commission Scnt Rpt

6. Electronic proof of submission Participant B Form C Participant C Form C Coordinator Form C Commission Scnt Rpt E- proof E- proof E- proof

7. Electronic proof of submission Participant B Form C Participant C Form C Coordinator Form C Commission Scnt Rpt E- proof E- proof E- proof LEAR BLEAR C LEAR A

8. Electronic proof of submission pdf document containing all information submitted (for coordinator: full periodic report; for partners: form C and scanned copy of certificates (if applicable)) Containing credentials (ECAS account) of submitter Digitally signed by Commission - integrity Certified time-stamp “Court-proof”: for the beneficiary: proof that exactly this information was submitted at that time and received by the COM for the COM: proof that exactly this information was submitted at that time

9. Electronic proof of submission

10. Persons (IAM roles) involved Submission from participant to coordinator: any (!) participant contact (PaCo) in the organisation Submission from coordinator to COM: any (!) coordinator contact (CoCo) in the organisation Need for review of internal working methods and approval processes for forms C in participant organisations

11. Transition from current approach Modification of model grant agreements Immediately applicable to grants signed after modification Application to grants signed before: information to all ongoing grants plus special screen when pressing Submit button Ad-hoc offline appeal possibility (with time limit), if form C submission seems erroneous

12. Transition from current approach Modification of model grant agreement: Article 8 – Communication 1. Any communication or request concerning the grant agreement shall identify the grant agreement number, the nature and details of the request or communication and be submitted to the following addresses: For the Commission: European Commission DG [name] [B-1049 Brussels [Belgium] [Luxembourg] For the coordinator: [name of contact person] [contact address] 2. For information or documents to be transferred by electronic means, the following addresses shall be used: For the Commission: For the coordinator:

13. Transition from current approach Modification of model grant agreement: II.2. Organisation of the consortium and role of coordinator … 3. The coordinator shall: … e) monitor the compliance by beneficiaries with their obligations under this grant agreement. f) [obligation with regard to identity and access management] … 4. Beneficiaries shall fulfil the following obligations as a consortium: … e) allow the Commission to take part in meetings concerning the project. f) [obligation with regard to identity and access management] II.3. Specific performance obligations of each beneficiary … o) [obligation with regard to identity and access management]

14. Transition from current approach Special screen when pressing Submit button: Since xx.xx.xxxx, the paper signature of FP7 financial statements is replaced by a secured electronic submission via the Participant Portal. Pressing the “Submit” button below will trigger a legally valid submission of your form C. An electronic proof of submission, in the form of a pdf document containing all submitted information, digitally signed by the Commission, will be made available to you, to the LEAR of your organisation and to the coordinator of the project.  I confirm that the ECAS account xyz linked to e-mail address aaa@bbb.cc is my personal account aaa@bbb.cc  I confirm that I am authorised to submit FP7 financial statements (forms C) for my organisation SUBMIT

15. Discussion How is form C approval currently organised in your organisation (actors involved, work flow)? What is your opinion on the proposed new approach? What changes would be necessary to the processes in your organisation? Questions on technical details