EC awards are the most frequently audited.
During May 2017, the Research Operations Office organised a half-day event on the audit requirements of Horizon 2020 grants, led by ROO and LEES Chartered Certified Accountants. The presentation slides available here are a quick guide to H2020 audit requirements based on Version 4.0 of Annotated Model Grant Agreement (21 April 2017).
The type of timesheet that is required differs by framework programme. FP7 and H2020 template timesheet are available below:
The EC accepts that time entered on the timesheet can vary from month to month, but over the reporting period, the time upon which costs are claimed must match the time reported.
Information about absences included in timesheets must match records of annual and sick leave taken. Time taken for work-related travel must be supported by appropriate evidence, e.g. conference documentation, project meeting notes etc.
For staff working 100% on an EC H2020 grant a Declaration of Exclusivity will also be required at the end of each reporting period. A template for declration can be downloaded from declaration_100.odt.
The following documents outline the evidence and documentations that are generally asked for by auditors for audit of FP7 and H2020 grants.
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FP7 awards – will be audited at the end of a reporting period if the cumulative request for funds exceeds €375,000
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Horizon 2020 awards – Under H2020 an audit will be required with the final claim, when the total requested EC Contribution on actual direct costs exceeds €325,000. This applies to Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions & ERC grants. No audit is required for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. However, the University highly recommends having an interim audit carried out on any H2020 grant where the budget for the direct costs is >€325,000.The interim audit is to be conducted at the end of the first reporting period, enabling Departments to identify areas of risk as early as possible. Guide on interim audit is available here.
A flowchart showing the typical process of managing EC grants audit can be downloaded from here.