Equal Action 2 Startup Seminar

1
Equal Action 2 Start-up Seminar

• The Payment Cycle
• Guidance on completing your profile, interim
  claims and closure report

2
Agenda

• The Payment Cycle
• The Progress Report and Interim Claim Form
• Progress Report
• Interim claim
• Expenditure and Revenue Spreadsheet
• Significant Changes
• The Closure Report
• Irregularity Reports
• N 2

3
The Payment Cycle

• Advance Payment
• Interim Payments (monthly or three-monthly)
• Final Payment (Retention Amount)

4
Action 2 Payment Cycle

• Follows formal approval for Action 2
• Advance payment
• based on your DPs projected expenditure, as
  detailed in your Profile and Advance Claim Form
• equals 30 of your DPs ESF allocation for the
  first 12 months of Action 2
• serves as a float towards actual, eligible
  expenditure

5
Action 2 Payment Cycle

• Interim payments
• based on your DPs actual expenditure as detailed
  in your DP Progress Report and Interim Claim Form
• made on a monthly or quarterly basis, dependent
  on your DPs chosen profile

6
Action 2 Payment Cycle

• Final payment
• held back until Action 2 closure
• equals 20 of your DPs ESF allocation for the
  last 12 months of Action 2
• made on clearance of your Action 2 Closure
  Report, General Statements of Expenditure and
  final Verification Certificate
• Could change if you re-profile your DPs
  expenditure

7
The Progress Report andInterim Claim Form

• Must be submitted within 15 working days of end
  of claim period
• This includes the very last period!

8
The Progress Report andInterim Claim Form

• Must detail
• ESF-eligible, cumulative expenditure that has
  been incurred and actually paid for
• how the expenditure has been funded
• the number of beneficiaries your DP has supported
• your DPs activities and progress, since previous
  claim

9
The Progress Report and Interim Claim Form

• New Interactive Interim Claim Form
• Incorporates
• Interim Claim Form
• Progress report
• Expenditure and revenue spreadsheet
• Performs validations

10
The Progress Report

• Your DPs objectives and planned activities
• Equal opportunities
• Innovation
• Empowerment
• Transnational work
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Activities, outputs and outcomes
• Dissemination and mainstreaming
• Other comments

11
The Progress Report

• Remember to comment on
• Targets
• Outputs or outcomes
• Difficulties
• Lessons learned
• Progress in addressing Action 2 Approval Report
• And please follow guidance on the word count!

12
The Progress Report andInterim Claim Form

• Support Unit checks
• Numerical accuracy and consistency
• ESF eligibility
• Relevance to your DPA and TCA
• Comparisons with Profile (variations of 15 or
  more should be explained)
• Progress

13
The Progress Report andInterim Claim Form

• Common mistakes
• Uncertified alterations
• Variance in cost headings or beneficiary numbers
  are not explained adequately
• Progress report repeats DPA information
• Bank/cost centre details are inconsistent
• Use the checklists available in the guidance to
  avoid delays in your payment

14
Expenditure and Revenue Spreadsheet (ERS)

• Incorporated within Interactive Interim Claim
  Form
• Provides a breakdown of
• Staff Costs
• Beneficiary Costs
• Other Costs
• Transnational Costs
• for claim period only

15
Expenditure and Revenue Spreadsheet (ERS)

• Adds breakdown to figures carried forward from
  previous interim claim
• to give overall cumulative figures for current
  interim claim
• Figures are carried forward to Financial Summary
  section of the Interactive Interim Claim

16
Expenditure and Revenue Spreadsheet (ERS)

• Helps you to
• Monitor your DPs expenditure and revenue
• Collect detailed information from partners and
  third parties
• Pre-empt issues that may be left or escalate
  until Action 2 closure

17
Expenditure and Revenue Spreadsheet (ERS)

• Helps the Support Unit to
• Understand how your claim has been compiled
• Identify areas where you need additional
  guidance/support
• Check on your DPs expenditure and revenue on a
  gradual basis
• Reduce the degree of checking at Action 2 closure

18
Minimum levels of detail

• In general, total costs for whole DP under each
  sub-heading
• For some sub-headings (staff salaries costs /
  premises overheads), total costs for each
  partner is required
• For other sub-heading, description of
  expenditure item is required

19
Minimum levels of detail

• Do not include pence
• If grouping expenditure items, they must be
• actual (i.e. no averages, commercial or notional
  rates)
• supported by full and robust audit trail
• Lead partners responsibility to ensure
  expenditure and calculations fully meet ESF
  requirements

20
Please remember

• Make sure all sections of the interim claim are
  completed progress report, claim form and
  breakdown of expenditure.
• It takes time to collect information from
  partners and to get the form signed off plan
  carefully and allow adequate lead-in times

21
Please remember.

• Do not use correction fluid on the hard copy
• Do not include pence!
• Ensure certification by an appropriate signatory
• When sending in the hard copy, ensure the time
  and date stamp match the electronic version
  already submitted

22
Significant changes

• Prior agreement required
• Notify Support Unit immediately
• Use Notification Pro Forma
• Remember to consider impact on Action 3

23
Significant Changes

• Examples include
• extra items of expenditure in Action 2
• change of lead partner or DP name
• major changes to management, delivery structure,
  objectives or target group
• change to match funding sources, types or amounts
• major changes to the Action 2 workplan
• change to the Action 2 end date

24
Underspends

• In the interim claim, must give expected total
  expenditure for calendar year
• Support Unit will contact your DP if underspend
  anticipated
• Your DP can undertake additional activity to use
  shortfall, or funding can be reallocated
• If permanent underspend anticipated, must notify
  Support Unit follow the Significant Change
  procedure

25
Re-Profile

• Required when there is a significant change to
  expenditure, match funding or beneficiary
  profiles
• New DP Profile and Advance Claim Form must be
  submitted and possibly new PMFCs
• The Support Unit reserves the right to ask for a
  re-profile at any time if they are not satisfied
  with the actual expenditure declared through your
  interim claim

26
Action 2 Closure Report

• Validates all actual, eligible DP activity and
  expenditure for Action 2
• Will determine the final payment amount
• Reports on final beneficiary numbers
• Must be submitted within 40 working days of
  Action 2 end date

27
N 2

• ESFD has agreed minimum expenditure target with
  European Commission (N 2) for each year
• If target is not met, funds are returned to
  European Commission, which can affect funds
  available for DPs

28
N 2

• Please play your part in meeting target by
• maximising expenditure claimed
• addressing Immediate Actions
• submitting interim claims accurately and on time
  (15 working days)
• Responding to Support Unit queries promptly (2
  working days)

29
Irregularity reports

• Needed to inform the Commission where funds
  provided by them are at risk or potentially at
  risk
• May result in ESF approval amount for your DP
  being reduced
• Before declaring any expenditure ensure it is
  accurate, eligible, relevant to your DP, incurred
  during claim period and paid prior to claim
  submission.

30
Irregularity reports

• May be raised
• Article 4 or 10 visit if an error is found above
  the de minimus limit of 4,000 Euros
• Annual audit if an auditor picks up an error on
  the audited claim and reworking the claim results
  in a negative claim. An irregularity report is
  required for the amount to be recovered.

31
Irregularity reports

• If your DP notifies the Support Unit of an error
  on a previous claim which if corrected results in
  a negative claim be recovered.
• Closure if an auditor picks up an error at
  closure and reworking the claim results in a
  refund situation. The refund amount becomes the
  irregularity.

32
Irregularity reports

• Value of irregular expenditure (ESF match
  funding) reduces the total DP costs
• ESFD will write to your DP to notify you that an
  irregularity has been raised
• Your DP should submit significant change to the
  Support Unit reducing costs

33
Systemic errors

• An error that is likely to be repeated in
  subsequent transactions and impact on future
  claims e.g. incorrect apportionment methodology
• If found during audit, A4 or A10 checks, total
  costs allocated to project will be reduced by the
  value of the error found, extrapolated across
  project term through reprofiling

34
Key Points

• Payment Cycle is split into three parts
• Advance Payment
• Interim Claims
• Retention Amount
• Progress Report and Interim Claim form must be
  completed correctly for payments
• Your monitoring and record-keeping throughout
  Action 2 will feed into the Closure Report
• Inform the Support Unit if you are considering
  any action which would constitute a Significant
  Change
• Please submit claims on time and respond to the
  Support Unit as quickly as possible help us to
  meet the N2 targets

35
Questions?