Seventh Framework Programme

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Certification policy for the FP7

Certificates on the Financial Statements | Certificates on the Methodology | Certificate on the methodology for personnel and overheads | Certificate on the methodology on average personnel costs | Core documents

Certificate on the Financial Statements (CFS) - Form D of annex VII of the grant agreement

The Certificate on the Financial Statements (CFS) in FP7 replaces the FP6 "Audit Certificate".
The CFS shall be submitted after the costs are incurred and claimed.
A CFS shall be submitted for claims of interim and final payments when the amount of the EC contribution claimed by a beneficiary under the form of reimbursement of costs is equal or superior to EUR 375 000, when cumulated with all previous payments for which a CFS has not been submitted.
However :

  • for projects of a duration of 2 years or less, the CFS shall be submitted only for claims on final payments when the amount of the EC contribution claimed by a beneficiary is equal to or superior to EUR 375 000 when cumulated with all previous payments. This CFS has to cover all eligible costs.
  • the requirement to provide intermediate CFS for claims on interim payments is waived when a Certificate on the Methodology for personnel and indirect costs is accepted by the Commission

The CFS shall certify that the costs claimed and the receipts declared during the period for which they are provided, as well as the declaration of the interest yielded by the pre-financing meet the conditions required by the grant agreement.

Certificate on the Methodology

Experience with past framework programmes has evidenced that the main sources of errors in the costs claimed by beneficiaries relate to the personnel costs and indirect costs, often calculated according to a methodology which does not conform to the grant agreement provisions.
The framework for the ex-ante certification of costs methodologies for FP7 grant beneficiaries is based on "agreed upon procedures" which have been established on the basis of international audit and accounting standards and in close co-ordination with the relevant professional audit body (see document FEE discussion paper 'Compliance with Laws and Regulations: Audits and Assurance Engagements in the Public Sector' and in particular page 22).
The objective of the certification on the Methodology is to promote the use of correct methodologies by beneficiaries when calculating personnel costs and indirect costs, in particular in those cases when average costs for personnel are claimed. The Certification on the Methodology should therefore reassure the beneficiaries that the methodology they use conforms to the FP7 Grant Agreement requirements.
In this context, two new types of ex-ante certifications have been defined in the General Conditions of the FP7 Grant Agreement:

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Certificate on the Methodology for Personnel and Indirect costs -
Form E of annex VII of the grant agreement

The Grant Agreement allows that some beneficiaries submit, prior the costs being claimed, a Certificate on the Methodology they will use for the identification of personnel and indirect costs. This option is opened to beneficiaries who have participated in at least 8 contracts under FP6 with an EC contribution for each of them equal or superior to EUR 375000. This Certificate on the Methodology will have to be approved by the Commission.

The approval of the methodology will be valid for all subsequent financial statements submitted by the same beneficiary under the 7FP unless the beneficiary's methodology changes or if an audit or other control performed by the Commission services or on its behalf demonstrates that the methodology certified can no longer be maintained in its present form.
Beneficiaries receiving approval for both personnel and indirect costs will not have to submit Certificates on Financial Statements for interim payments. In addition, the final certificate on financial statements will be prepared by the auditors by verifying, for personnel and indirect costs, only the compliance with the declared methodology, thus adding simplification to the audit work performed.

Beneficiaries who consider they meet the eligibility criteria and intend to opt for the certification on the Methodology may introduce a request only by electronic mail to RTD-FP7-Cost-Methodology-Certification@ec.europa.eu.
The certificate can be submitted at any time during the implementation of FP7 and at the earliest on the start date of the first Grant Agreement signed by the beneficiary under FP7.

Certificate on the Methodology for average personnel costs -
Form E of annex VII of the grant agreement

Those beneficiaries who intend to claim average costs for personnel must provide a Certificate on the Methodology used to calculate averages unless they have already provided a Certificate on the Methodology. In this case, the Certificate on the Methodology replaces the Certificate on average personnel costs.

For these reasons, beneficiaries who use average personnel costs and consider that they fulfill the eligibility conditions to submit a Certificate on the Methodology for personnel and indirect costs should consider the possibility of submitting a request for the latter instead of a request for a Certificate on average personnel costs.

The acceptance of the Certificate on the average personnel costs will be valid for all subsequent financial statements from the same beneficiary submitted under FP7 but it does not waive the obligation to provide an intermediate Certificate on Financial Statements (CFS).

The request can be introduced only by electronic mail to RTD-FP7-Average-Personnel-Rate-Certification@ec.europa.eu.

The certificate can be submitted at any time during the implementation of FP7 and at the earliest on the start date of the first Grant Agreement signed by the beneficiary under FP7.

On 23 June 2009, Commission has adopted acceptability criteria for average personnel cost methodologies in FP7.

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Core documents

Audit-related organisations

Last updated on: 2009-07-02