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FINANCIAL GUIDANCE

OVERVIEW

1. Project Budget

2. Payment of Grant Aid

3. Eligibility of Expenditure

4. Procurement & Tendering Guidelines

5. Audits

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PROJECT BUDGET

The budget is outlined in Section 2.3 of the Grant Agreement and must be strictly adhered to.

Any changes to the budget must be requested in writing and approved by Pobal in advance.

The Grantee should monitor actual spend against the budget on an ongoing basis throughout the lifetime of the project.

The offer of grant aid is up to the amount stated in the Grant Agreement. Any unspent monies at the end of the project will be decommitted and will not be available to the project.

PAYMENT OF GRANT AIDThe following documentation must be submitted and approved by Pobal prior to the release of the initial payment of your grant aid:-

Executed Grant Agreement Details of dedicated bank account / Details of cost centre

approach Evidence of compliance with all relevant project specific

conditions and pre-payment conditions as detailed in your Grant Agreement (Sections 3 & 4)

Tax Clearance Certificate (Refer to Guidance Notes for Grantees Section 6)

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ADVANCE PAYMENTAdvance Payments are considered on a case by case basis.

REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENITURE CLAIMEDGrantees will be required to submit 4 quarterly claims for

payment annually. Payments to be made on a retrospective/reimbursement basis.

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PAYMENT OF GRANT AID

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CLAIMS PROCESS Completed claims comprise:-

Signed Declaration by Grantee (Template included in pack) Expenditure Report (Template included in pack) Progress Report (Template included in pack) All relevant original supporting documentation e.g.

invoices, procurement documentation, bank statements etc.

Any individual item of expenditure must be claimed within 6 months of expenditure been paid.

The final claim must be submitted within 3 months of Project end date.

CLAIMS/PAYMENT PROCESS

Pobal reviews completed claim

Queries Pobal informs Grantee of any issues; these

must be addressed within 10 working days

Queries not addressed by Grantee within 10 working days

Queried expenditure is rejected and cannot be

reclaimed.

Queries addressed by Grantee within 10 working days

No Queries

Verification completed,

Verification Report issued and original

documentation returned Payment authorised

by Pobal

ELIGIBILITY OF EXPENDITURE

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Proof of expenditure is always required; therefore expenditure must be supported by receipted invoices or accounting documents together with bank statements. There must also be a proven link with the projects operations . (refer to Guidance Notes for Grantees Section 2)

The following types of documentation must be submitted/retained to support expenditure claimed;

STAFFING COSTS:- Payroll records - Tax Deduction Cards Contracts of Employment Rates of pay should be linked to relevant payscales Timesheets must be submitted where staff are working less than 100%

on the DACT Project. These should clearly outline total number of hours worked, number of hours allocated to the DACT Project and number of hours allocated to other areas of work.

STAFF RECRUITMENT – When new staff are recruited, documentation to support the recruitment process from start (advert) to finish (contract of employment) must be retained.

STAFF REDEPLOYMENT - When staff are redeployed, evidence of approval of the redeployment together with confirmation of the redeployment to the individual staff member must be retained. Any redeployment of staff must be in line with the organisations redeployment policy.

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TRAVEL & SUBSISTENCE:- Claim forms signed by the claimant and authorised at the

appropriate level to be submitted Original receipts must be submitted to support claims where

relevant. Claim forms should clearly state the name of claimant, work

and home base of claimant, date of travel, time of departure, time of return, purpose of travel detailing how it relates to this project.

Payments must be in line with the organisation’s approved travel and subsistence policy.

When planning travel, economy & efficiency should be considered at all times.

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OVERHEADS :- Only costs directly related to project activity are eligible eg.

mobile phone or direct telephone lines. Apportioned costs are not eligible.

EQUIPMENT:-

Equipment costs under the Disability Activation Project must not exceed €1,000 (including VAT) per single item.

Maintain an asset register which details the following:- Type of Asset Serial Number (if applicable) Location of Asset

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PUBLICITY COSTS:- Financial support received by you is fully and clearly

acknowledged in all aspects of publicity & promotion. All publicity documents must contain the appropriate logos

etc for the cost to be eligible. A sample of publicity material must be submitted with

expenditure claims to support costs claimed Failure to adhere to the publicity regulations will result in part

(or all) of the publicity related expenditure being deemed ineligible for funding. EU = zero tolerance.

(Refer to Appendix 3 of the Guidance Notes for Grantees – European Social Fund Information & Publicity Guidelines.)

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PROGRAMME COSTS:-These are costs that arise directly from the delivery of the project and are detailed in the Budget Details in Section 2.3 of the Grant Agreement

In the event of hospitality costs being incurred the following should be noted:- They must be directly relevant to the project objectives. The level of hospitality should not be lavish or ostentatious,

with cost-effectiveness key. The following documentation MUST be available to support

hospitality costs:- List of attendees (sign in sheet) Details of the purpose of the event

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INELIGIBLE EXPENDITUREThe following costs are not eligible for funding under ESF:- Equipment costs exceeding more than €1,000 (including

VAT) per single item. Apportionment of Overheads Bank interest payable, referral charges, litigation fees Recoverable VAT Fines and penalties Costs resulting from the deferral of payments to creditors Depreciation In kind Contributions Sub-contracting costs

REVENUE/INCOME/RECEIPTSAs a general rule any revenue / income / receipts generated from an EU co-financed operation must be deducted from the eligible expenditure of the operation.

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PROCUREMENT & TENDERING

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The EU Commission places a high priority on compliance with procurement procedures so it is essential that not only are correct procedures followed but that back up documentation to this effect is retained to verify this.

You are responsible for compliance with the public procurement procedures and must ensure rules on procurement are strictly adhered to.

Guidelines are available at www.etenders.gov.ie

PROCUREMENT & TENDERINGBELOW EU THRESHOLDS

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Less than €5,000 Obtain verbal quotes from one or more competitive suppliers. Select lowest price/most suitable. Record must be retained.

€5,000.00 to €25,000 A minimum of 3 written quotations sought from competent suppliers who ordinarily supply the relevant service.

€25,000.00 to € EU threshold Full Tender Action

PROCUREMENT & TENDERINGFailure to comply may result in expenditure being declared

ineligible and/or financial penalties being imposed. Details on level of penalties are outlined in the COCOF 07/0037/03-EN document. (Copy included in pack)

Any retrospective creation of documentation will automatically result in the tender competition being declared null and void, and the expenditure will be declared ineligible.

IF IN DOUBT, SEEK ADVICE

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AUDITS1. POBAL ON THE SPOT CHECK:-

Each Grantee will receive at least one ‘On the Spot’ visit by Pobal staff during its lifetime.

The aims of the ‘On the Spot’ check are to:- Verify the regularity and reality of activity, assets and expenditure; Ensure compliance with the EC Regulations, National Legislation, Programme

Guidance/Guidelines and the contract for funding; Ensure that the Grantee has established robust systems for management of

expenditure and activity; Ensure that an audit trail is being maintained;

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AUDITS

2. Department of Social Protection

3. The ESF Financial Control Unit

4. European Court of Auditors

5. Controller and Auditor General

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RESOURCES AVAILABLEManaging Better Tool KitsDACT Guidance NotesTemplates -

Expenditure Returns Declaration by Grantee

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