Ndependent audit report

LIFE+ 2007

INDEPENDENT AUDIT REPORT ⁽¹⁾

LIFE+ Programme (European Commission)

Project No:

Project title:

Project co-ordinating beneficiary:

Auditor:

Firm:
Table of Contents

1.Context 3

2.Audit objectives 4

3.Declaration of auditor’s competence 4

4.Audit methodology 5

4.1 Verification of the implementation of the project on the basis of an examination of the coherence between the Grant Agreement (+ any supplementary agreements) and the project documents. The actions carried out and the declared expenditure will be compared with the actions set out in the Grant Agreement and with the provisional budget. 5

4.2 Verification of the eligibility of the declared costs on the basis of the following criteria: 5

4.3 Verification of the declaration of all project income 5

4.4 Verification of the origin of the participants’ financing 5

5.General project information () 6

6.Audit results 8

6.1 Verification of the implementation of the project 8

6.2 Verification of the beneficiaries' accounting systems 8

6.3 Verification of the eligibility of the declared costs 8

6.3.1 General 8

6.3.2 Personnel costs 9

6.3.3 Travel costs 10

6.3.4 External assistance costs 11

6.3.5 Durable goods 13

6.3.6 Consumable materials 15

6.3.7 Other costs 15

6.3.8 Overheads 16

6.3.9 Ineligible costs 16

6.4 Expenditure as calculated after the audit 17

6.5 Statement of expenditure and income 17

7.CONCLUSIONS 18

Annexes:

1. 
   Model form for calculating the hourly or daily cost of personnel
   
2. 
   Details of costs found ineligible (if not already listed under 6.3.1 to 6.3.9)
   

NB : When used without further specification, the terms "beneficiary" / "beneficiaries" mean both the co-ordinating beneficiary and/or all associated beneficiaries.

1. Context

The purpose of the LIFE+ Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 614/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 May 2007) is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of Community environmental policy and legislation, in particular the integration of the environment into other EU policies. The Commission uses this financial instrument to support projects which assist the implementation and definition of different sectorial policies.
The procedure for applying for Community financial assistance is as follows:

The applicant should send a proposal and a request for financial assistance to the European Commission, including:

• 
  a technical description of the project
  
• 
  administrative information
  
• 
  financial information including details of expenditure by category
  
• 
  the commitments of associated beneficiaries and co-financiers.
  

If the application is approved by the Commission, the applicant will receive a copy of a document entitled “Commission Grant agreement”, indicating:

• 
  the total anticipated expenditure for the project
  
• 
  the eligible costs
  
• 
  the estimated distribution of total costs and eligible costs
  
• 
  the maximum amount of Community financial assistance (amount and as a percentage of expenditure)
  
• 
  the project duration
  
• 
  the content of the action
  
• 
  the Common Provisions for LIFE+ projects (CP).
  

The Commission will make a first pre-financing payment equivalent to 40% of the maximum Community financial contribution followed by a second pre-financing payment. The size of the second pre-financing payment varies according to the applicable provisions.

Within three months of completing the project, the co-ordinating beneficiary should submit a final report including:

• 
  consolidated accounts of costs incurred by all the project participants (co-ordinating beneficiary and associated beneficiaries),
  
• 
  any income
  
• 
  interrest raised from pre-financing payments
  
• 
  the final financing plan showing the various sources of finance,
  
• 
  a certified financial audit report.
  

The Common Provisions stipulate that an auditor, nominated by the co-ordinating beneficiary, must verify the statement of expenditure and income submitted to the Commission when the maximum Community contribution set in the Special Provisions exceeds 300.000 € (CP art. 31).

The statements of expenditure and income must therefore be subject to a certified financial audit. The financial assistance is payable once the European Commission has received and accepted the technical report, and the statements mentioned above, properly certified by the auditor.

2. Audit objectives

The purpose of the audit is to obtain sufficient evidence of the accuracy of the statement of expenditure and income in accordance with the Common Provisions, the provisions of the European Union Financial Regulation, the national legislation and accounting rules and in relation to the forecast for the project. The audit will cover the use of funds from all sources of financing.
To this end, the auditor must reconcile all the expenses mentioned in the statements with the criteria mentioned in point 4.2.
The auditor must also verify that all project income has been declared.

3. Declaration of auditor’s competence

I, the undersigned,……………………., independent auditor (²), hereby declare:
(1) that I am independent of the…………………..(name of the audited bodies) which are the object of this audit;

(2) that I am an active member of the national association (name) of (name of country) in which (name of the beneficiary) is established.

Date : ……………………..

Membership n° of the association:…………………………….

Signature:

4.