Preparedness for auditing
The audit obligation depends on the funding scheme or the amount of funding granted. The audit obligation is stated in the funding terms and conditions appended to the funding decision or in the special conditions of the funding decision.
Funding decisions on research infrastructures, strategic research, flagships, Centres of Excellence (CoE) and university research profiling are subject to the obligation regardless of the total amount granted (individual decision or consortium in total). For CoEs and Finnish Flagships, where the funding period consists of two consecutive periods, the audit is carried out after the last funding period.
In addition, an audit is required if the funding stated in the funding decision for the RCF-funded project, i.e. the RCF’s contribution to the total costs, totals 1,000,000 euros or more (individual decision or consortium together).
The RCF may also require an auditor’s report for projects other than those listed above. These will be announced and instructed separately. In addition, we may commission a sample-based audit in accordance with our own annual audit plan.
The audit obligation, the project implementation and the compliance with the terms and conditions are always examined in line with the terms accompanying the decision. A funding decision may also be accompanied by special conditions.
Implementation of audit
The RCF has a report template for audits. The most recent template must always be used for audits. The template is available at How to use funding on our website (under ‘Forms’), and it serves as the basis of the audit regardless of when the funding decision was made.
The audit will proceed in accordance with the actions outlined in the template, taking into account the funding instrument being audited. If there are passages in the report that are not necessary for the audit, they are crossed out.
The audit is a way to ensure that the reported cost accrual corresponds to the total costs of the project. The costs must have been incurred during the funding period mentioned in the funding decision, taking into account any extensions granted.
Costs incurred before the start of the project will not be accepted, regardless of when they were paid. Similarly, costs incurred after project completion will not be accepted. However, the invoice may be dated after the funding period, provided that the cost has accrued on an accruals basis during the project. For example, invoices for outsourced services may arrive and may be paid only after the end of the validity of the funding decision. The invoice is acceptable as project costs if the work on which the invoice is based was carried out while the decision was active.
The only costs partly incurred after the funding period that are accepted are the costs of the auditor’s report. As these costs must be included in the final payment application, it is important that the audit invoice is delivered promptly.
In the project’s books, the project costs must be identifiable and their connection with the accounting and reporting must be visible. For example, the costs may be identifiable by decision number or cost pool. As a rule, the RCF funding terms and conditions always require that that the hours worked on the project are tracked. If the work-time tracking has not been set up as required in the funding terms and conditions, the salary costs of the person in question might not be accepted as project costs. The hours worked must be confirmed by the person’s supervisor or the project PI in such a way that it can be verified retroactively.
Delivering audit report
The auditor’s report must be delivered to the RCF Registrar’s Office within three months of the end of the funding period. Contact the auditor well before the end of the funding period to ensure that the audit can be carried out within the deadline.
Funding from EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF): instructions and forms
