Audit Grant audit
Asegi Auditores reviews the statements of expenditure and the financial statements required by the aid calls of the Basque Government, of the Provincial Councils of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Araba, of the Government of Navarra and of state and European programmes, with specialist experience in R&D and innovation projects. The report is signed by an auditor registered with the ROAC.
What's included
- Review report on the statement of expenditure in accordance with the terms of the call
- Verification of the eligibility of each expenditure item before it is submitted to the body
- Reconciliation between the costs charged to the project and the company's accounting records
- Review of the allocation of staff hours and of the apportionment of indirect costs
- Internal control recommendations to separate grant-funded expenditure from the first day
- A work schedule matched to the reporting deadline of each call
Winning the grant is half the work. The other half is accounting for it: proving to the body that awarded it that every euro charged to the project is real, eligible and supported by the accounts. Many calls require that account to be accompanied by the report of an auditor registered with the ROAC.
Statements of expenditure with an auditor’s report
We review the statement of expenditure and the other financial statements required by the various aid programmes and public bodies: the Basque Government, the Provincial Councils of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Araba, the Government of Navarra, and state and European calls. We do not set the scope: it is set by the rules governing each call, and both the procedure applied and the format of the report issued follow them.
R&D and innovation projects
R&D and innovation projects account for most of the objections raised. Staff are charged by the hour, indirect costs are apportioned on a basis that has to be defensible and the project’s expenditure must be capable of being isolated from the rest of the accounts. We review the allocation of hours, the apportionment of indirect costs, the eligibility of depreciation, external collaborations and consumables, and the traceability between the technical report submitted and the accounting entries that support it.
The real risk is repayment
A defective account is not settled with a simple request for information. The managing body can require full or partial repayment of the grant plus late payment interest, and can do so a fair time after the money has been received. That is why it is worth intervening earlier: if the internal control system separates the project’s costs from the first day, the account stops being an after-the-fact reconstruction done against the clock.
Before accounting for it, during the project
We help design the recording process for grant-funded expenditure — cost centres, timesheets, document filing of invoices and contracts — so that, when the reporting deadline arrives, the information already exists and is in order. We also warn you of an effect that surprises many companies: receiving public grants above certain amounts makes it compulsory to audit the annual accounts, even if the company does not reach the general thresholds for a compulsory audit.
Frequently asked questions
- When does a public body require an auditor's report on the grant?
- This is determined by the rules governing each call. It is common for the format of a statement of expenditure with a report from an auditor registered with the ROAC to be imposed above a certain amount of aid.
- What happens if I do not account for the grant properly?
- The managing body can require full or partial repayment of the grant, plus late payment interest. The request can arrive a fair time after the aid has been received.
- How do I show that a project is R&D and innovation?
- Through a detailed technical report, accounting documentation that separates the project's costs from the rest of the activity and, on significant projects, a reasoned report from a competent certifying body.
- Can receiving grants oblige me to audit the annual accounts?
- Yes. Companies that receive public grants above certain amounts are required to audit their annual accounts, even if they do not reach the general thresholds for assets, turnover and headcount.