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FAQs, presentations and tutorials: find support to prepare your narrative and financial reports. 
 

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FAQ on the interim report

1. Narrative report

1.1 The narrative report has to cover the last six months of implementation?

The period to be covered by the first interim report is M0 to M12 (Grant Contract Article 6.3). Accordingly, the text of the previous progress report should be adapted and harmonized, and not erased, integrating the description of the narrative section up to M12.

1.2 Should we fill in all the narrative sections before uploading our expenditures?

It is possible to start either by the narrative or the financial part. The Lead Beneficiary (LB) is in charge of filling the narrative report and his own list of expenditures. Both sections can be worked in parallel until the submission to the Auditor, time at which modifications and upload of documents will be no more possible.

1.3 Regarding the narrative part, does the number of characters remain the same as the progress report or has it been increased considering that we should report a year of activity?

The number of characters remains the same. LB should adapt the content to update and summarize the information to cover from M0 to M12 (Grant Contract article 6.3). Accordingly, the text of the previous report will appear to facilitate the integration with the last report.

1.4 Do we need to upload only completed deliverables that will not undergo further changes in the next period?

Not only, if there are deliverables that are subject to update you can upload the version in progress with the last updates. Please, note that in the programme webpage there will be also a section to upload the completed and finalised deliverables, so they can be published and available for everybody.

1.5 Is it possible to defer only individual activities and not the entire output?

It is not possible to postpone only individual activities in the MIS as they are part of an output. Regarding the outputs that need to be deferred, it is necessary to remove the mark, press the clock icon that will appear and then indicate the updated semester of delivery.

1.6 Could you please confirm that in the section “Participation of project staff or representatives in project related events (internal and public)” it is necessary to insert only the events organized by the project itself?

Not only, also the events where the project is represented should be monitored. Please note that they should also be included in Annex 4.1 Cross-border transversal result indicators_v.1.0.

2. Financial report

2.1 Please provide clarifications concerning the admissibility of staff costs of private enterprises (professionals) other than employees under the Human Resources (HR) cost category: these professionals are usually VAT registered and claim payments with invoices.

Costs of natural persons under a contract other than an employment contract, and receiving other forms of remuneration other than salary payments can be reported under the cost category “Human Resources”, provided that they are not external consultants. Please see Chapter 7 of the PIM for more information.

2.2 Can you confirm that the expenditures related to the First Year of implementation (M1-M12) but paid after month 12 but before the submission of the first interim report can be considered in the first Interim report?

No, all expenses paid after the end of the reporting period (M1-M12) will have to be reported in the 2nd interim report (M13 - M 18).

2.3 In case we have multiple invoices for a single service (budgeted in 1 unit) how they have to be inserted in the MIS?

Please insert each payment singularly, even if several payments were made per one unit of the budget. In case of many payments related to travel and subsistence costs, fill in Annex 4.2 of the Project Implementation Manual (Format reporting travel) for completeness of information.

2.4 What happens if we exceed the total budget per budget line?

Reported expenses going over the total of the budget line will not be cut, unless they exceed the threshold of the minor amendment (i.e. 20% per cost category or per partner). However, the underestimated budget lines shall be adjusted before the subsequent report.

2.5 Do we need to respect the unit rate or the number of units approved in the budget?

The budget is a cost estimate subjected to changes during the implementation of the project, therefore unit rates and n. of units reported do not have to correspond exactly to those budgeted. However, please note that substantial changes may lead to requests for clarifications.

2.6 Which exchange rate do we need to use for reporting costs in our currency?

According to the Grant Contract (article 7.6), the Financial Reports shall be submitted in EURO, and may be drawn from financial statements denominated in other currencies. In such case and for the purpose of reporting, conversion into EURO shall be made using the monthly official accounting exchange rate of the European Commission for the month during which the expenditure was submitted for examination to the auditor for its verification. For this purpose, the exchange rate is calculated automatically by the MIS, once the report has been validated and submitted to the auditor for verification. Please note that the possible losses deriving from the difference of the application of the exchange rate cannot be covered by the Programme and are considered as ineligible costs.

2.7 How should we report administrative costs?

Administrative costs will be automatically calculated by the MIS per each financial report. As this functionality of the MIS is still pending, the amount of the administrative costs (according to the contracted %) should be calculated and added to the amount of expenditure reported, in the “Request for Payment” to be uploaded in the “Documents” section in order to conclude the reporting procedure and be able to submit the Interim Report to the Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS).

2.8 How are the expenses differentiated between own contribution and ENI contribution on the platform?

Reported expenditures are not differentiated (total reported = ENI funds + Co-financing). The contracted percentage of co-financing will be applied, i.e. a minimum of 10% of the reported amount will be considered as co-financing.

2.9 Partners should wait the pre-check confirmation of the LB before submitting their report to their auditor?

The check of the Lead Beneficiary’s financial manager is not compulsory. Each partner’s Financial Manager should check the expenditures before submitting the report to the auditor. Please be aware that no further editing of the report will be possible once submitted to the auditor.

2.10 Once, as Lead Beneficiary (LB), we  have checked the expenditures and finished our narrative section, does each partner have to send the report to the auditor for validation? Or is the LB the one who is in charge of this?

Once finalized the uploading of all expenditure, each partner sends its report to its own auditor for the expenditure verification via the MIS.

2.11 In case of employees that have not worked for the LB/PP organization during the full reporting year, is it eligible to use the hourly cost of the last full year available for this employee? 

As a general rule, and following the instructions included in the PIM (section 7.1.2) staff costs shall be calculated on the basis of the actual monthly gross salary (or wage) plus the mandatory social charges, insurance and any other statutory costs included in the remuneration (and deriving from national rules), but excluding any variable cost. As indicated in that section, the Gross Salary must be calculated at least once per year and every time that there is a change in the costs (increases in salary, etc.). As the hourly cost should be as accurate as possible in order to reflect the real staff costs incurred, whenever the use of the hourly cost based on the reporting period is insufficiently accurate, the LB/PP may use any other recent and reliable hourly cost which will provide a better approximation of the actual incurred costs, provided that it is validated by the auditor and in line with the national legislation.

2.12 In case where the reporting period year does not match the annual year, and the LB/PP organization is not able to calculate an appropriate and accurate hourly cost for the actual reporting period, is it allowed to use the last hourly cost available calculated for a full calendar year (for example, if the reporting period is September 2019 - August 2020, can we use the hourly cost for 2019)?

The use of the hourly cost for 2019 is allowed whenever: 1) the hourly cost based on the reporting period (September 2019 – August 2020) is not enough accurate and does not inform on the real costs incurred, 2) the hourly cost for 2019 is accurate and it is validated by the standard practices of the organization, 3) the auditor verifies the hourly cost calculation for 2019 and validates its application to the working hours implemented to the projects in 2020, 4) the use of the hourly cost 2019 is in line with the national legislation (to be verified with each National Contact Point). 

3. Expenditure verification reports (EVR)

3.1 Some partners still did not receive the validation of their auditors by the Control Contact Point (CCP), but the expenses are reported on the MIS. Can we proceed with the report and provide the validation later?

No, as auditors must be validated before contracting them. In case a partner’s selected auditor is not validated (at all or in time for the report), the expenditures can be reported in the following report, even if they belong to a different period.

3.2 With reference to the approval of auditors by the CCP, is an email sufficient proof of authorization?

Yes, an email containing a clear expression of non-objection can be considered as a proof of validation of the auditor by the CCP.

3.3 Is it eligible to have the non-objections of the CCP in the related national language?

Yes, each CCP can issue the validation in the national language.

3.4 What does change between the last version of the EVR (05/10/2020) and the previous one?

The following documents have been revised:
Annex 2: Auditor’s control check-list
Annex 3a: Individual Report
Annex 3b: Consolidated report

It is recommended to all project Lead Beneficiaries to share the expenditure verification pack with their partners.

The updated expenditure verification pack is available in the section “Support to implementation” of the ENI CBC Med website.

3.5 What happens if the auditor completed the EVR using the previous EVR (and not the one shared on the 05/10/2020)?

The former models are also valid. The auditor shall fill in an additional declaration available with the JTS. In case the report has been already submitted to the JTS, the additional declaration will be requested later on.

3.6 If a partner's auditor has submitted the EVR on MIS, is it possible to modify it or upload a modified report?

Once the EVR is submitted in the MIS, it is not possible to modify it or upload a modified report.