ENSEMBLES_formC_guidance

Notes for completing the Form C Financial Statement for Year 4 (1 September 2007-31 August 2008)

The following advice is based on lessons learned during the first, second and third years of reporting for the ENSEMBLES project. All of the comments below address problems that actually arose.

All partners, including zero cost partners, need to provide Form Cs.
Complete the "Participant 1" sheet, print out two copies, sign them and send them to:
Pip Gilbert, Met Office, Fitzroy Road, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK
as soon as possible after 1 September 2008. We do not need the "Summary report" sheet. Please also send an electronic copy to ensemblesfp6@metoffice.gov.uk. Date of signing must be on 1 September or after.
Complete the information at the top of the "Participant 1" sheet in the yellow boxes (apart from the "Type of Action" box). FC is the default setting for Cost model, AC and FCF partners will need to change this.
Section 1 – not applicable for ENSEMBLES partners (leave as "No").
Section 2:
1. IMPORTANT – Contract Preparation Form A3.1 and A3.3 in the DoW detail how each partner's budget is distributed between the different "activities" listed on Form C in cells B34 etc. The activities are RTD for RTs1-7, Training for RT8, and Consortium Management for RT0 (including a small amount for time and travel for attendance at Management Board meetings)
2. ENSEMBLES partners have agreed not to charge the cost of the audit certificate to the project (see Section 5.3 of the Consortium Agreement)
3. the form automatically checks that AC partners' indirect costs do not exceed 20% of direct costs, and FC/FCF partners' requested EC contribution for RTD can not exceed 50% of their total eligible RTD costs. Do not override these checks.
4. No-cost partners should have a zero requested EC contribution in cell L54
Section 3 – most/all partners will not have "receipts" to declare. See the footnote below which contains the Commission's wording from Article II.23. Receipts do not refer to the money that you received as pre-financing from the Co-ordinator.
Section 4 –this is only for the co-ordinator to fill in.
Section 5 – this figure is calculated automatically, and depends on whether you chose FC/FCF or AC. You can request a lower amount if required (but not a higher amount). If you are a zero cost partner then simply replace this figure with 0.
Section 6 – please complete as relevant to your institute's situation. Remember that the cost of the audit certificate must not be included in the direct costs amount under section 2.
Section 7 – for non-Euro based countries, please indicate the exchange rate used. For exchange rates, please refer to those published by the European Central Bank
Section 8 – please sign and date. The date cannot be earlier than 1 September 2008.

The most common mistakes encountered in previous years were:

Incorrect version of Form C used. Please use this version for year 4 reporting.
Wrong cost model selected
"Period from" and "to" not completed
Section 3: the "receipts" box is very unlikely to need filling in for any partner. Pre-financing is not a "receipt". Please see the footnote below for the EC's definition of receipts.
In Section 7, cells L73 or L74 must indicate the exchange rate used (if converting to Euros), using the rates published by the European Central Bank
Form C not signed
Not all information provided. As a checklist, complete the following cells and sections appropriately: cells D6-8, K8-9, D11, the table in Section 2, cell L54, Sections 6, 7 and 8.
Information in the audit certificate and Form C inconsistent

Footnote - Article II.23. Receipts of the Project

Receipts of the project may arise from:
(a) financial transfers to the contractor from third parties,
(b) contributions in kind from third parties, and from
(c) income generated by the project and as specified below:

a) Where there is a financial transfer from third parties:
i. made specifically to co-finance the project or specifically to finance a resource used by the contractor on the project, such transfers shall be considered as receipts of the project (except for the case where a prior commitment between the contractor and the third party(ies) identified in Annex I establishes that the third party(ies) make(s) available its resources on the basis that they are to be reimbursed or used for a common interest);
ii. where the use of the financing or the use of resources paid with the financial transfers are at the management discretion of the contractor and the contractor chooses to allocate that resource to the project, such transfers shall not be considered to be receipts of the project.

b) Contributions in kind from third parties that are used for the project constitute an eligible cost of the project, and:
i. shall also be considered a receipt of the project if they have been contributed by the third party specifically to be used on the project (except for the case where a prior commitment between the contractor and the third party(ies) identified in Annex I establishes that the third party(ies) make(s) available its resources on the basis that they are to be reimbursed or used for a common interest);
ii. shall not be considered a receipt of the project if their use is at the management discretion of the contractor. Contractors shall ensure that third parties whose resources are made available to the project are informed of this use of their resources. Contractors shall do so in accordance with their national legislation and practices.

c) Income generated by the project:
i. income generated by actions undertaken in carrying out the project and income from the sale of assets purchased under the contract up to the value of the cost initially charged to the project shall be considered as a receipt of the project;
ii. income generated for the contractor from the use of knowledge resulting from the project shall not be considered as a receipt of the project.