update - notification of change to final claim audit requirements
It was agreed by the Scottish Executive that with effect from 1 April 2004, the level at which projects will require independent audit of final claims will apply only to European Regional Development Fund projects approved on or after 1 April 2004 where the grant award is £50,000 or over. This is a significant change for ERDF which previously required all projects to undertake an independent audit at final claim stage.
For projects split between eligible and transition, each approval should be treated separately. If applicants wish to have both the eligible and transition elements of a project treated as one project for audit purposes, then prior agreement is required from the Managing Authority. This should normally be done at the PME technical check stage and before the project goes to advisory groups.
Where sponsors as a result of the above guidance are no longer required to undertake independent final claim audits, but have inadvertently included final claim audit fees in the their list of eligible expenditure, I suggest the following depending on the status of your project:
- If the Part 1 of your application form has yet to be uploaded by the Programme Executive (and therefore no formal approval letter has been issued) then I ask you to undertake a further edit to remove audit fees from the list of eligible expenditure or to reallocate to another cost heading should that be appropriate;
- If the Part 1 of your application form has been uploaded by the Programme Executive (and a formal approval letter may have been issued) then I ask you to complete a ‘Notification of Change Form’ to remove audit fees from the list of eligible expenditure or to reallocate to another cost heading should that be appropriate.
If you have any queries on the above, please do not hesitate to contact me.
NIGEL THOMAS
ASSISTANT CHIEF EXECUTIVE
21 January 2005
To read the original notice on Notification of Change to Final Claim Audit Requirements click here.
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