Workshop on Interim Payment request · The request for interim payment shall be accompanied by the...

Workshop on

Interim Payment request

7th May, 2019

Avenue de Cortenbergh 120, Brussels

Welcome and Introduction

Nicolas Warinsko

General Manager

SDM new Management Team reconfiguration

Copyright SESAR Deployment Manager 3

GeneralManager

NicolasWarinsko

ChiefStrategyandProgrammeManagement

(SPM)

Mariagrazia LaPiscopia

HeadofPerformanceandFinancing

(PF)

AntoineHottelart

HeadofStakeholderRelations

(SR)

Freek DeWitte

ChiefFinance,PartnershipsandCorporateServices

(FPS)

MarcelSobottka

SDA in the SES: what we are doing and where we stand


71%of Pilot Common Project (PCP)

deployment completed or in progress

SDA receiving targeted mandates from DG MOVE to help

solving long-term issues related to SESAR deployment

Data Link Services (DLS)

Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B)

111 Completed Projects


The current portfolio of SESAR deployment

is expected to generate more than € 10 billion

performance benefits in the 2014 – 2030 timeframe

Performance contribution only from the first 100 completed projects

109

221

SDA in the SES: what we are doing and where we stand

Workshop Agenda

9:30 – 10:00 Welcome and Introduction

10:00 – 10:15 Overview on the progress of the Actions DP Implementation

10:15 – 11:00 INEA presentation on Interim payment

11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 – 11:30 FPA Coordination and Compensation fee

11:30 – 14:30 Interim payment request elaboration

• Interim payment process workflow

• SDA Individual Financial Statement

12:45 – 13:45 Lunch Break

• Hints on Individual Financial Statement

• Interim Payment documents

• Supporting Tools

14:30 – 15:00 Sampling Exercise

15:00 – 15:15 Checks and Audits

15:15 – 15:45 Questions & Answers

15:45 – 16:00 Closure of the meeting


You can ask us any question!

We’d love to make sure we address your most important questions at today’s workshop. Therefore, we’ll be using an online tool that allows you to submit your questions.

To join:

• Simply take out your smartphone and open your browser

• Go to sli.do and enter the event code [#IP75]

• You can now ask questions and upvote the best ones

We will try to address as many questions as possible with relevance for the entire audience.Questions will be answered either today or bilaterally via mail after the workshop.

In any case, all non-confidential questions with a wider relevance & our answers will be madeavailable on sesardeploymentmanager.eu


Overview on the progress of

the Actions DP

Implementation

Ramon Raposo

SDP Execution Manager

Completed IPs per country by April 2019


Overall progress of all on-going Actions


IPs completed in the last reporting period2016 CEF Call Actions

Project number Project title Main Family Project Leader - Contributors

2016_075_AF3_

A

FAB CE wide Study of DAM and

STAM - General Call3.1.4 - Management of dynamic airspace configurations

FABCE Ltd - Austrocontrol; | FABCE Ltd; | Slovenia

Control SCL (KZPS)

2016_075_AF3_

B

FAB CE wide Study of DAM and

STAM - Cohesion Call3.1.4 - Management of dynamic airspace configurations

FABCE Ltd - Air Navigation Services of the Czech

Republic; | Croatia Control; | Hungaro Control; | LPS SR

2016_118_AF5ENAV Network enhancement

toward NewPENS5.1.2 - NewPENS, New Pan-European Network Service

ENAV

2016_089_AF6IT_ITAF ATC control system

moving to i4D6.1.1 - ATN B1 based services in ATSP domain

Italian MOD - ENAV

2016_030_AF6Air Ground Datalink

Implementation6.1.1 - ATN B1 based services in ATSP domain

Slovenia Control SCL (KZPS)

2016_161_AF6_

GND

DLS Implementation Project -

Path 1 "Ground" stakeholders

(GND)

6.1.3 - A.G. and G.G. Multi Frequency DL Network in defined European Service Areas

ENAIRE - Arinc; | Austrocontrol; | Croatia Control; |

DFS; | DSNA; | EANS; | ENAV; | HCAA; | Hungaro

Control; | LFV; | LGS; | MATS; | NAV Portugal; | Oro

Navigacija; | PANSA; | SITA INC BV Netherlands

2016_162_AF6

implementation of data link

services for the atm in fir

warsaw

6.1.1 - ATN B1 based services in ATSP domain

PANSA

2016_163_AF6CPDLC Implementation in the

Riga FIR6.1.1 - ATN B1 based services in ATSP domain

LGS

In the last reporting period (01st April 2018 – 31st December 2018), eight IPs have been successfullycompleted in the framework of 2016 CEF Call Actions (Cluster 1 and Cluster 2).

Moreover, the IP 2016_039_AF4 - “STAM Phase 1 Implementation in Spain”, deployed by ENAIRE hasbeen successfully completed in January 2019.


IPs going beyond contractual Action timeframe2016 CEF Call Actions

Project number Project title Foreseen End date Main Family Project Leader - Contributors

2016_023_AF1XMAN - Cross-center

arrival management -

Part 2

31/12/20211.1.2 - AMAN upgrade to include Extended Horizon function

DFS - DSNA; | Eurocontrol / NM; | LVNL

2016_150_AF2

_GND

Enablers for Airport

Surface Movement

related to Safety Nets

(GND)

31/12/20212.4.1 - A-SMGCS Routing and Planning Functions

Aéroports De Paris (ADP) - Aéroports de la Côte

d’Azur; | Air France; | Amsterdam Schiphol (SNBV);

| Brussels National; | Copenhagen Airports; | DSNA;

| Dublin Airport; | Flughafen Munchen GmbH; |

Frankfurt International; | Manchester Ringway; |

Naviair; | Roma Fiumicino; | STAL - London

Stansted; | Swedavia

2016 CEF Call Action Cluster 1 – 2 Cost deviation at Action level

In the last reporting period (01st April 2018 – 31st December 2018), two IPs have been postponed beyondthe contractual 2016 CEF Call Cluster 1 Action end date (31st December 2020)


Action Execution Progress Dashboard 2016 CEF Call Action CL1

Monitoring gate: 15th January 2019 / Reporting period: 1st April - 31st December 2018


Action Execution Progress Dashboard 2016 CEF Call Action CL2

Monitoring gate: 15th January 2019 / Reporting period: 1st April - 31st December 2018


INEA presentation

Elisabeth Stroebitzer

Susanne Lanzerstorfer

2018 Interim Payment Claims- SDM Cluster

Elisabeth Stroebitzer

Susanne Lanzerstorfer

CEF Department, C2

INEA

Brussels, 07/05/2019

INEA - Legal basis and requirements

16

INEA Project management life-cycle

Programme Management

Project Initiation

Project Monitoring

Project Closure

• MOVE/INEA• SES Legislation• CEF Regulation• Work Programme/• Call for proposals

• Evaluation of proposals• Preparation of grant

agreements• Signature of grants

• Action Status Reports

• Payment Claims• Modifications• On-site mission

• Final Action report• Payment of the

balance

16

2016 Cluster 1 (2016-EU-TM-0117-M)

• € 194,044,309

2016 Cluster 2 (2016-EU-TMC-0113-M)

• € 3,385,519

€ 200 m

Overview

Expected costs for Interim Financial Statements 2019*

* based on ASR 201917

1.Legal Basis

2.INEA Requirements -Financial Statement in Practice

Overview

18

Requests for interim payments and supporting documents

"The coordinator shall submit a request for interim payment at least every two reporting periods. The request for interim payment shall be submitted within 8 months following the end of the reporting period."

Action 2016-EU-TM-0117-M and 2016-EU-TMC-0113-M:

• Reporting periods 2017/2018: IFS to be submitted by 31/08/2019

• Reporting periods 2019/2020: Final Report to be submitted by 31/12/2021

1. Legal Basis => FPA II.23.2b

19

1.1 Eligible Costs

Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by the beneficiaries (affiliated entities and implementing bodies) which:

• Are incurred during the action duration (exception: costs related to final report); => SGA 2.2

• Are indicated in SGA Annex II;

• Are necessary for the implementation of the Action;

• Are identifiable and verifiable;

• Comply with tax and social obligations;

• Are reasonable, justified and comply with sound financial management principles

1. Legal Basis => FPA II.19.1

20

1.2 Eligible direct costs

22


• Staff costs, costs of travel and related subsistence allowances;

• Costs of consumables, supplies and service contracts; • Costs for equipment for CEF SESAR Calls 2014, 2015 and 2016: "(…) The full costs of purchase of equipment and infrastructure which are treated as capital expenditure are eligible under this call." Depreciation costs are therefore not eligible.

• Costs arising directly from FPA or SGA (dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, audits, translations, reproduction; including the costs of requested financial guarantees);

• Duties, taxes and charges paid by the partner; e.g. non-deductible/non-recoverable value added tax (VAT), if beneficiary is not acting as a public authority .

1.2 Eligible direct Costs- Staff costs

✓ Time recording system required

1) Declare actual personnel costs:

✓ Cost of staff must be actual (not average) and should include all tax and social security contributions. Other benefits can be included if actually part of remuneration package. Cost of staff cannot include overheads

2) Declare average personnel costs:

✓ based on the beneficiaries usual costs accounting practices and in compliance with the conditions laid down in Commission Decision C(2016)478

23

SGA 3a)i

SGA 3a)v and 8


•Award to tender offering best value for money or, as appropriate, the lowest price

•Public procurement rules need to be respected (if applicable => check national law, which has transposed the EU Directives)

•For beneficiaries not subject to public procurement rules => sound financial management

1.2 Eligible direct costs - Procurement

24

1. Legal BasisFPA II.19.2FPA II.9

1.3 Ineligible costs• indirect costs;

• depreciation costs;

• return on capital; debt and debt service charges; provisions for losses or debts; interest owed; doubtful debts; exchange losses (depreciation/amortisation costs); costs of transfers from the Commission charged by the bank of a partner;

• costs declared by the partner in the framework of another action receiving an EU grant (double funding);

• contributions in kind from third parties;

• excessive or reckless expenditure;

• costs of land and building acquisition (including expropriation costs);

• deductible/recoverable VAT or when a partner is acting as public authority (Article 14 of the SGA)


24

31/08/2019: SDM

Submission of completed file to INEA

10/09/2019: INEA sends sampling

request to SDM

10/10/2019: SDM submits sampling to

INEA

11/11/2019: INEA assesses sampling and

sends any request for

further clarifications

25/11/2019: SDM submits


December: INEA analysis

finished. Payment to take place

before end of the year.

After this deadline no further documents can be submitted

2. INEA requirements - Timeline

Time-line before submission (31/08), please see SDM presentation 25

The request for interim payment shall be accompanied by the following documents:

1. Consolidated Financial Statement (Coordinator)

2. Individual Financial Statements (IFS) (each beneficiary)

3. Certificate on the Financial Statements (CFS) (each beneficiary which is above the applicable thresholds)

4. In case the costs claimed are more than 5% higher than the total costs declared in the ASR, an explanation for this deviation in a separate letter.

5. In case an exception is detected in the "Independent Report of Factual Findings" (CFS) please provide in a separate letter to the Financial Statement clarification, if and how the finding was corrected in the financial statement. If not, please provide information how you will mitigate the finding in future. This will help to speed up the assessment of the payment claim.

=> FPA II.23.2b2. INEA requirements

26

2.1 Individual Financial Statement


=> Details in the SDM presentation

2.1 Individual Financial Statement


• Items selected for the CFS• Name of the beneficiary, its implementing body(ies) or affiliated

entity(ies) declaring the costs.• Sub-Activity No, implementation project code, task number and cost

category type and the year when the costs incurred. Type of procurement contract, i.e. services OR supplies OR works OR not applicable (for example: personnel costs);

• Short description of the nature of the cost item • Supplier of services, works and/or supplies. • Date indicated by the supplier on the invoice • Unique accounting number • Internal reference number used to identify the specific procurement

contract• Amount excluding VAT (in the currency of the general accounts)• Amount of eligible VAT (only if it is an eligible cost, otherwise leave the

column blank) 28

2.1 Individual Financial Statement –Short description of the nature of the cost item


• In the reporting language, i.e. English• INEA needs to be able to understand how the project was

executed and how invoices are related to the project • An invoice should be clearly attributable to an Action. If

only a share of an invoice is claimed please explain the ratio behind it

• In case the invoice date is outside the eligibility period of the Action please explain why costs are considered to be incurred during the Action. Furthermore, the beneficiary must be able to provide evidence upon request

• Travel costs should be declared per person per business trip. In case this is not possible and the costs are grouped, the beneficiary must able to provide the details of those costs in an excel file upon request;

29

Practical guide:

• https://ec.europa.eu/inea/sites/inea/files/practical_help_to_the_implementation_of_article_ii_23_4_final.pdf

• If wrong exchange rate is applied the Interim Financial Statement is not admissible

2. INEA requirements

2.1 Individual Financial Statement –Currency Exchange rates

30

https://ec.europa.eu/inea/sites/inea/files/practical_help_to_the_implementation_of_article_ii_23_4_final.pdf

https://ec.europa.eu/inea/sites/inea/files/practical_help_to_the_implementation_of_article_ii_23_4_final.pdf

2.2 Certificate on Financial Statement


It is mandatory that the CFS is provided in line with the template. Please make sure that the auditors provide all the required information in all relevant parts.

31

2.2 Certificate on Financial Statement


A. Actual personnel costs and unit costs calculated by the beneficiary in accordance with its usual cost accounting practice (personnel costs, productive hours, hourly personnel rates and the time recording system);

B. Awarded contracts necessary for the implementation of the Action;

C. Costs of providing financial support to third parties (N/A)

D. Other actual direct costs (costs of travel and related subsistence allowances, costs for equipment, infrastructure or other assets, costs of sub-contracting and costs related to land and building acquisition; if eligible)

E. Use of exchange rates

=> Accompanying letter in case of detected exceptions

32

31/08/2019: SDM



request to SDM


INEA











Time-line before submission (31/08), please see SDM presentation 33

2.3 Sampling

• After the submission of the Financial Statement, INEA will ask for a sample of invoices, selected in the "Sampling and Procurement table" and might also ask for further clarifications.

• Systematic errors in the sampling can lead to rejections in the financial statement

• A high error rate in the sampling table might lead to the rejection of the cost claim. Therefore, please make sure to provide all requested information


34

A B C D E F G H

Invoice No°

Beneficiary Name of Beneficiary / implementing

bodies / affiliated entity as

mentioned in the Grant Agreement

Type of procurement

(supply / services/ works)

Short description of

the cost claimed

Supplier Unique Accounting

number

Internal reference of

the procurement

contract

Amount excluding

VAT (in the currency of ofthe general accounts)

Amount of eligible VAT

(in the currency of the general accounts)

Amount in EUR (including

eligible VAT)

1 yyy xxxx services qwerty supplier A 1230 3210 100.00 0.00 100.00

I J K L M N O P Q

Date of signatu

re of the

contract

Value of the

(framework)

contract (euros)

Aggregate value of

the (framework) contract

with all subsequent amendments (euros)

Procurement

Procedure at

European or

National level ?

Procedure (open/

restricted/ negotiated

etc.)

Reference of publication(s) in

the Official Journal (contract notice) -also applicable to

framework contracts e.g

2006/S239-255287 of 15.12.2006

Reference of publication(s) in

the Official Journal (contract award notice) -

also applicable to framework

contracts e.g. 2007/S 135-

165254 of 17.07.2007

National law applied

transposes Directive 2004 or

2014 ?

Comments:

choose choose choose

2.3 Sampling & Procurement table

35

2.3 Sampling

• Direct external costs:

- Scanned copies of selected invoices need to be provided. Name the files as per the numbering in the Sampling and Procurement Table, column A (i.e. "sample1.pdf", "sample2.pdf", "sample3.pdf" etc).

- The amounts on the invoice must match the amount indicated in the sampling table. If they don't, please provide the detailed calculation and ratio behind it. Otherwise this item might be rejected.

- For grouped items (i.e. a sum of several invoices), please provide invoices and a detailed overview table of the individual items including the amount of each invoice claimed, and a clear reference to the invoice concerned (e.g. "sample1.1.pdf, "sample1.2.pdf",).


36

2.3 Sampling• Direct external costs - Procurement

- Procurement information needs to be filled in for all contracts in the table (also if not subject to public procurement) – best value for money principle needs to ensured.

- "Blue item" for in-depth procurement check:Provide contract notice, the contract award notice and a copy of the synthesis evaluation report or equivalent documents. In case of Framework contracts please provide the initial contract notice, contract award notices and corresponding reports.

• Staff costs:

- Beneficiary might additionally be requested to provide a declaration on staff costs. The total amount in the staff cost declaration shall match the amount in the sampling table.


38

Changes after the submission of the IFS:- Sampling table altered - Costs corrected as compared to the

initially submitted payment claim: As the sample should provide INEA with assurance on the overall correctness of the cost claim, such a correction might lead to the overall rejection of the cost claim. The beneficiary needs to prove that the correction is not a systematic mistake.

- IFS corrections after the official submission shall be avoided. If indispensable such a correction needs to be made against the officially submitted IFS and the items concerned must be clearly highlighted.

- Such a correction can only lead to a reduction of costs but not to an increase (otherwise the payment claim for the overall Action and for all beneficiaries would need to be rejected and the sampling procedure would need to be re-started).

2.3 Sampling


38

31/08/2019: SDM



request to SDM


INEA











39


• Based on the Sampling information INEA might request further clarifications.

• INEA can only take into considerations documents and clarifications which are received on time. Clear deadline given by INEA to be respected.

• As SDM as Coordinator needs to consolidate the documents of all beneficiaries, please comply with all deadlines set by SDM.

2.4 Further Clarifications

40

31/08/2019: SDM



request to SDM


INEA











41

2.5 Duty to keep documents

=> FPA 27.22. INEA requirements

The partners shall keep all original documents, especially accounting and tax records, stored on any appropriate medium, including digitalised originals when they are authorised by their respective national law and under the conditions laid down therein, for a period of five years starting from the date of payment of the balance for the action concerned.

42

Appeals • An appeal is a formal request for payment ("invoice"). In case

beneficiaries disagree with the rejection of costs and can provide new evidence proving the eligibility of costs, an appeal can be submitted.

An appeal must be submitted by the Coordinator and contain the following elements:

• Exact amount contested per beneficiary

• Clear references to the rejected invoices, which are contested

• Clear justification on the substance ("We disagree" is not sufficient)

• New evidence as supporting documents

• The coordinator should collect and summarise them and officially submit an appeal (one appeal per Action). indicating the total amount subject to the appeal for the Action and per beneficiary and per rejected item.


43

For more information

http://ec.europa.eu/inea/en

@inea_eu

Look for INEA!

[email protected]@ec.europa.eu

44

mailto:[email protected]


FPA Coordination and

Compensation Fee

Marcel Sobottka

Chief Finance, Partnerships & Corporate Services

In an effort to continue to secure the high-quality and

workload with regard to the role of FPA Coordinator the

FPA Coordination Fee will need to increase as well as

establishing a Compensation Fee!

As anticipated during the Annual events held in November and December 2018, the

increased number of Actions, IPs and IPPs leads to higher complexity, and therefore

the execution of coordination activities is needed. In this respect, SDM had to re-consider

its funding scheme as clarified within the Internal Cooperation Agreement (ICA).

47Copyright SESAR Deployment Manager

Current Funding Scheme / Mechanism of SDM


SDM ActivitiesFunding Streams

DG MOVEProgramme

Support

FPA Coordination

Activity 1INEA IP Grants

(up to 50%)

FPA Coordination Fee

(at least 50%)

According to the

payment schedule

of IP SGAs(no more than the 80%

before the Action closure)

Paid with by rention

from the first

payment to be

received

(upon signature of

the IP SGA)

Future Funding Scheme / Mechanism of SDM


SDM ActivitiesFunding Streams

DG MOVEProgramme

Support

FPA Coordination

Activity 1INEA IP Grants

(up to 50%)


(at least 50%)

Compensation Fee

According to the

payment schedule

of IP SGAs(no more than the 80%

before the Action closure)

To be increased!

New Fee to be

defined

To be newly

established!

Paid pro-quota by all

late IPPs and the

associated IP

Increase of FPA Coordination Fee

50

▪ According to the Art. 6 of ICA, the FPA Coordination Work-package 1 costs is

recovered at 100%: in particular, for up to 50% by Commission co-funding and at

least the 50% by Implementing Partners proportionally.

▪ The budget which was estimated provisionally at 1% of the total eligible costs of each

Action, is not dimensioned against the increased effort linked to the larger and

more pervasive role of the Coordinator in support to the beneficiaries and INEA, as

materialized in the recent years.

▪ In order to reflect the added effort in the execution of SDM in its coordinator role, an

increased FPA Coordination Fee is necessary and will be deducted from the next

payments envisaged as per each of the Actions.

▪ Additional details on the percentage of FPA Coordination Fee increase will be

provided at a later stage once it has been duly quantified and justified.

▪ Currently, SDM is assessing the magnitude of the needed increase of the FPA

Coordination Fee in an effort to continue to safeguard the significant added value

SDM enables with regard to a performant deployment of PCP.

FP

AC

oo

rdin

ati

on

Fee

FPA Coordination Fee Increase



Establishing a Compensation Fee

51

▪ According to the principles already established within the Internal Cooperation

Agreement, a different approach for the increase shall be considered in case of

Actions and/or Beneficiaries and/or Projects which require additional support

due to specific circumstances, and in particular in case of:

▪ Delays which require an extension of the contractual Action end date;

▪ SGA amendments;

▪ Specific support requested in course of the IP/IPs execution and

implementation.

▪ In both cases the Compensation Fee shall be paid only by relevant Beneficiaries

for which the additional support needs to be performed.

▪ More details on this topic (e.g. how the Compensation Fee will be calculated or

applied) will be presented during the next Annual Event planned in Autumn 2019.

Co

mp

en

sati

on

Fee

Compensation Fee


elaboration

Katerina Gautier

SGA Execution Specialist

Interim Payment process workflow

Process flow

Focus on SDA and beneficiaries interactions

Focus on Computation

Focus on negative InP and reimbursement

SDA Individual Financial Statement

Hints on Individual Financial Statement

Interim Payment documents

Supporting Tools

Sampling

Checks & Audits


I Interim Payment process workflow Process flow

The Interim Payment request process foresees six different steps involving INEA, SDA and Action

Beneficiaries, as shown in the following diagram:


Interim Payment process workflow Focus on SDA and beneficiaries interactions


Interim PaymentFocus on computation

Leg

en

d I InP = I Interim Payment

CC = Certified costs

PF= I pre-financing already

distributed

Note: Beneficiaries not entitled to receive the pre-financing payment will

receive the first interim payment deducted with their relevant share of the


56

✓ The Interim Payment amount is calculated by considering the costs declared by each

Beneficiary within the Individual Financial Statement (IFSs) and approved by INEA

✓ The Interim Payment shall clear 100% of the pre-financing payments received with

reference to the same reporting period covered by the request for interim payment

✓ The total amount of pre-financing and Interim Payment shall not exceed 80% of the

maximum grant amount

Inte

rim

Paym

en

t

COMPUTATION

WHEN

I InP = [funding rate * (CC 2017 + CC 2018)] – (PF 2017 + 2018)

Within 90 days following

the Interim Payment

request submission and

the closure of the INEA

sampling exercise

It is worth noting that the final amount of the Interim Payment will

be determined at the end of the sampling appeal exercise

performed by INEA


Interim PaymentFocus on negative InP and reimbursement

Note: It is worth noting that the case outlined is for illustrative purpose. SDM performed the payment request and

relevant distribution to entitled beneficiaries according to INEA formula and SGA and FPA contractual provisions

Reim

bu

rsem

en

t

SDM shall activate a reimbursement process :

WHEN

When needed before the

Interim Payment

distribution to entitled

Beneficiaries

Whenever co-funded certified costs

approved by INEA are lower than pre-

financing payment already received in

the relevant reference period

INTERIM < 0

In case of negative result from the Interim Payment calculation, a reimbursement process

will be activated by SDM in order to properly balance the overall amount provided by INEA at

Action level and to cover the other expected payments to other entitled Beneficiaries.

2017 2018

Certified

Costs

Cofunded

(if 50%)

€ 70 € 40

€ 35 € 20

Certified co-funded costs (2017 + 2018) = 55 €

IFS costs approved by INEA - pre-financing

distributed = 55 – 80* = - 25 €

Interim Payment

(reporting period 2017 / 2018)

* In case the sum of pre-financing already distributed for the reporting period year 2017 and / or year 2018 is equal to 80 €




Individual Financial Statement vs SDA Individual Financial Statement

SDA IFS Template – Structure

Overview on new features



Supporting Tools

Sampling

Checks & Audits


SDA SurveyResults

The 2019 IFS Template new features and process have been evaluated by the beneficiaries through a brief survey.

The aim was to evaluate the level of satisfaction for each of the new features and collect any comments and suggestions.

To carry out the Survey:

• 5 beneficiaries have been involved

• Each beneficiary had to express a degree of satisfaction on a evaluation scale from 1 (very low satisfaction) to 5 (very

high satisfaction)

Overall Beneficiaries’

Satisfaction

3,543,49 3,69

General conclusions on Survey

Overall results from the survey highlight a general contentment with the changes implemented by the

SDA. Both the new tools and the process improvements report a medium to high average satisfaction

and, for the most part, they appear to have been well accepted by the beneficiaries

Beneficiaries’

SatisfactionAbout new Features

Beneficiaries’

SatisfactionAbout Process

Improvements

• Copy-Paste

• Delete Content

• Automatic Deleting

• Saving Functionality

• Number of Rows

• Additional Drop-

Down Menu

• Time efficiency of

the template

• Anticipation of the

IFS Template

Release


Workshop


FPAC/Beneficiaries

interactions


Interim Payment ProcessImprovements

With the aim of improving the whole interim payment process, SDA has collected the main lessons

learned and Beneficiaries feedbacks on the previous Interim Payment exercise. Accordingly, in March 2019,

SDA has submitted a survey to selected sample of IPPs to collect their feedback on the process and

timeline

➢ The Workshop has been anticipated from the end of May to the beginning of the month to timely

share with the Beneficiaries related timeline and supporting tools

➢ The SDA IFS template has been enhanced taking on board IPPs suggestions and the survey results

(e.g. introduction of the functionality copy and paste, enhanced saving and deleting functionalities,

new drop-down menus)

➢ The new SDA IFS template and the “Smart Paper”, to guide IPPs in its completion, had been

anticipated and released at the end of April

➢ A web-ex will be dedicated to the Activity 1 coordination to support SDA Members in the

allocation of costs

➢ The first round of interactions with Beneficiaries, for the collection/assessment of mandatory

documents, has been anticipated to the end of June to allow Beneficiaries to properly manage

SDM feedback and timely provide the documentation updated, where needed

➢ Considering massive amount of documentation to be received, the SDA created a repository on

STAR tool for Interim Payment documentation to facilitate the collection of the documents

Main Improvements


SDA Individual Financial StatementOverview on new features

New

Features!

Deleting Button!

▪ Delete entire and multiple

rows with a single click

Additional drop-down

menus!

▪ Select directly the Action

title

▪ Select directly the period

covered by the IFS

Saving Functionality!

▪ New saving pop-up added

Copy-Pasting!

▪ Copy from an external

source into the IFS

Template

▪ Copy into the IFS Template

itself

Auto-Deleting!

▪ No more deletion of the

entire row if the content of a

drop-down menu is modified

On the basis of the lessons learned and Beneficiaries’ feedback related to the 2018 Interim payment process

and in view of continuous improvement, new features have been included in the SDA IFS Template


SDA Individual Financial StatementIndividual Financial Statement vs SDA Individual Financial Statement

SDA Individual Financial StatementIndividual Financial Statement vs SDA Individual Financial Statement

According to INEA requirements, SDA shall submit the INEA Individual Financial Statements (IFS), duly

fillled in by Beneficiaries. In order to support Beneficiaries in the IFSs filling in and to allow the proper

update the cost figures within STAR tool, SDA elaborated a customised IFS template with additional

columns and drop-down lists to facilitate the completion

Beneficiaries

shall fill in the

SDA IFS

template,

which will

automatically

populate the

IFS INEA

template

INEA Template SDA Template

Columns added

by SDA in the

sheet: “2.

Detailed Costs

Declared SDA”

Action Number : 2016-EU-TM-0117-M

Beneficiary's Legal Name : SESAR Deployment Alliance Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif (SDA AISBL)

Indicate the currency of the general accounts used by the

beneficiary (art. II.23.4) : EUR (Euro) /EUR

Calculated exchange rate : 1

Total direct costs declared for all activities in EUR (including only eligible

VAT) :

Activity

Nº

accordin

g to the

Grant

Agreem

ent

Item

selected

for the

CFS

Name of

Beneficiary /

implementing

bodies / affiliated

entity as

mentioned in the

Grant Agreement

Type of procurement

contract

(services/supplies/wo

rks/not applicable)

Short description of

the cost declaredSupplier

Date of

invoice

Unique

Accounti

ng

number

Internal

reference

of the

procurem

ent

contract

Amount

excluding

VAT (in

the

currency

of of the

general

accounts

)

Amount

of

eligible

VAT (in

the

currenc

y of the

general

account

s)

Amount in

EUR (including

eligible VAT)

VAT is

only

eligible

in

accorda

nce with

art

II.19.2.h

and

article

14 of

the

Grant

agreem

ent


Interim Payment requestSDA IFS Template – Structure

The 2019 SDA IFS Template is composed of the following sheets:

0. Guidelines

1. General Info

2. Detailed costs declared SDA

2. Detailed costs declared

3. Overview of costs declared

4. Receipts & Payment ceilings (not applicable)

5. Certification by the MS (not applicable)

6. Errors

Structure of the SDA IFS Template

To be filled in by Beneficiaries!

To be double checked by Beneficiaries for data consistency!

SESAR Deployment Manager

(att. to Katerina Gautier)

Avenue de Cortenbergh 100

B-1000 Brussels, Belgium

▪First digital draft: 24th June

▪Second digital draft: 18th Jul (if needed)

▪Final: 30th Jul (if needed)

▪Original: 26th August

To be provided to SDA:

▪1 excel copy to be uploaded on

STAR Tool repository dedicated

to Beneficiary space

▪1 Original (dated and signed)

(only if Certificate on Financial

Statement is required)

Practical Info Deadlines Mail Address (originals)


SDA Individual Financial Statement1. General Info

Choose from the drop-down menus

the start and end date as suggested

below:

▪ If the IFS covers both years,

choose: 07/02/2017 – 31/12/2018;

▪ If the IFS covers one year choose:

• IFS 2017: 07/02/2017-31/12/2017

• IFS 2018: 01/01/2018-31/12/2018

Period covered by this report (art. 4.1.1

of the GA):From: 07/02/2017 To: 31/12/2018

Grant Agreement (GA) Number

Action Number (art. 1 of G.A)

Action Title (art. 1 of G.A)

PCI (only applicable for Energy

sector)

Name

Position

Beneficiary's Legal Name

Beneficiary number as per GA

Telephone Nº

E-mail

07/02/2017Start date of the action (art. 2.2 of GA) 31/12/2020

End date of the

action (art. 2.2 of

G.A.)

Author of the individual financial statementName and Surname

CFO

+ 333 444 555

Individual financial statement

(applicable for each request of payment)

[email protected]

1. GENERAL INFORMATION (to be filled in by each beneficiary)

2016-EU-TM-0117-M

SESAR Deployment Programme implementation 2016 - Cluster 1

N/A

SITA Information Networking Computing BV (SITA)

INEA/CEF/TRAN/M2016/1349619

54

Beneficiary’s Legal Name

2

From the drop-down menu, select the

relevant Action Title (art. 1 of G.A.).

On the basis of the Action selected,

the information reported in the grey

cells will be populated

automatically

1

From the drop-down menu, select

Beneficiary’s Legal Name and

insert all other author’s details in

the white cells. On the basis of the

Action selected, the Beneficiary

number as per GA will be

automatically populated

3

2

1


SDA Individual Financial Statement2. Detailed Costs Declared SDA (1/5)

While filling in the «2. Detailed Costs Declared SDA» sheet, please note that:

▪ It shall be completed in English

▪The information shall be inserted from left to right in order to unlock specific fields

▪Some boxes provide drop-down lists customised on the basis of the project’s structure (e.g. IP task, Organisation /

Affiliated entity involved, cost category, etc.)

▪Grey cells will be automatically completed on the basis of the information inserted

▪Cells and rows shall not be left blank (i.e. rows must be completed consecutively as it is not possible to delete a row)

▪The information inserted in this sheet will be automatically reported in the «2. Detailed Costs Declared» sheet to

enable submission of the official template, as per INEA requirements

1. If the content of drop-down menus of column A, C, E and G is edited, information on the right

side of the modified cells are deleted only up to column H (in case of clerical error, only columns A,

C, E and G will have to be filled in again)

2. In case of copy and paste from an external source, please check the sheet “Error”: it presents an

overview of all the inconsistencies found in the sheet “2. Detailed Costs Declared SDA”

2. Details of the eligible costs declared by each beneficiary (Article II.23.2)

1 <-- #copiesHover on the cell for help

Order Lines in INEA TAB No

Action Number : 2016-EU-TM-0117-MBeneficiary's Legal Name : Beneficiary’s Legal Name

Indicate the currency of the general accounts used by the beneficiary (art. II.23.4) : EUR (Euro) /EUR

Calculated exchange rate : 1

Total direct costs declared for all activities in EUR (including only eligible VAT) : 0,00 €

Activity Nº

according to the

Grant

Agreement

Item selected

for the CFSSub-Activity N°

Sub-Activity

Name

Project code/IP

ReferenceProject Name Task N° Task Name

Cost Category

type

Additional

mandatory

Information on

Short

description of

the cost

declared

Year of the cost

incurred (IFS

2017 or IFS

2018)

Name of Beneficiary /

implementing bodies /

affiliated entity as

mentioned in the

Grant Agreement

Type of procurement

contract

(services/supplies/wor

ks/not applicable)

Short description of the cost

declaredSupplier Date of invoice

Unique

Accounting

number

Internal

reference of the

procurement

contract

Amount

excluding VAT

(in the currency

of of the general

accounts)

Amount of

eligible VAT (in

the currency of

the general

accounts)

Amount in EUR

(including

eligible VAT)VAT is only

eligible in

accordance with

art II.19.2.h and

article 14 of the

Grant

agreement

SDA IFS template has been improved with: dynamic drop-down lists and additional orange columns (in

continuity with last year); new additional buttons have been included



Copyright SESAR Deployment Alliance

From the drop-down list,

specify to which Activity the

claimed cost belongs to in

alignment with SGA content

1

Activity Nº

according to

the Grant

Agreement

Item selected for the CFS Sub-Activity N° Sub-Activity NameProject code/IP

ReferenceProject Name

2 * Item selected for CFS 2.2 Sub-Activity name 20XX_XX Project Name_XXX

Specify, where applicable, if

the item has been selected

for the Certificate

elaboration by the Auditor

2

Based on the Activity N°

chosen, using the drop-down

list, select the relevant Sub-

Activity number

3

Automatically populated

on the basis of the Sub-

Activity N° chosen

4

Select the IP code based on

the information selected in the

previous steps in the sheet “1.

General Info”

5

Automatically populated

on the basis of the Project

code/IP Reference

6

FOCUS

* In case of copy and paste from an external source used in withe cells, please check the sheet “error” which presents

an overview of all the inconsistencies found in the sheet “2. Detailed Costs Declared SDA” Copyright SESAR Deployment Manager 64


Task N° Task Name Cost Category type

Additional mandatory

Information on Short

description of the cost

declared

Year of the cost incurred (IFS

2017 or IFS 2018)

Name of Beneficiary / implementing

bodies / affiliated entity as mentioned in

the Grant Agreement

Task 04 Task NameDirect / HR Travel /

Training costShort Cost Name 2017

Name of Beneficiary / implementing bodies

/ affiliated entity

From the drop-down

list, specify to which

Task N° the claimed

cost belongs to

7

Using the drop-down

list, select the

correct cost

category type

9

According to the reporting period

indicated in the “General Info”

sheet, from the drop-down list,

specify the year of IFS

11

Automatically

populated on the basis

of Task N° selected

8

Provide a short description of the

nature of the cost item declared to

enable INEA understanding on how

the project was executed and how the

invoices are related to it

10

From the drop-down list, select

the name of the organization

which is claiming the costs:

Beneficiary or its Implementing

body/Affiliated entity

12

FOCUS



From the drop-down

list, choose between

Services/Supplies/

Work/ Not applicable

13

It refers to the supplier of services or works.

Insert one line for every accounting entry. If

there is no supplier, describe the nature of the

task performed by your own personnel

15

Insert unique number

identifying the invoice in your

accounting records, if not

applicable please include “n/a”

17

Automatically

populated on the basis

of information provided

in the left columns

14

Date indicated by the supplier in

the invoice. If task is performed

by own staff, report the date of

registering the cost into the

accounting system

16

Indicate the reference number

used to identify the specific

procurement contract in the

Beneficiary central register, where

not applicable please include “n/a”

18

Type of procurement

contract

(services/supplies/works

/not applicable)

Short description of the cost declared Supplier Date of invoice Unique Accounting number

Internal reference of

the procurement

contract

ServicesDirect / HR Travel / Training cost / Sub.

Act: 2.2 / Task 04 / Short Cost NameSupplier DD/MM/YYYY ID 12345 N/A

FOCUS



Insert the amount of VAT, only if eligible, as per SGAs

Art. 11. Considering that the IFS template is used by INEA

for all CEF Calls, please note that “article 14” is valid for

other SGAs and not for the ones signed by SDA

20

The total direct costs claimed for all

Activities in EUR is calculated automatically

considering all costs figures outlined within

the excel sheet at Activity level (i.e.

400+220=620)

22

Insert the amount

excluding VAT of the

concerned cost

19

Amount excluding VAT (in

the currency of of the general

accounts)

Amount of eligible VAT (in the

currency of the general accounts)

Amount in EUR (including eligible VAT)VAT is only eligible in accordance

with art II.19.2.h and article 14 of

the Grant agreement

350 50 400

200 20 220

Automatically

populated

21


SDA Individual Financial Statement3. Overview of costs declared

The last sheet of the SDA IFS Template is the “Overview of costs declared”. It is automatically populated

on the basis of the information filled in previous “1. General info” and “2. Detailed Costs Declared SDA”

sheets.

It shows the high-level overall recap of costs declared, grouped by Activity

3. Overview of costs declared by the beneficiary

Action Number : 2016-EU-TM-0117-M

Beneficiary's legal name : Beneficiary’s Legal Name

Total shall be equal to the total reported

in the previous “2. Detailed Costs

Declared SDA” sheet (Cell T7)

Activity Nº

according to the

Grant Agreement Activity name according to the cost breakdown of the GA

Claimed costs in national

currency (indicative amount)

Claimed costs in EUR

(conversion to EUR see Article

II.23.4)

1 0,00 0,00

2 0,00 0,00

3 2016C1 Activity 3 - AF1 Implementation - Part 2 (20% co-funding) 400,00 0,00

4 0,00 0,00

5 0,00 0,00

6 0,00 0,00

7 2016C1 Activity 7 - AF4 Implementation (43% co-funding) 220,00 0,00

8 0,00 0,00

9 0,00 0,00

Total : 620,00 0,00


SDA Individual Financial Statement4. SDA IFS Template – Instructions for Copy-Pasting (1/2)

In the new 2019 SDA IFS Template, copy-pasting is allowed by dual function, both explained here below:

1. Possibility to copy the information from an external source and paste it into the SDA IFS Template

2. Possibility to Copy and duplicate the information into the Template itself

COPY THE INFORMATION FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE1

Manual copy-pasting is allowed in ALL the fields of the SDA IFS Template (including the drop-down menus), except for the

auto-compiling grey cells. Copy-pasting works only per column (and not per row). This means that, if you want to copy

information from an external source and paste it into the SDA IFS Template, you will have to copy and paste column by column

in the same order explained in the previous pages (starting from the column A)

The SDA IFS Template checks the consistency of the copied-pasted information in the drop-down menus and, in

case of any inconsistencies is found, the following situations may occur:

▪ The grey cells are not automatically populated (they remain empty)

▪ The successive drop-down menu is not selectable (no choices can be done)

In this cases, the correctness of the information copied shall be revised, taking in consideration that it must be

consistent with the choices foreseen by the drop-down menu (including spaces among the words)


SDA Individual Financial Statement4. SDA IFS Template – Instructions for Copy-Pasting (2/2)

COPY AND DUPLICATE THE INFORMATION INTO THE TEMPLATE ITSELF2

As explained before, the regular copy-pasting does not work per row. In order to copy a row that has

already been filled in the SDA IFS Template and duplicate it as many times desired, a specific “Copy

Rows” button has been implemented by SDA, as showed in the figure below

a) In case of one copy needed, please perform the following steps:

1. Select any cell of the row to be copied;

2. Click the “CopyRows” button (cell A2).

A copy of the entire row will appear in the first available row.

b) In case of multiple copies needed, please perform the following steps:

1. Insert the number of copies desired in the cell B2, as showed in the figure

on the right side;

2. Select any cell of the row to be copied;

3. Click the “CopyRows” button (cell A2).

The required rows to be copied will appear in the first available rows.

4


SDA Individual Financial Statement4. SDA IFS Template –Copy-Pasting errors (1/2)

Activity Nº

according to

the Grant

Agreement

Item

selected for

the CFS

Sub-Activity

N°

Sub-Activity

Name

Project code/IP

ReferenceProject Name Task N° Task Name

Cost Category

type

Additional mandatory

Information on Short

description of the cost

declared

Year of the cost

incurred (IFS

2017 or IFS

2018)

Name of

Beneficiary /

implementing

bodies / affiliated

entity as

mentioned in the

Grant

Agreement

9 9.2

9.2 - AF6

43% funding:

Implementati

on Projects

2016_159_A

F6

DLS

Implementati

on Project -

Path 2

Task01

Direct / Proc.

Invest. /

Hardware

cost

2016

9 9,3

In the example below, the filled fields have been copied by column (i.e. Activity No, Sub-Activity No, Project

code and so on…)

▪ In the first row, the Task No inserted is wrong as there is no space between the words. As a consequence, the cell “Task

Name” did not auto-compile and remained empty. Furthermore, also the year of costs incurred is wrong, since “2016”

is out of the reporting period (2017-2018)

▪ In the second row, the Sub-Activity No inserted is wrong as no Sub-Activity 9,3 exists. Moreover, the sub-activity requires a

dot “.” and not a comma “,”. (is “9.3” and not “9,3”) As a consequence, the drop-down menu of the Project code is

locked and no choices are available

If wrong/inconsistent information is inserted manually, the SDA IFS Template will not allow the user to insert them.

However, if wrong information are pasted from an external source, the Template will allow the user to insert them. For

this reason Action Beneficiaries must be aware that the correctness of information provided is under their

responsibility and they must check the consistency of data inserted as explained in the example above.


SDA Individual Financial Statement4. SDA IFS Template – Copy-Pasting errors (2/2)

In order to facilitate Action Beneficiaries in detecting potential errors arising from a copy-pasting operation,

SDA included in the SDA IFS Template additional sheet “Errors”.

As shown in the figure below, the sheet “Errors” presents an overview of all the inconsistencies found

in the sheet “2. Detailed Costs Declared SDA” and marks all the errors in red.

Once the error is displayed, Action Beneficiaries can easily detect it in sheet “2. Detailed Costs Declared

SDA” and correct it

The sheet “Errors” is locked and shows only the rows presenting inconsistencies/errors



elaboration

Pablo Lebailly

System Analyst

Lunch Break


elaboration

Katerina Gautier







Supporting Tools

Sampling

Checks & Audits


SDA Individual Financial StatementHints on Individual Financial Statements (1/3)

While filling in the SDA IFS Template, in order to ensure full compliance with INEA requirements, please

keep in mind the following hints:

GENERAL HINTS FOR FILLING IN THE SDA IFS TEMPLATEA

Here below is presented a recap of the main hints already given in the previous pages:

Opening the

Template

▪ In Sheet “2. Detailed Costs Declared SDA” insert information from left to right.

▪ The completion of the file’s sheets, shall follow the order as presented in the previous

slides (from Step 1 to Step 22) to enable all customised drop-down lists

▪ In case of copy and paste from an external source, please check the sheet

“Error”, which presents an overview of all the inconsistencies found in the sheet “2.

Detailed Costs Declared SDA”

“Enable macros” to start filling in the Template

IFS to be

Submitted

▪ Each Beneficiary shall complete either one IFS per Action / Year of reporting period

(2017 or 2018) or one IFS per Action covering both years of the reporting period

(2017 and 2018)

▪ More than one IFS shall be provided in case of different currency used

Filling In



REPORTING AND ELIGIBILITY OF COSTSB

Even if no costs have been incurred during the relevant reporting period(s),

Beneficiaries are asked to inform SDA via email for which year zero costs have

incurred.

Activity 1

SDA Members shall declare costs related to Activity 1. Since no projects are

linked to the Activity 1, for the following items there are drop-down lists characterised

by blank lines: Project code and Task N°. Please note that the distribution key

applied and the relevant amount to be claimed shall be specified.

For the conditions of the costs eligibility refer to Article II.19.1 of the FPA.

Equipment purchase costs are eligible costs if they are treated as capital

expenditure. Overheads (e.g. electricity, rent, etc.) and depreciation are not

eligible costs under the IP SGA.

General

No Costs

Incurred

VATIn accordance with the Art. II. 19.2.h and the article 11 of the GA, Beneficiaries

shall not insert VAT considered as not eligible. In compliance with INEA

instructions the VAT is eligible only in case the costs is non-deductible/non-

recoverable and the beneficiary is not acting as a public authority.



In case of general accounts in a currency other than euro, the conversion of costs

into euro shall be made in line with article II.23.4. of the GA. Please also refer to

the "Guide to currency conversion to Euro" published by INEA

(https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-europe-facility/useful-documents-and-forms).

Exchange

Rate

▪ In case the invoice date is outside the eligibility period of the Action please

explain why the cost is considered to be incurred during the Action. Moreover if only

a share of an invoice is claimed please explain the ratio behind it.

▪ As per INEA statement: “Costs of contracts for goods, works or services or of

subcontracts are considered to be incurred when the contract or subcontract

(or a part of it) is executed, i.e. when the goods, works or services (including

studies) are supplied, delivered or provided”.

▪ Indicate the supplier of services, works and/or supplies. Insert one line for every

accounting entry. When there is no supplier and the task was performed by your

own personnel, choose "Internal costs" and add a clear description on the nature

of the task in the Additional mandatory information on Short description of the cost

declared.

▪ In case of travel costs, they should be declared per person per business trip,

specifying people travelling, the destination of the travels and the exact

connection of those meetings related to the Action.

Invoices


https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-europe-facility/useful-documents-and-forms


elaboration

Katerina Gautier





Interim Payment Documents

Declaration on Honour

Certificate on Financial Statement (If Applicable)

Letter of Discrepancy (If Applicable)

Consolidated Financial Statement

Supporting Tools

Sampling

Checks & Audits


Interim Payment process workflowDocuments

SDA will submit to INEA the Interim Payment request on the basis of the set of documents provided by the

Actions Beneficiaries. The following documents shall be submitted to INEA using the relevant

templates

Individual Financial Statement(s) -IFS

Certificate on Financial Statement - CFS

(If Applicable, according to thresholds) plus separate letter of clarifications in case of exceptions

Consolidated Financial Statement -ConFS

Letter of Discrepancy - LoD

(If Applicable, according to % of the discrepancy)

Document Template Owner

Beneficiaries’

approved Auditor

Declaration on Honour - DoH

NO Template

available

Deadlines

1st Draft – 24/6

2nd Draft – 18/7

Final* – 30/7

By 18/7

Final* – 30/7

18/7

Final* – 30/7

By 18/7

Final* – 30/7

By 2/08


Additional DocumentsDeclaration on Honour

▪ Full reliable and true;

▪ Real and eligible in accordance with FPA and SGA provisions;

▪ Costs claimed are substantiated by adequate supporting documents in the

context of Checks and Audits.

SESAR Deployment Alliance




▪ Digital copy: 18th July

▪ Original: 26th August


▪1 Digital copy to be uploaded on

STAR Tool repository

▪ 1 Original

2016-C2

2016-C1

SDA requests Action Beneficiaries to submit a Declaration on Honour in order to certify that the

Individual Financial Statement content is:

It is a mandatory supporting document and it shall be duly dated and signed by

the company legal representative.

Practical Info Deadlines Mail Address (original)


Additional DocumentsCertificate on the Financial Statement (if applicable)

According to Article II.23 of the FPA and consisting as annex of the FPA, the Certification on Financial

Statement has to be provided only by Beneficiaries that have a total contribution in the form of

reimbursement of actual costs of at least €750.000 and requests a reimbursement of at least €325.000

[….] The INEA template* (uneditable) encompasses two sections:

▪ Terms of reference: to be signed from both Beneficiary and auditor

▪ Auditor’s Independent Report of Factual Findings

The CFS shall be produced by an approved Auditor or, in case of public bodies, by

a competent and independent public officer. INEA strongly encourages

beneficiaries to use the November 2017 version and its annex for Grant Agreements

signed before 1 January 2018 available at https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-

europe-facility/useful-documents-and-forms

In case an exception is detected in the “Independent Report of Factual Findings”, please provide in

a separate letter to the Financial Statement clarification, if and how the finding was corrected in

the financial statement. If not, please provide information how you will mitigate the finding in future

to speed up the assessment of the payment claim

SESAR Deployment Manager





▪ Original: 26th August



STAR Tool repository dedicated

Beneficiary space

▪ 1 Original

Practical Info Deadlines Mail Address (originals)


https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-europe-facility/useful-documents-and-forms

Additional DocumentsLetter of Discrepancy (if applicable)

In order to justify a discrepancy greater than 5% between the cost figures

reported for years 2017 and 2018 in the Action Status Report 2019 and those

outlined within the Individual Financial Statement(s), the Action Beneficiaries

shall provide SDA with a dedicated letter* on Company's headed paper

including date, signature and reference to the relevant IFS(s)

The letter shall explain in detail discrepancies between the figures reported in

the Action Status Report (ASR) 2019 and those included in the IFSs


▪ Originals: 26th August



STAR Tool repository

▪ 1 Originals

Practical Info Deadlines

*Please note that there isn’t a template example available

SESAR Deployment Alliance




Mail Address (original)


Additional DocumentsConsolidated Financial Statement (ConFS)

1. General Information:

▪ Period covered, Author, Title, start/end date

▪ Certification by the Coordinator based on the Declaration on Honour provided

by the Beneficiaries

2. Consolidated statement of eligible costs at Action level

▪ Total direct eligible cost (in €) per Activity

▪ Total per beneficiary (in €)

▪ Total amount of eligible costs (in €) per reporting period

▪ Consolidated amount of eligible costs (in €)

1

2

On the basis of Individual Financial Statements provided by Action Beneficiaries, SDA is responsible

for the Interim Payment request elaboration and its submission to INEA. SDA has to produce the

Consolidated Financial Statement, one per each Action, which encompasses the following information:

The Consolidated Financial Statement includes the certification of the Action Coordinator on

consolidated costs reported within the Interim Payment request



elaboration

Barbora Smolikova

SGA Execution Manager





Supporting Tools

E-mail & Action Repositories

Sampling

Checks & Audits


Communication Tools and RepositoriesE-mail & Action Repositories (1/2)

In order to ensure the full alignment between SDA and the Beneficiaries during the end-to-end process of

the Interim Payment request, the following SDA supporting/communication tools are available:

Through our functional mailboxes the Beneficiaries will

receive any support they may need:

2016 CEF Call General – Cluster 1:

[email protected]

2016 CEF Call Cohesion – Cluster 2:

[email protected]

2. Dedicated Beneficiary Repository for uploading IFSand supporting docs each Beneficiary

Both repositories are available on STAR via the

following link: https://sesardm.one2team.com/

Official e-mail accounts Action Repositories

For any issue related to STAR, please contact STAR

support via the following dedicated email:

[email protected]

The following slide provides instructions to properly

use Star Tool Repository for IFS and supporting

documents uploading

1. The following Repository Spaces:

• CEF Transport Call 2016 Cluster 1 Repository GEN –

1.0 Interim Payment 2019

• CEF Transport Call 2016 Cluster 2 Repository COH –

1.0 Interim Payment 2019

will contain INEA note on Interim payment and

dedicated Questions & Answers, where all questions

raised by Beneficiaries will be published periodically

together with the related answers

Calendar

Online Calendar of the main deadlines of

the Interim Payment process is available for

the Beneficiaries to support them in the

activities to be performed, through a dedicated

login on:

(https://www.sesardeploymentmanager.eu/stak

eholderaccess)




https://sesardm.one2team.com/


https://www.sesardeploymentmanager.eu/stakeholderaccess

https://www.sesardeploymentmanager.eu/stakeholderaccess)

Communication Tools and RepositoriesE-mail & Action Repositories (2/2)

The following instructions will guide each Beneficiary in the use of Star Tool Repository, created this year

for the uploading of the IFS(s) and the supporting documents.

90

Select the Star Tool Space dedicated to

each company, typing the company name

followed by “documentation”

Select the relevant CEF Call (either Cef

Call 2016 C1 or C2)

3

4

2

1

Choose the folder according to the

relevant document that you need to upload

(IFS and Supporting documents)

3

- Click on “Upload”

- Choose the folder from your pc of the

document to be uploaded

4

Insert your user name and password in

the required fields to log in.

→ Please note that the access is granted

only to those IPPs that requested access

to STAR tool*

0

1

- Click on “Folder”

- Select “Interim Payment 2019”

2

5

* As per e-mail sent the 11th of April 2019 by SDA

0

** Please, make sure to be on the space dedicated to your Company

**

5





Supporting Tools

Sampling

Overview

Sampling and Procurement table

Declaration on Staff Costs

Focus on Frequent Findings and Hints

Timeline

Checks & Audits



elaboration

Margherita Perotti


• Following the Interim Payment request submission, INEA will launch the Sampling exercise selecting

one or more cost items claimed in the IFS(s)

• Beneficiary shall provide evidence/supporting documents for the cost items selected by INEA in

order to prove the eligibility of the costs declared

• The INEA sampling items shall provide reasonable assurance to INEA regarding the eligibility of

costs, the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of operations, and serves as well the prevention,

detection and correction of fraud and irregularities

• The Coordinator will be in charge to send the relevant supporting documentation to INEA at the

latest within 30 days following the date of INEA request

• Please note that the time limit for payment is suspended until all the supporting documentation and

clarifications requested are received

Sampling ExerciseTentative Roadmap


IPPsarerequestedtoprovidethesamplingsupportingdocumentstoSDM

SamplingExercise

SDMperformsassessmentonthereceiveddocumentsandprovidesfeedbacktotheIPPs

IPPsre–submittheupdatedversionsupportingdocandSDMprovidesallsetofdoctoINEA

INEAlaunchestheSamplingexerciseinformingtheSDMoftheselecteditemsSDMinformstheIPPs

From10/09

I NEA

AdditionalclarificationsarerequestedbytheAgency

SDMwillinteractwithIPPsandprovideinfotoINEAthelastbatchofclarifications

IPPscanprovideobservationstoSDM(appeal);INEAwillassessitandprovidestheappealresults

WherenecessarySDMsharestheappealresultswithIPPsandinitiates thepayment

23/09 30/10 10/11 25/11Afterthefinalappealresults

11/114 5

Ifneeded8 9621 3

I NEA I NEA

INEAinformsSDMaboutfinalsamplingresults andrelease thepayment.SDMprovidesIPPswith thefinalresults

December

I NEA

7

On the basis od the items selected by the Agency the Beneficiaries will be requested to submit two

templates:

1. For procurement costs (and staff costs) – Sampling and Procurement table to be completed

with the requested information on procurement process (either public or private).

• directly provided by the Agency already pre-filled from column A-H according to the

information submitted in the IFS by the IPPs

• Information from column I to column Q HAS TO BE FILLED IN by IPPs where applicable

2. Only for staff costs – Declaration on personnel costs

Sampling ExerciseOverview supporting documents

Declaration on personnel CostsSampling and Procurement table

1 2

1

2


Sampling ExerciseExternal Costs - Sampling and Procurement table

Exte

rnal

Co

sts

The information requested from column I to Q are related to direct external costs, specifically:

• Details on Procurement and Framework contracts (e.g: date, amount, etc)

• Details on Public Procurement contracts procedures followed (e.g: type of procedure,

official references, etc)

• In case of private company or item selected below the EU thresholds, an

explanation/documentation on applying the best-value for money rule in the

procurement process shall be provided

• An extra column is available to further justify any relevant element related to the

procurement procedure, either public or private

REQUESTED INFORMATION - Columns I - Q

• For direct external costs, a scanned copy of the invoice(s) shall be provided, correctly re-

named

• For the item selected in blue in the sampling table, the beneficiary will be requested to send

the scanned copy of the contract notice, the contract award notice and a copy of the

synthesis evaluation report or equivalent document.


Sampling exerciseHints! – Procurement Costs (1/2)

The sampling and procurement table shall be completed in all the fields. In

case of non-applicable fields, please insert “n/a” adding a proper justification in

the dedicated column and additional supporting documents (where possible).

Taking into consideration the INEA further requests on sampling documentations, the following hints

shall be considered to enhance the quality of documents provided

Evidence regarding the eligibility of the costs claimed shall be provided (such

as: invoices, supporting documents related to the procurement process, etc.)

Completeness

Supporting

documents

• No change in the structure of the sampling and procurement table is allowed

(e.g split of one or more lines)

• No modification of the relevant amount claimed in the IFS should be done

when filling in the Sampling and Procurement Table

• If indispensable, the correction must be made against the officially

submitted IFS and the items concerned must be clearly highlighted

• The correction can only lead to a reduction of costs but not to an increase

(otherwise the payment claim for the overall Action and for all beneficiaries

would need to be rejected and the sampling procedure would need to be re-

started).

Cost Claim


Sampling ExerciseHints! – Procurement Costs (2/2)

• The Invoice shall be renamed with the number of the sampling (e.g.

"sample1.pdf)

• Amount of invoice: if/when the amount of the invoice and the claimed cost

in the IFS does not match, the methodology to how reconcile the invoice to

the costs shall explained

• If the date of invoice is outside the eligibility period, but costs incurred

during the eligibility period, a detailed explanation of the shall be provided as

well as any additional evidence

• Currency of the invoice: if the currency of the invoice is different from the

one of the cost claimed, additional information shall be provided

To correctly fill in the sampling and procurement table, the following general recommendation shall be

taken into consideration

• Public Procurement & blue items: all the details to be provided, in particular:

• value of the contract above EU thresholds;

• increase of the aggregated value of the contract

• Framework Contract

• Best value for money evidence (in case of contract below the EU

thresholds)

• Private Company: provide explanations and evidence on how sound financial

management and best value for money principles have been applied

Procurement

Procedure

Invoice


Errors• A high error rate in the sampling table might lead to the rejection of the cost

claim

• Systematic errors in the sampling can lead to rejections in the financial

statement

Sampling ExerciseStaff Cost - Declaration on Staff Costs

Sta

ff C

osts

When declaring direct personnel costs, Beneficiaries may have two possibilities:

A. Declare ACTUAL personnel costs on yearly or monthly basis: The hourly rate is based on the

personnel costs and annual productive hours of an employee which is then multiplied by the number

of actual hours worked on the Action. The hourly rate must be calculated taking the actual annual

personnel costs for the year and dividing it by the number of annual productive hours. Alternatively, it

can be calculated considering the actual monthly personnel costs for the employee and divide it by

the monthly annual productive hours

B. Declare personnel costs on the basis of UNIT costs based on their usual costs accounting

practices and in compliance with the conditions laid down in Commission Decision

C(2016)478: Beneficiary determines an hourly rate based on the personnel costs and annual

productive hours, applicable to an employee or to a category of personnel, which is then multiplied

by the number of actual hours worked on the action.

Travel Costs: for each of the items it shall be specified the number of people travelling, the dates of the

travel, the destination, purpose of travel and the relation to the Action. Travel costs should be, where

possible, declared per person per business trip. In case this is not possible, and the costs are

grouped (i.e. a sum of several invoices), please provide a detailed list in an excel file of the

individual items (including amount claimed). The travel costs shall be supported by documented

invoices


Sampling ExerciseHints! – Staff Costs (1/2)

Start date and end date of costs: these dates that each Beneficiary shall

indicate, shall refer to the sampled costs and not the whole Action start and end

dates (even though has to be inside the relevant reporting periods (07/02/2017-

31/12/2018)

The number of actual working hours declared for a person shall be

identifiable and verifiable; it must be necessary for implementing the Action and

spent during the relevant reporting period

For privacy reasons, Beneficiaries are not obliged to report the staff names,

an identification number, function or a code for the staff member is

sufficient

To correctly fill in the declaration on staff cost, the following general recommendation should be taken

into consideration.

No modification of the relevant amount claimed in the IFS should be done

when filling in the Sampling and Procurement Table

No change in the structure of the sampling and procurement table is allowed

(e.g split of one or more lines)

Start-End

date

Working

Hours

Privacy

Costs

Claimed

101

Copyright SESAR Deployment Manager

• travel costs should be declared per person per business trip, specifying people

travelling, the destination of the travels and the exact connection of those

meetings to the Action

• If requested, a detailed list of the individual items including the amount claimed

(e.g. air ticket, hotel etc..) supported by documented invoices

• If a Beneficiary intends to group travel costs, please provide an excel sheet

with a breakdown of the grouped item

• Even if only staff cost shall be justified, a sampling table with “n.a.” in the

parts related to procurement shall be filled in

• Make sure to submit the Declaration on Staff cost both in excel and in pdf

version. The pdf version shall be signed and contain all the declaration

pages

• Amount: if/when the amount in declaration of costs does not match with

the claimed cost in the sampling and procurement table, a proper

justification shall be provided

• Currency : if the currency of the sampling and procurement table is

different from the one outlined in the declaration on staff costs,

additional information to reconcile the invoice to the cost item should be

provided

Taking into consideration the most frequent INEA further requests the following instructions shall be

followed in order to prove the eligibility of cost(s) claimed

Travel Costs

Documentation

Amount

declared

102

Sampling ExerciseHints! – Staff Costs (2/2)


Sampling ExerciseFrequent Findings on costs rejected

Based on the findings by INEA and the European Court of Auditors, from the previous exercises, the most

common issues leading to the rejection of costs relate to ineligibility of costs or non-adherence to the EU

and/or national procurement laws and procedures

COSTS

➢Outside eligibility period

➢ Staff costs: include overheads, lack of

proper time recording

➢ Non-eligible VAT

➢ Indirect costs

➢ Estimated costs

➢ Not relevant for the Action

➢ Cross invoicing: If beneficiaries of the same

Action provide services among themselves,

the corresponding costs should be declared

by the service provider (as costs incurred),

and not by the recipient of the services (as

invoice paid)

➢ Depreciation costs

PROCUREMENT

➢ Procurement: Not using/avoiding EU level

procedures, including slicing

➢ Lack of publication - unlawful selection

criteria

➢ Amendments / additional works:

“unforeseeability” or “urgency” not

justified

➢ If public procurement is not applicable,

still sound financial management principles

have to be respected and best value for

money principle must be proved

103






Supporting Tools

Sampling

Checks & Audits

Definition, duties and obligations

Procedure

104


Checks & AuditsDefinition, duties and obligations

In line with the Article II.27.1 of the FPA, the Commission during the implementation of the SGA and for a period of 5

years starting from the payment of the balance, may (directly or by an authorised body on its behalf) conduct technical

and financial checks / audits, assess lump sum, unit cost or flat-rate amounts and evaluate the impact of an action

in order to assess if objectives (e.g. environmental protection) have been attained:

Duty of keep documents

(FPA Art II.27.2 )

Obligation to provide information

(FPA Art II.27.3 )

WHAT?

Original documents, accounting and taxrecords, stored on any appropriatemedium, including digitalised originalswhen they are authorised by theirrespective national law

Any information requested by theCommission or authorisedrepresentative, including information inelectronic format

WHEN?

Five years starting from the date ofpayment of the balance for the Action,longer if on-going audits, appeals,litigation or pursuit of claims concerningthe Grant

Before the payment of the balance, laterand during on the spot visits

IF NOT

COMPLAINT

?

The Commission may consider:

(a) any cost insufficiently substantiated by information provided by the partner as ineligible;

(b) any unit, lump sum or flat-rate contribution insufficiently substantiated by information

provided by the partner as undue

105


Checks & AuditsProcedure

On the basis of the findings made during the audit, theCommission (or authorised representative) sends aprovisional draft audit report to the beneficiary concerned

The beneficiary can submit observations within 30 daysfrom the day of receipt

Within 60 days after the period for submittingobservations expires, the Beneficiary receives the finalaudit report

Co

ntr

ad

icto

ry a

ud

it p

roce

du

reContradictory audit procedure

(FPA II.27.5)

Audit

30 days

60 days

106


For additional information please refer to the Check and Audit procedures document available in the STARRepository

Q&As session

Closure of the meeting

Marcel Sobottka

Chief Finance, Partnerships & Corporate Services

Supported by

Disclaimer

Please note that this document is provided for information

purposes only and it is not meant to replace the applicable

provisions foreseen in the Framework Partnership Agreement, the

Specific Grant Agreements or any other applicable instrument.

The SDA AISBL or any of its Members, or the Commission or INEA,

do not assume any liability for its contents. The SDA AISBL will not

be responsible for any rejection of costs. It is of the primary

responsibility of each of the beneficiaries to ensure that they

comply with the provisions of the FPA and SGA(s). Therefore, all

Partners are strongly advised to read and carry-out the Action(s)

according to the terms set-out in the legal and contractual

instruments.

Thank you for your attention !

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