Horizon Europe/H2020 Master of Finance and EC Audits

This 3-day exclusive training course will assist you in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the financial regulations and reporting protocols of the Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 programs and their practical application in day-to-day operations. Distinctions between Horizon Europe and H2020 will be emphasized, as well as their impact on internal record-keeping, planning, and bookkeeping.

Special attention will be given to the complexities of personnel cost calculation, such as daily rates, inconsistent rules, and the GA and Annotated GA descriptions. Additionally, the course will focus on internal invoicing and the calculation of research facility costs. 

Agenda and topics covered:

Day 1 - Hands-on Introduction to Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 Financial Rules  

Attend a full-day presentation on the financial rules and reporting protocols of HE and H2020, highlighting the changes and their effects on day-to-day project management. The presentation will include numerous examples, calculations, and scenarios to help attendees understand the importance of these rules, from basic eligibility conditions to changes in personnel cost calculations and the new research facility cost criterion.  

Prepare yourself, as this will be the most challenging day of the course! 

Day 2 - Workshop: Learning by Doing with Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 Cost Reporting  

In the morning, participate in the renowned and unique workshop of Europa Media. Attendees will receive a package of timesheets, salary slips, invoices, contracts, per-diem certificates, and mission reports for a virtual HE/H2020 project. They will then have to calculate the eligible costs and submit a financial statement with comparisons to H2020 fully integrated.  

In the afternoon, the group will review the most optimal solutions from the workshop exercise, delving into issues such as timesheets, personnel cost calculations, other services versus subcontracting, unforeseen costs, and deviations from the budget. 

Day 3 - Workshop: Becoming an EC Auditor for a Day  

Many of us are intimidated by financial audits, particularly level-2 audits conducted by EC(-appointed) auditors. Did you know that one way to overcome this fear is to try to see things from the "other" side?  

In the morning, attendees will be divided into groups of 4-5 and receive full-project documentation (invoices, reports, timesheets, contracts, etc.). They will act as a group of auditors, recalculating the reported costs and identifying deviations, errors, and misclaimed amounts. It's much more fun to find the errors than to make them! This will also be a competition to see which group finds the most hidden things.  

In the afternoon, we will assess and discuss what should have been discovered, accepted, and/or rejected, and learn about how real-life audits are conducted, what to expect from the auditors, how to prepare, and what to do if different audits have different conclusions on the same things. This will cover the full finance cycle from budgeting to audits in just 3 days!

Hottest topics covered by the course:  

• Step-by-step analysis of the different personnel cost calculation protocols in H2020, compared to the new Horizon Europe program.  

• How to deal with parallel running H2020/HE projects when the reporting requirements are quite different? Should you change the time-recording protocols? 

• Why record time in hours if HE apparently has daily rates? 

• What is a day-equivalent, and what to do when one works part-time or on sick/parental leave? 

• How to optimize efforts, handle budget deviations, and monitor spending in reality? 

• How to harmonize national accounting protocols with the H2020/HE Grant Agreement articles?  

• Advantages and disadvantages of actual and unit-based personnel costs calculations? 

• Internal cost calculation – how to make internal costs measurable, eligible for EC auditors, and still maintain sanity? 

•  ...and many more! 

Why select us?  

We have 20 years of experience in developing and implementing projects under EU research framework programs. Under Horizon 2020, we have been involved successfully in over 30 projects, coordinating six of them, while in Horizon Europe we have already launched seven new projects. We have also witnessed 9 EC-driven audits from the front row in the last 15 years. 

"Therefore, you can expect a real, hands-on approach on how financial reporting and documentation should be done in reality. Our extensive experience in EU research framework programs and successful track record in coordinating and participating in multiple projects, along with our firsthand experience with EC-driven audits, gives us the knowledge and expertise to provide valuable insights and understanding." 

The speaker for this course is our CEO and founder, Gabor Kitley. He has been managing EU projects since 2000 and delivering international training courses since 2004. His extensive experience makes these financial courses unparalleled in Europe. 

Who is this course for? 

This course is suitable for a diverse range of participants, thanks to our unique "learning-by-doing" approach and workshops. The diverse financial backgrounds of participants allow for a wide range of perspectives and experiences, making it an ideal learning environment for all. 

Feedback from previous participants shows that this course is equally useful for 
•    Financial administrators and controllers 

•    Researchers          

•    Research Advisors 

•    Project managers and coordinators 

•    Decision makers   

•    Finance NCPs   

coming from any sectors – public or private -, as the same rules apply for everyone!