Personnel cost calculation and reporting in EU funded projects 2021-2027

The calculation process(es) of the eligible personnel costs from the accounted employment expenses is often considered one of the most challenging parts of the periodic reporting in EU projects.

Are your actual costs deviated from the ones budgeted or planned?

Are you getting confused about the multiple calculation options and categories?

Are you dealing with staff leaving and coming, parental leaves or additional staff benefits?  

 

This 2-day training course will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of all the personnel cost calculation and reporting requirements under the most relevant EU programmes of 2021-2027, including among others, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, LIFE, Creative Europe and European Defence Fund (EDF). This unique, interactive event, where all personnel cost reporting options will be introduced, will help you understand with practical examples and workshops the dos and don’ts of different projects and their stages from budgeting to monitoring and reporting, and all the way to audits – focusing first time exclusively on personnel costs. 

  

Agenda and topics covered: 

• Internal planning and adequate budgeting of personnel costs in various programmes and proposals, with a special focus on the detailed requirements of the lump-sum financed projects. 

• Setting up internal control systems with accounting and payrolls for the proper identification of the actual employment costs, and with grant offices for a decent time-recording system.  

• Backbones of the actual personnel cost calculation and reporting – should we choose the default reporting period based or the alternative “calendar-year” based option? What are the pros and cons and the dos and don’ts of the calculations? 

• The average personnel cost reporting – who can use it, why use it, how to make it bulletproof and approved? Does it simplify or complicate the administrative processes? Showcases of actual calculation of the average personnel costs with comparison on the costs/efforts. 

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, SME-owner rate, volunteers, in-house consultants and natural person rates – are they as simple as promised? Who can use it and what it is really for, showcasing possible bottlenecks and audit requirements. 

• Personnel cost reporting in lump sum projects – do you have to report anything? Should you still have a timesheet even if not requested? What ex-ante checks you can expect on lump sum projects? 

• The all-new unit cost for personnel – The EC’s latest addition to the already great variety of personnel cost grant options – to be launched from May 2024. Detailed introduction of the requirements and the full assessment on who should and who should not apply for it.  

• Besides introducing all the available personnel cost calculation options, a straight-to-the-point discussion will be held on how to set up the best staff for the project by maximising the flexibility of the GA on personnel costs. 

 

                        - Employees: current staff and new members? Monthly fixed salary and/or project-based remuneration? 

                        - Seconded persons: could it resolve missing expertise in staff? 

                         - In-house consultants: who is a natural person and a one-person company? Should it be foreseen? 

                        - Volunteers: could I charge unpaid personnel to the project?  

                        - SME-owners and natural person-rates: conditions and benefits? 

 

Participants will take part in our unique and extensive workshop on personnel cost calculation. You will receive a package of timesheets, salary slips, invoices and contracts for a virtual EU funded project. You will then have to calculate the eligible costs and submit a financial statement with comparisons to whether it was funded from Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, LIFE or other programme.  As a group, we will review the most optimal solution from the workshop exercise, delving into issues such as timesheets, personnel cost calculations, unforeseen costs, and deviations from the budget.  

Finally, a hands-on showcase on potential EC financial audits focusing on the personnel costs reported will conclude the course. Discussion on the expected documentation as policies such as salary benchmarks, reasonability, contracts and benefit system, as well as on practicalities like timesheet formats, signatures, accounted cost versus reported expenses will be covered.

 

Good news! The course starts at 10:00 AM, so you can still make it from your early morning trip, if applicable.

 

Why Europa Media?    

Europa Media is Europe’s leading provider of practical training courses on EU’s research and innovation programmes. We have 20+ years of experience in developing and implementing projects under the Framework Programmes. Under Horizon 2020, we have been involved successfully in over 30 projects, coordinating six of them. Under the first work programmes of Horizon Europe, we are currently involved in seven collaborative projects, coordinating one of them. Europa Media’s trainers are actual project managers, coordinators, and financial administrators of these projects, sharing their stories and providing you with hands-on tips based on their everyday experience. This event, as always, has been designed based on our direct hands-on experience with EU research and innovation proposals and is, therefore, 100% practice-driven. Our practical approach has attracted over 10,000 participants from all over the world in the past 15 years. Read more about our projects here.    

 

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. Whether your project is financed from Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, LIFE or others, we will cover most EU grants of 2021-2027. Besides that, the diverse financial backgrounds of the 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 to learn how to deal with accounting and reporting 

• Grants office personnel/research managers and advisors to learn different stages as budgeting, monitoring, reporting and ex-ante audits     

• Researchers, project managers and coordinators to gain understanding on how your project spending could be monitored 

• Finance NCPs to see the struggles from the “other side” 

 

Coming from any sector – public or private - as the same rules apply to everyone!