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Financial Reporting and Acquittals
Reporting Template
For both the annual Financial Statement and the financial Acquittal Statement the same reporting template is to be used with a requirement to indicate what the statement type is at the top of the template. Financial data for each completed year of the approved funding period is to be entered in the template so as to provide a progressive record of the receipt and application of NHMRC funds.
» Download: Financial Reporting Template (Excel, 29kb)
Interest Earned
All grants funded by NHMRC include in the Deed of Agreement a requirement for the disclosure of interest earned on grant funds. Thus, in the annual Financial Statement and the financial Acquittal Statement all interest monies received for the duration of funding are required to be reported.
Certification
Financial Statements must be certified by a Chief Financial Officer (or delegate) that the accounts and records underlying the Statements have been maintained in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards. Further, the Executive Director/General Manager or delegate must certify that the terms and conditions of the Deed of Agreement have been complied with.
Submission of Reports
An annual Financial Statement must be submitted to NHMRC by 31 March following each calendar year of funding. For reporting purposes an Acquittal Statement must be prepared for the final year of funding. Income and expenditure must be accounted for in each reporting period and the carry forward of unspent monies in any funding year is required to be disclosed.
Where an annual Financial Statement or financial Acquittal Statement has not been received within seven days after the due date, NHMRC will write to the relevant institution requesting the financial report. Failure to provide the report(s) will result in consideration being given to suspending payments to all active grants until the report(s) have been submitted.
Unspent Funds
In Other Than the Final Year of the Grant
Where the unspent funds are greater than 25% of the annual budget the template below (Request to Carry Forward NHMRC Grant Funds) should be used and justification is required. The justification and request form should be attached to and submitted with the completed annual Financial Statement, and be signed by the CIA and submitted by the Administering Institution. If the justification for carry forward of unspent funds is unacceptable the NHMRC may seek further clarification before making a decision.
In the Final Year of the Grant
In the final year of a grant where there is any amount of carry forward of funds, this constititues an extension to the grant and the institution must submit the Request to Carry Forward NHMRC Grant Funds (at the link above) and justification, that includes a request for extension by 31 December of that final year. If an extension is approved, an annual Financial Statement will still be due by 31 March following and the Acquittal Statement will then be due by six months after the new end date of the grant.
Justification
Carry forward of funds may be justified on the following grounds:
- delayed start to the grant (e.g. because of delays in obtaining ethics approvals(s) or securing essential funding from partners/collaborators
- factors beyond the reasonable control of the CI (e.g. unavailability of suitable subjects for clinical studies; unavailability of critical staff because of sick leave or delays in recruitment of PhD students or laboratory personnel)
- evidence that progress is being made to eliminate earlier delays (i.e. the absence of persistent and/or growing underperformance).
Suspension of Funding
If it is apparent that the carry forward will not be spent within the next year, grant payments will be suspended. Once expenditure has caught up the RAO must advise NHMRC in order that quarterly payments can be resumed.
Financial Acquittal
Acquittal refers to the process of assessing and reconciling the final Financial Statement submitted by an institution at the conclusion of the funding agreement (this also includes acquittals prepared following an approved transfer of a grant). This review enables NHMRC to ascertain whether the participant has satisfied their obligations as specified in the funding agreement and that the funds can be accounted for.
A financial Acquittal Statement must be submitted to NHMRC no later than six months after the funding period has been completed or six months after termination or transfer of the grant. The total of all monies received for the duration of funding must be reported on the same template as used for the annual NHMRC Financial Statement (refer above). Any unspent funds must be returned to NHMRC.
Where a grant will not be completed within the approved funding period the Administering Institution may request from NHMRC an extension to enable completion of the grant. The request must reach NHMRC by 31 December of the final year of funding. If approval is granted to extend the grant an additional annual Financial Statement will be required. This will be reflected by an extra year and the relevant figures being reported in the final year of the grant for the Acquittal Statement.
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