FINANCIAL
GUIDELINES FOR
ETF EVENTS
2014 (draft to be agreed with the contractor)
Contents
1.
FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES................................................................................................................... 3
3.
BUDGET MANAGEMENT WORKFLOW .......................................................................................... 3
3.1
Pre-Event..................................................................................................................................3
Request for offer ...............................................................................................................................3
Budget submission ............................................................................................................................3
General reserve in the budget ..........................................................................................................3
ETF financial commitment.................................................................................................................3
Acceptance of the service by the contractor .....................................................................................4
Pre-financing invoice .........................................................................................................................4
Mid-term budget revision...................................................................................................................4
Budget consolidation before the event ..............................................................................................4
3.2
During the event .......................................................................................................................4
On-site order form .............................................................................................................................4
3.3
Post-event ................................................................................................................................5
Financial reporting .............................................................................................................................5
Overall logistic list_post.....................................................................................................................6
List of participants’ signatures ...........................................................................................................6
Supporting documents ......................................................................................................................6
Payment terms ..................................................................................................................................7
4.
REIMBURSEMENT OF PARTICIPANTS’ EXPENSES .................................................................... 8
4.1
Overview...................................................................................................................................8
Travel ................................................................................................................................................8
Miscellaneous expenses ...................................................................................................................8
Daily subsistence allowance (DSA) ..................................................................................................9
5.
REIMBURSEMENT OF STAFF EXPENSES.................................................................................... 9
6.
ADDITIONAL INFO… ....................................................................................................................... 9
Calculation of the contractor’s daily fee ............................................................................................9
Cancellation policies .........................................................................................................................9
Catering for organisational staff ........................................................................................................9
Database of invitees ....................................................................................................................... 10
Euro exchange rate ........................................................................................................................ 10
Minimum guaranteed number of participants................................................................................. 10
Number of offers to be submitted by the contractor ....................................................................... 10
Prepaid flight tickets: ceilings and exceptions ............................................................................... 10
Proof of payment ............................................................................................................................ 11
Subcontracting to another PCO ..................................................................................................... 11
Time sheet for occasional staff ...................................................................................................... 11
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1.
FOREWORD
These guidelines provide a set of implementing rules on financial issues to guide the use of the
corporate framework contract for events.
They are based on the ETF financial and procurement regulation and are in line with the information
provided in the framework contract.
2.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
The corporate framework contract deals with logistics and administrative support for events, which are
described in detail in the contract (Attachment 1, Terms of reference and Annex A, Operational
guidelines for ETF events).
As part of this framework contract, all decisions that have an impact on costs and/or which can be
seen as an exception to the standards set out in this document, must be approved beforehand by the
ETF.
The contractor should keep documentary evidence of any such agreements and attach them to the
relative claims for payment.
3.
BUDGET MANAGEMENT WORKFLOW
3.1
Pre-Event
Request for offer
In normal circumstances, about three months before an event is planned, the ETF will submit an
‘event profile’ to the contractor to be used as the basis for a cost estimate. The event profile is
submitted through the events management system and contains a description of the requirements for
the event.
Budget submission
The draft budget proposal should be submitted within a week (named Budget_00).
Modifications requested by the ETF should be integrated by the contractor in subsequent draft
proposals. Substantially changed budget proposals should be renamed Budget_00_rev1 etc.
Amendments should be submitted within three working days.
General reserve in the budget
All budget proposals should include a general reserve to cover changes in requirements during the
implementation process.
ETF financial commitment
Once the budget proposal is approved, the ETF will prepare a financial commitment. Once this is
approved, an order form will be sent to the contractor through the ETF’s event management system.
The order form will indicate:
■
Title of the event
■
Date and place (country/city)
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■
Event management system event code.
If the budget for the event increases during the preparation period, an additional financial commitment
will be prepared and a new order form issued. This order form cancels and replaces the previous one
and it will have the same reference number. The same principles apply in the event that the budget
actually decreases during the preparation period.
Acceptance of the service by the contractor
Within seven calendar days from the receipt of the order form, the contractor’s legal representative will
confirm acceptance of the service by countersigning the order form. The countersigned order form is
submitted via the event management system.
This countersigned order form is the legally binding commitment that can initiate the activity (see
Attachment 1, Terms of reference, Chapter 7.4.
No activity should be carried out before the order form is countersigned.
Pre-financing invoice
Pre-financing can be claimed as follows:
■
for amounts above €15,000, 30% of the total value of the order form can be paid in advance
■
for amounts above €100,000, 50% of the total value of the order form can be paid in advance.
In order to obtain advance payment, the contractor must invoice the ETF clearly indicating the contract
and relevant order form numbers. The invoice will be paid within 30 days of receipt.
Mid-term budget revision
One month before the event, the contractor should submit an updated budget (Budget_01) to the
ETF.
Budget consolidation before the event
Seven days before the event, another revised budget, the pre-final balance, should be submitted by
the contractor via the events management system. It should reflect all the modifications that occurred
during the preparatory stages. For clarity, changes from the previous version of the budget should be
highlighted. The pre-final balance will be the reference document against which the final invoice will be
checked.
3.2
During the event
On-site order form
Any unforeseen change that occurs between the approval of the pre-final balance and the end of the
event, and which has an impact on the budget, should be registered using an on-site order form. The
associated costs are covered by the general reserve, as mentioned above, and may be related to
expenses such as:
■
costs linked to travel, local transfers, accommodation or catering due to last minute changes in a
participant’s flight schedule or in the event programme;
■
costs related to meeting rooms, technical equipment, interpretation services, ancillary services,
transport of materials due to last minute changes in the programme or unexpected needs;
■
catering costs due to last minute, unexpected changes in the list of participants (e.g. unexpected
guests at the official dinner) or unexpected needs (e.g. small changes in the menu);
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■
in general, other unforeseen services related to the implementation of an event.
The contractor should check that the amount available in the reserve covers the services required
before submitting them for approval to the ETF. The reference budget is the pre-final balance (the last
revision of the budget).
The on-site order form is prepared by the contractor and countersigned by the ETF representative onsite, who has a delegation to use the available amount in the budget general reserve. A formal written
delegation is issued to the ETF staff member on site enabling them to sign the on-site order forms.
This document should also be attached to the final invoice.
The value of each service should not exceed €500. Should this amount need to be exceeded, the ETF
representative should obtain prior written authorisation from the authorising officer at the ETF.
The following information should be included in the on-site order form:
■
a description of the service
■
the cost
■
the operational justification
After the event, all on-site order forms should be countersigned by the ETF’s authorising officer and
included with the final invoice.
3.3
Post-event
Financial reporting
Final payment
After the event, the contractor will provide the ETF with a request for final payment.
Requests for interim payments up to 90% of the order form amount are allowed in certain
circumstances and upon agreement with ETF.
The request for final payment should:
■
be on headed paper;
■
be dated and numbered;
■
be addressed to the ETF;
■
report a description of services/products provided (in this case: title, date and venue of the event,
EMS event code) and the order form reference number;
■
indicate the reference number of the contract and of the order form to which it refers to;
■
indicate the total payable amount;
■
indicate that it is a final payment; in case a pre-financing and/or interim payments have been
made, this has to be clearly mentioned
The contractor should submit a formal request for payment (invoice) within 30 days of completion of
the task/conclusion of the event. The contractor’s invoice is the basis of the payment. It should be
clear, complete and well-structured to make checking as easy as possible.
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The invoice will be accompanied by the financial report which comprises the final balance, the overall
logistic list, the list of participants’ signatures and relevant supporting documents.
If the request for payment is incomplete or not admissible for any reason, the payment will be
suspended and the ETF will inform the contractor in writing about the reasons for suspension (see
Art.II.15.7 of the contract.).
Final balance
The final balance is a detailed description of services and goods provided, and the relative costs.
The structure of the final balance should follow the approved pre-final balance breakdown, and for
each heading of expenditure a reference should be made to the relevant supporting document
(supporting documents should be numbered accordingly).
Services and costs in the final balance should be consistent with the pre-final balance and any
changes should be clearly explained and justified.
The final balance must be prepared in Euro, using the EU’s official InforEuro exchange rate of the
month in which the event takes place (see more details under Chapter 6, Euro exchange rate).
Overall logistic list_post
The overall logistic list_post is a post-event update which includes any information that has an impact
on the budget such as cancellations and no shows.
List of participants’ signatures
The contractor will collect the signature of all participants registered for an event, in particular with
regard to eligibility for fees. In case of events where contractor is not present arrangements for
collection of the signatures should be agreed with ETF prior the event takes place.
Signatures apply to whole events (and not per event day). In specific cases (e.g.: dignitaries,
speakers, etc.), the ETF (or someone designated by the ETF) can sign on behalf of the invitee.
Two separate lists, one for external participants and another for ETF staff, can be used to facilitate the
registration process.
The list, in alphabetical order, will indicate:
■
Category (with regard to fee eligibility, i.e.: Guest, Self, Local, Other, ETF)
■
Title
■
Name, Surname
■
Country/Organisation.
Supporting documents
To make the invoice check as easy as possible, the supporting documents should:
■
always be clearly legible;
■
be identified by a reference code, corresponding to the coding in the final balance headings;
■
allow an easy identification of the total/s by highlighting the corresponding amount;
■
have consistent titles if compared to the final balance and any other related document.
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All expenses included in the final balance should be verified against the relevant supporting
documents. In particular:
■
The reimbursable costs for the meeting, such as hotel accommodation, meeting rooms, catering,
technical equipment, interpretation, prepaid flight tickets, and – in general – all goods and services
provided by suppliers, will be supported by a copy of the suppliers’ invoice.
■
In case of prepaid tickets, travel costs of participants are supported by the signed list of
participants and a copy of the electronic ticket or travel agency invoice indicating the participant
name, ticket number, complete flight, train or bus schedule.
■
Contractor staff travel costs to attend the event (flight, train and/or other public transport) will be
supported by a copy of the ticket (or travel agency invoice). Taxi costs will not be reimbursed.
■
Daily subsistence allowances for the contractor’s staff will be reimbursed on the basis of the travel
documents.
■
If the supplier’s invoice is in a currency other than Euro, the contractor will also provide the ETF
with the calculation of the amount in Euro based on the InforEuro applicable exchange rate (see
Art.II.15.2 of the contract).
■
If the supplier’s invoice is expressed in both local currency and Euro, the amount expressed in
Euro will be eligible for reimbursement.
For supporting documents related to participant reimbursements, more details are provided under
Reimbursement of participants’ expenses.
The supporting documents should also include any correspondence between the ETF and the
contractor that clarify or justify costs (such as cancellation fees not already included in the pre-final
balance, exceptional travel schedules, business class or exceptionally high priced tickets). In this
case, communication should take place via the event management system.
No expenses can be claimed if the supporting documents are missing.
In specific cases, an e-mail exchange approved by the Authorising Officer can be considered a valid
supporting document.
Payment terms
As a rule, payment will take place in line with Art. 1.5 of the contract: Payment Arrangements.
The ETF will pay within 30 days of the receipt of the pre-financing invoice.
The ETF will pay within 60 days from receipt of the final invoice. The contractor has 10 days to submit
additional information or corrections, a new final progress report or other documents if required by the
ETF. The final invoice shall be accompanied by the final progress report or any other document in
accordance with the relevant order form [and statements of reimbursable expenses in accordance with
Article II.16].
The invoice must be approved by the ETF and final payment is dependent on its approval. If
clarifications are necessary, payment will be suspended. The contractor has five working days to
provide such clarifications (see draft of the contract, Article I.5).
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4. REIMBURSEMENT OF PARTICIPANTS’
EXPENSES
4.1
Overview
The reimbursement policy of each event is established by the ETF and communicated to the
contractor through the event profile. In principle, whenever the costs related to attendance (hotel
accommodation, travel, meals not included in the official programme, local transfer) should be covered
directly. However, for some events participants may incur travel related expenses for which they are
entitled to reimbursement. In such cases, the contractor will be responsible for reimbursing
participants on behalf of the ETF as well as the related administrative procedures.
Reimbursement procedures are based on Director’s Decision ETF007/DEC/028 of April 2008 (ETF
rules for reimbursement of experts attending ETF events), which will be provided following the contract
signature.
Expenses can be reimbursed for the following:
■
travel
■
miscellaneous (travel related expenses, such as visas, insurance, exit taxes)
■
daily subsistence allowance (DSA).
On the basis of valid supporting documents, reimbursable expenses can be reimbursed in cash on site
or via bank transfer after the event, whichever is the most cost effective.
For practical purposes, amounts reimbursed in cash can be rounded to the nearest Euro (no rounding
is foreseen for bank transfer reimbursement).
Travel
If participants organise their own travel instead of receiving a prepaid ticket, the ETF should approve
the travel cost in advance.
The contractor should present the following supporting documents with the invoice:
■
copy of the flight ticket or copy of the travel agency invoice.
■
a refund form signed by the participant indicating that he/she received the reimbursement.
Miscellaneous expenses
Miscellaneous expenses include train, bus or underground costs (when not related to local transfers)
and travel-related expenses, such as visas, insurance, exit taxes. Taxi costs are not reimbursed,
except in cases where public transport is not available or not compatible with the travel schedule, or
for safety/geopolitical reasons. Other expenses should be approved by the ETF in advance.
For return journeys when a participant is only in possession of a single ticket, the contractor should
reimburse the return journey at the same rate as the outward journey.
For the reimbursement of visa costs, a copy of the visa in the passport and the stamp are required.
The contractor should present the following supporting documents with the invoice:
■
original receipts of expenditure;
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■
a refund form signed by the participant indicating that he/she received the reimbursement.
Daily subsistence allowance (DSA)
The ETF’s policy is to avoid DSAs where possible. They may be covered under exceptional
circumstances upon approval of the Authorising Officer.
In this case, the DSA calculation should be drafted by the contractor and validated by the ETF at least
10 days before the event takes place.
The contractor should present the following supporting documents with the invoice:
■
DSA table;
■
a refund form signed by the participant indicating that s/he received the reimbursement.
More information is available in Director’s Decision ETF/007/DEC/028 that will become part of the
contract.
5.
REIMBURSEMENT OF STAFF EXPENSES
Travel costs and subsistence expenses incurred by the contractor for missions related to the overall
management of the contract or the management of individual assignments will be reimbursed as
follows:
■
Flight costs will be reimbursed on the basis of the most economic fare/route
■
A daily allowance of €150/night will be provided, covering full board.
No further costs can be charged to the ETF as regards travel and subsistence expenses incurred by
the contractor.
6.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Calculation of the contractor’s daily fee
The contractor can claim a daily fee in case of arrival before 16.00 and departure after 11.00.
Travel time is not included in the calculation of the daily fee.
Cancellation policies
Full and clear information about cancellation policies applied by suppliers (hotels or other service
providers) should be communicated to the ETF, through the event management system.
If specific actions are required (such as confirmation of the number of hotel rooms by a certain
deadline), the contractor will ensure that the ETF is informed well in advance.
Penalties for cancellation/changes of hotel reservations/pre-paid flight tickets will be covered by the
ETF if they are the participants’ responsibility.
Catering for organisational staff
For organisational reasons, organisational staff with technical and logistical tasks are entitled to lunch
at the premises where the event is held (the contractor will negotiate complimentary lunches where
possible with the caterer). An average amount will be reserved in the budget as an estimate (catering
for organisational staff).
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Database of invitees
Preliminary detailed information about invitees is essential for the contractor to be in a position to
prepare a sound cost estimate, in particular in view of the fee structure (fee per participant/category).
Therefore, the ETF will endeavour to provide a near definite database of invitees early in the kick-off
process. The ETF template will be used to provide participants’ details to the contractor.
Nevertheless, some flexibility is essential in certain cases, for example if representatives from specific
organisations are yet to be nominated when preparatory event activities begin. In such cases, the
indication of the country of origin and treatment policy of the expected participant will be provided by
the ETF
Euro exchange rate
In principle the contractor shall use the EC’s official InforEuro for calculating the exchange rate for
currencies other than Euro. If this is not possible, a supporting document (copy of the financial page of
a newspaper or bank’s daily exchange rate) proving that a different exchange rate has been applied
by a supplier will be accepted. The InforEuro monthly exchange rates can be found on
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en.cfm
The exchange rate to be applied is that of the month in which the event takes place.
Minimum guaranteed number of participants
Specific information such as the minimum guaranteed number of participants requested by restaurants
shall be clearly indicated in the budget proposal, pre-final balance.
Furthermore, the deadline for the confirmation of numbers for meals shall be clearly communicated to
the ETF through the executive check list and/or the ETF Event Management System
(Correspondence).
Number of offers to be submitted by the contractor
In principle, the contractor shall present up to three offers for different services (see contract,
Attachment 1 - Terms of reference, Chapter 7.4, Rules for the execution of the contract, and chapter
7.5, Selection of suppliers and subcontractors). The Event Profile will indicate if more than one offer is
required by the ETF. This is especially recommended for large events or events being hosted in a
previously unused location.
Prepaid flight tickets: ceilings and exceptions
Ceilings for prepaid flight tickets should be indicated in the budget proposal made by the contractor for
each event.
For prepaid tickets, the ETF uses current ceilings as follows:
■
€ 700 – European Union
■
€ 850 – Southern and Eastern Mediterranean
■
€ 1000 – South Eastern Europe and Turkey
■
€ 1200 – Central Asia
These figures are subject to assessment and possible modifications.
Should the cost exceed these ceilings by more than 10%, the contractor should seek prior approval
from the ETF. Prior approval is also required in the following cases:
FINANCIAL GUIDELINES | 10
■
tickets to be issued before participants receive a visa
■
business fare tickets.
The approval process is implemented through the ETF event management system.
Proof of payment
Proof of payment in relation to costs paid by the contractor to third parties is not required for each
individual assignment, including the reimbursement of experts. However, the contractor is required to
keep all proofs of payment for five years and make them available upon request (see also contract,
Art. II.18.2).
Subcontracting to another PCO
In certain circumstances and upon approval of the ETF, another professional conference organiser
can organise an event or part of it on behalf of the contractor. An activity is considered to be
subcontracted when a subcontractor is remunerated for coordination activities.
If the contractor believes that a subcontract to a local company is logical for the efficient organisation
of an event, a written proposal should be submitted to the ETF explaining the reasons for this
proposal. The ETF should approve this in writing.
Please also refer to contract, Art. II.7 and Attachment 1, Terms of reference, Section 7.5, Supplier and
subcontractors selection.
Time sheet for occasional staff
The working hours of occasional staff (ancillary services) should be calculated in advance (for
example: for a standard meeting day from 8.00-21.00, 13 hours should be budgeted). The contractor
should produce a signed timesheet for occasional staff member to be used as supporting documents
when invoicing.
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