The visit ensures that projects are running in accordance with offer letter conditions and to see exactly how you have arrived at the expenditure declared on your claim forms. Visits can take up to three days and are undertaken by the Government Office Audit Team. They will write to you in advance if your project is chosen for an audit visit.
How are projects selected?
Projects are chosen by a risk assessment based on the:
- size of the project
- size of the organisation
- expenditure.
What information will we need?
We will need to see the following information:
- original invoices relating to the project and if applicable evidence of how you have apportioned the costs
- bank statements confirming invoice payments relating to eligible expenditure
- the systems you have in place for recording outputs, results and impacts
- the systems you have in place for ensuring that match funding is received
- evidence of how the project is publicised
- State aid requirements
- a copy of the tendering procedures that are in place.
To help us you will need to send a full list of the invoices relating to the project, matching to the latest claim under the relevant budget headings at least one week before the visit. This would normally include:
- a reference that enables us to readily find the original invoice
- an explanation, if necessary, as to how costs have been apportioned
- information to enable us to trace settlement to the bank.
The Visit
We start visits with a brief discussion of the project in general terms with the person who compiles the claims. Much of our work can then be carried out independently, however, we will need to be able to discuss various aspects of the project at any time during the visit. It will be helpful for personnel who are familiar with the project to be available throughout the visit. Disruption to your organisation can be reduced if you can provide a separate room for us to work in.
What happens after the visit?
At the end of the visit the team will provide verbal feedback on its findings. We will then provide a written draft report which you can comment on, before issuing the final report.
