Australian Research Council End of Year Report
Under the Australian Research Council (ARC) / Curtin Funding Agreements for Discovery, Linkage, Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities, Linkage International Schemes, etc, Curtin is required to report to the ARC by 31 March each year on:
- Projects for which payments were made in the initial funding year; and
- Ongoing projects that were provided with ARC funding in subsequent years as set out in the original letter of offer.
Curtin must also report on projects that had ARC approved carried forward funding from one year to the next. This report is called the 'End of Year' report (EoY report).
The ARC's website has detailed information for Chief Investigators on the completing of the EoY report.
Curtin's EoY Reporting Processes
This procedure sets out the University's internal process of the preparation of the EoY report and comprises three discrete components as follows.
1. Audit
Period Occurring: Sept / October
Purpose: The audit is designed to identify non-compliance to the Funding Agreement with regards to expenditure items and any financial anomalies that may have occurred from 1 January up until the date of Audit so that they can be resolved prior to 31 December. Some examples of anomalies are:
- Issues relating to ARC brought forward balances.
- Previous errors not adjusted.
- Expenditure that is disallowed by the grant Funding Agreement. E.g. Expenditure on basic facilities (expenses on basic computing facilities, telephone and internet charges, etc).
- Income from other sources (e.g. Industry and Government sponsors etc) mixed with the ARC grant funding.
- Inappropriate transfers to and from other cost centres.
- Inappropriate journal adjustments.
What happens: The Office of Research and Development will send financial reports to researchers, together with audit queries and response deadline.
2. Pre-EoY Reporting Alert
Period Occurring: December
Purpose: The objective of this check is to identify and correct any erroneous transactions that might have occurred after the Audit that must be corrected prior to the close of the University's financial records for the year
What happens: Prior to 31 December a check is done by the Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) on transactions that occurred after the Audit.
3. EoY Reporting
Period Occurring: February /March (following year)
Purpose: The EoY report component is the actual preparation of the report to the ARC using the Audit component as the basis.
What happens: The Office of Research and Development will provide financial reports similar to those provided in the Audit component to the Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer). With the financial transactions checked and adjusted through the Audit and Pre-EoY Reporting process the effort required to complete the report is essentially confined to providing narrative information for any required carry-forward of funds and other comments on the project as may be required.
Procedure
1. Audit
1.1 The Office of Research and Development (OR&D) EOY Audit examines in detail the transactions (income and expenditure) related to an ARC funded project from 1 January in that year.
1.2 OR&D will review the ARC cost centre for each ARC funded project for compliance with the ARC / Curtin Funding Agreement, the following reports will be provided to the first named Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer):
- Financial Report for year to date - Appendix 1
- Transaction listing - this will include details of any OR&D Audit queries - Appendix 2
- Employee Cost Summary By Quarters - Appendix 3.
1.3 The Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) will review the details provided and any OR&D queries.
1.4 The Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) must reply to OR&D by a given date (to be set by OR&D) either:
- Confirming the reported detail as accurate;
- Addressing any queries raised by OR&D and what corrective action will be taken;
- Raising any anomalies not raised by OR&D that require attention and what corrective action will be taken prior to year's end.
1.5 OR&D will liaise with the Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) to finalise the Audit part of the EoY process prior to 30 November.
2. Pre-EoY Reporting
2.1 OR&D will issue a reminder email prior to 31 December to Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) asking them to check on transactions that occurred after the Audit and to take any corrective action required.
2.2 OR&D will audit the period after the Audit component to year end and only matters of concern will be raised.
3. EoY Reporting
3.1 Normally during January the ARC will provide Curtin with Instructions and detailed spreadsheets for each scheme (e.g. DP, LP, LIEF, LX) to be used in the preparation of the EoY report.
3.2 Similar to the Audit component set out in item 1 above OR&D will supply the Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) with the following financial information.
- Financial Report (for year) - Appendix 1
- Transaction listing - Appendix 2
- Employee Cost Summary By Quarters - Appendix 3
- Extract from the ARC EoY report relating to the project - Appendix 4
- A set of detailed instructions to complete the ARC EoY report.
- Expenditure Certification - Appendix 5
3.3 The Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) must return to OR&D (by a given date to be set by OR&D) the detailed EoY report spreadsheet for their project(s) and any supporting documentation required for the carry-forward of funds.
3.4 OR&D will review the EoY report spreadsheet and any supporting documentation provided requesting carry-forward of funds and compile a consolidated spreadsheet for each scheme (e.g. DP, LP, LIEF, LX) for return to the ARC following approval by the Director, R&D.
3.5 The ARC will consider the consolidated spreadsheets and may seek clarification from Curtin as required. OR&D will liaise with the Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) on any queries and respond to the ARC.
3.6 OR&D will monitor the ARC's monthly payment advices for approved carry-forward amounts and the Chief Investigator (or their nominated administrative support officer) will be advised of approved carry-forward as soon as possible.
