FINANCIAL REPORTING
IDRC’s Financial Reporting Workbook provides guidance for preparing your financial reports. Each form captures specific financial information.
FR1:
The Project Information Summary identifies the project, specifies the reporting period, and certifies your institution’s endorsement of the accuracy of all statements made in the report.
FR2:
The Detailed Expenses and Forecast Worksheet details all items of expenditure in each budget category and projects future expenditures, including notes to explain variations from the original budget. All variances that exceed 10% of the budgeted amount must be explained. The Expense and Forecast Summary summarizes the total actual expenditures and the forecast expenditures for each major budget category, as per the details provided in the Detailed Expense and Forecast Worksheets. The Budget Balance Summary provides an overview of the project’s overall expenditures and the remaining budget.
FR3:
Section 3A – Cash Receipts and Foreign Exchange and Other Income records all payments received from IDRC and the corresponding exchange calculations.
Sections 3B and 3C – Notice of Receipt of Parallel Funds and Disbursement of Local Contributions reports funds received from other donors, in addition to local contributions to your project.
Financial reports must be prepared following the format in the Proposal Budget (included with IDRC’s approved grant agreement), which summarizes the details of your proposed budget in eight categories. This standardized format supports analysis and any future inquiries by IDRC.
It is important to note the following when preparing your financial reports:
IDRC supports project costs within the allowable expense categories.
IDRC grantees must report total research costs. They must clearly report costs funded by IDRC, as well as costs related to the local contribution.
The final financial report must be received on or no more than 30 days after the work completion date.
In some cases, your project may draw funds from several donors. When additional resources are provided directly by another donor, you must reconcile expenses to the resources received from each donor in your financial report.
Financial reports must indicate all income resulting from the disposal of project equipment purchased with IDRC funds, or through the sale of books, publications, experimental crops, or interest earned on grant funds deposited at the bank. This income must be considered as payment (input) to the project. This input must be reported separately and considered part of IDRC’s contribution to the project.
Financial reports must outline the actual expenditures and the forecast expenditures of your project (mandatory for interim reports).
Financial reports must provide enough detail to assess the project’s financial situation.
Financial reports must be submitted to IDRC in the approved budget format and currency.
Certification of financial report
All financial reports submitted to IDRC must be signed by the project leader AND the chief financial officer (or his/her authorized representative) of the grantee institution. Financial reports will be rejected if they are received without certification.
For additional information about financial reporting, please contact the grant administrator identified in your grant agreement.
IMPORTANCE OF REPORTS
Technical and financial reports are a condition for further advances of funds and/or the final project payment. Missing or insufficient documentation will lead to delays in project payments. IDRC analyzes technical and financial reports to determine their technical and financial accuracy and completeness.
IDRC’s analysis of financial reports focuses on three aspects:
- grant receipts and exchange rates;
- variances in actual expenditures and forecast expenditures, and explanations of these variances; and
- cash flow to determine the amount of the next payment.
The technical or administrative contact person at IDRC may seek clarification on the details above. Once all of the missing information is provided, IDRC’s analysis will be completed and the next payment will be processed (if the cash need is demonstrated and supported).