Grant funding: Independent accountant’s report

Many grant funding bodies, such as Innovate UK and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will require an independent accountant’s report to be submitted with the grant claim.

Depending on the requirements of the grant funding body and the size of the grant project, a company may be required to obtain a report at the end of the project or in intervals during the project. The requirements will be outlined on the grant offer letter.

In general, the grant recipient is responsible for arranging the appointment of a registered auditor to complete the report.

What is an independent accountant’s report for?

The aim of the accountant’s report is to provide assurance to the grant funding body that the terms of the grant offer have been met and the expenditure claimed meets the conditions of the grant offer letter.

This usually involves selecting a sample from the company’s accounting records and undertaking detailed testing to make these checks. The testing will include verifying invoices, obtaining evidence of payments and reviewing payroll records to the claim.

How errors identified are dealt with

If errors are identified while preparing the accountant’s report, these are raised to you to allow you to correct the error before the claim is submitted.

If the errors are corrected, the report would be issued stating that the claim has been made in accordance with the grant funding terms.

However, if the errors are not corrected then these will be highlighted on the report.

Common errors identified while preparing the independent accountant’s report

We can work with you and review your workings before a claim is due to ensure that you are calculating these correctly.

Deadlines

Grant funding bodies will have their own deadlines for when the report should be submitted. These are usually listed in the grant offer letter.

Should you require an independent accountant’s report, please contact your local Perrys branch.