financial workbook - idrc en/resources... · financial workbook: external user guide 2 table of...

Financial Workbook External User Guide

Grant Administration Division

Financial Workbook: External User Guide

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Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3

General Instructions.................................................................................................... 3

Stage 1 – Preparing a Budget (Proposal) ...................................................................... 5

Indirect Costs ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Stage 2 – Preparing and submitting a Financial Report................................................. 9

FR1 – Project Information Summary ......................................................................................................... 9

FR2 – Detailed Expense and Forecast Worksheet ................................................................................... 10

FR3 – Payment Receipts, Foreign Exchange and Other Income Forms ................................................... 12

Stage 3 – Financial Report Cycle ................................................................................ 14

For IDRC use.

Date Author Version Change Reference


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Introduction

IDRC’s Grant Administration Division (GAD) has developed a Microsoft Excel 2007 macro-enabled integrated Workbook to facilitate the data capture, data validation, data population and workflow of a proposed budget and subsequent financial reporting (after a project receives IDRC funding). The Workbook is intended to be transmitted between the proponents/recipients and IDRC during the development of a budget and through financial reporting stages. The Workbook must be submitted along with the application for an IDRC Research Grant after the preliminary project idea has been approved by IDRC. Upon receipt of confirmation from IDRC that the proposed application has been accepted, the Workbook file will then be reverted back to the recipient for further processing. Instructions will be provided in this document for submitting a proposed budget and for financial reporting, after a project has been accepted. Software requirements The Workbook is developed with Microsoft Excel 2007. In order for the Workbook to function it must be used with Microsoft Excel 2007 or a later release. If the requirements are not met, please contact IDRC.

General Instructions

The file must maintain the file extension XLSM, or the file will be corrupted and all functionality will be lost. It is vital that the file be saved with this extension.

Upon opening the file, instructions to enable the macros will appear. Macros must be enabled in order to move forward. o In order to avoid these instructions each time upon opening the file, the

user can save the file in a secure location as instructed below (instructions will appear upon opening of the Workbook).

mailto:[email protected]


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A custom ribbon bar is used to guide the recipient through the Proposed Budget preparation, and through the Financial Reporting cycle. The Workbook passes back and forth between the recipient and IDRC throughout the project life cycle. Proposed Budget Preparation

Financial Reporting


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Stage 1 – Preparing a Budget

Upon opening the Workbook, the Project Information screen will appear. Complete the fields:

1) Project Title: insert the proposed name of the project. 2) Legal Name1 of Proposing Institution: insert the name of the institution who will

administer the funds for the project. 3) Project working currency: insert the currency of the official books of account

held by the institution (usually the local currency). Use the list of values available by clicking on the arrow and opening the list.

4) Project duration: insert the duration for the project in months. The project duration must include the time necessary for all activities paid with grant funds to take place, and be completed.

In order to navigate from field to field, the ‘tab’ button is recommended. Once the form has been completed, press the ‘save and close’ button.

1 The institution must have a legal personality which is recognized by the state as having legal existence of

its own and assets under its control.


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At this point, the proposed budget form will appear at the ‘Summary’ sheet. This sheet is for information only (there is no access for data entry on this sheet); all data must be entered by budget category, under the specific budget category sheets.

The various sheets correspond to IDRC’s budget categories. A description of acceptable project expenditures is included at the top of each category/sheet. Proceed to each sheet to enter specific items under each budget category (personnel, consultants, etc.) and the amounts per year for each item.


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Appropriate budget notes must accompany each line item. The budget notes must provide the breakdown of how the total line item amount was arrived at. The budget notes provide a descriptive justification of the line item amount, explanation, or information to link or tie the item to the methodology in the proposal. If there are insufficient rows, use the ‘Add new row’ button appearing below the list of budget items on each sheet.


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Indirect Costs Caution should be taken when entering the amounts for Indirect Costs. If a fixed percentage is being used, click on the Percent of Budget button at the bottom left side of the screen. Another box will appear within the screen, to enter the percentage amount. The system will automatically calculate the indirect cost per year based on the amounts entered for the rest of the budget. Alternatively, indirect costs consisting of specific line items can be listed within the space provided. Ensure indirect costs do not exceed the 13% allowable by IDRC.

Complete the ‘Donor Contributions’, ‘Local Contributions’ and ‘Consolidated’ (budget summary) sheets if required.. Once the user has completed the Workbook, send it by e-mail to the IDRC representative, along with the Application for an IDRC Research Grant. Proceed to Stage 2 if you project proposal is accepted and approved by IDRC.


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Stage 2 – Preparing and Submitting a Financial Report

Before proceeding with stage 2, an IDRC representative will contact you to provide an updated Workbook. Only the approved budget will govern the grant. The approved budget will be communicated in the Grant Agreement, following IDRC’s internal approval. The updated Workbook is to be used for Financial Reporting during the life of the project, and will be transmitted between the recipient and IDRC Using the FR1, FR2, and FR3 forms within the Workbook, the user will complete the required information for the financial report and return the Workbook to the IDRC representative by the required due date (as stipulated in Attachment B - Schedule of Project Milestones of the Grant Agreement).

FR1 – Project Information Summary

Section 1: cannot be updated - for information purposes only.


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Section 2: Reporting dates These dates are inserted by IDRC prior to the file being sent. These dates should not be modified, unless IDRC has provided consent. If during the life of the project the reporting dates of actual expenditures change, after consulting with the IDRC representative, the user must ensure that the fields are updated in the format specified. It is important to ensure that the dates for actual expenditures do not fall outside of the grant duration. The Centre does not cover expenses prior to the commencement date nor after the completion date. Section 3 – Certification Before submitting the final version of the financial report to the IDRC representative, ensure the document is properly certified. Both the project leader and an authorized financial officer must sign and date the financial report to certify that the financial report is accurate. Reports that do not include both signatures are considered incomplete and will not be accepted by IDRC. Further project payments could be delayed as a result. The signed FR1 form can be submitted to the IDRC representative by e-mail (PDF or JPEG attachment) or by fax.

FR2 – Detailed Expense and Forecast Worksheet


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Section 1: Actual expenditures must be entered within each budget category, as required for the period. Expenditures must fall within the period of expenditure stated on FR1, and should be in-line with the approved budget for the period, which is shown in the first column for each category. Section 2: The forecasts for the next period, as well as for the remaining periods of the project, should be completed as required. Include in this section any unspent variance being carried over. A summary table is available at the bottom of FR2. Once all expenditures and required forecasts are entered, the summary can be reviewed.


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Explanations must be included for all variances ±10%. Comment boxes are provided below each budget category for these explanations.

FR3 – Payment Receipts, Foreign Exchange and Other Income Forms Section 3A The Payment Receipt Form must be completed with the amount and the date of payments that were received from IDRC within the period. Note: any differences in the amounts received and transferred by IDRC should be included as bank charges, under indirect costs (as an expense).

When the funds received from IDRC are held in a currency other than the project working currency, the Cash Exchange Form must be completed. Enter the amount of


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each transaction for the period from the holding currency to the working currency. The rate of exchange will be calculated automatically.

The Other Income Form must be completed if any interest has been incurred as a result of funds from IDRC being held. Sections 3B and C If the project has received additional income from other donors (parallel funds, local contributions) Sections 3B and C at the bottom of FR3 must be completed. After completion and signature by the project leader, and financial officer, the Workbook can be sent by e-mail to the IDRC representative for review and approval.


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Stage 3 – Financial Report Cycle

Stage 2 will continue throughout the life of the project - for every period of the grant as stipulated in Attachment B - Schedule of Project Milestones. A new FR2 sheet will be generated (by IDRC) for each period as required during the project (FR2(1), FR2(2), FR2(3), etc.).

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