Business Finland provides funding to companies and research organizations for research, product development and a wide range of business development needs.
Business Finland has an obligation to monitor and control the use of its funding as defined in the State Aid Act (688/2001). Pursuant to Section 16 of the State Aid Act, the State Aid Authority has the right to carry out the necessary checks on the finances and activities of the recipient of state aid in the payment and control of the use of the state aid. The purpose of the audits is to establish whether the project has been carried out in accordance with the terms of the financing decision and its terms.
The target of the acquisition is project audit services related to financing provided by Business Finland. The Innovation Finance Center Business Finland uses the opportunity provided by the Government Grants Act to use an external service provider for project auditing, which assists in auditing project accounting, working time monitoring and administration.
The target of the acquisition is project audit services for financing provided by the Innovation Finance Center Business Finland (Finance Center) and Business Finland Oy (the Company). Project inspections are carried out on the initiative of the Financial Center and coordinated by an estimated 40-55 persons per year. Project audits are focused on various projects funded by Business Finland.
More information on current financial products: https://www.businessfinland.fi/suomalainenille-asiakkaille/palvelut/rahoitus/
Funding terms and conditions can be found on the Business Finland website: https://www.businessfinland.fi/Finland-customers/services/funding/help-conditions-and-forms/funding terms/
The project auditing services to be procured are:
Type 1: Business Finland project inspections (BF inspections)
- Inspection rate: about 30-40 projects / year,
- Description: The Financial Audit Officer is responsible for carrying out the individual project audit. The Financial Center uses the opportunity provided by the State Aid Act to use an external service provider for project auditing. An external service provider assists with project accounting, time tracking and administrative auditing. A more detailed description can be found in Annex 1,
- Typical scope: The purpose of the audit is to verify that project accounting and working time monitoring have been carried out in accordance with the financial conditions. The cost control shall be based on sampling and shall cover at least 60% of the costs. De minimis projects generally check all costs. However, in terms of workload, inspections are similar. The Financial Center collects a sample of the inspection 2-3 times a year. In addition, individual audits can be launched throughout the year,
- Workload estimate: 3 hpp / inspection.
Type 2: ERDF certifications
- Inspection rate: about 5-8 projects / year,
- Description: Business Finland provides co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund for public research projects. The audits of these projects are known as ERDF certification. The certification shall be documented in the EURA 2014 system. Certification is done by an external service provider in accordance with the instructions of Business Finland and the administrative authority (Ministry of Employment and the Economy). The certification visit shall be held at the premises of the beneficiary. The implementation of the ERDF certification is described in more detail in Annex 3,
- Typical scope: The certifications aim to ensure that the project has been implemented in accordance with the approved project plan and financing decision. Individual certification shall be carried out in accordance with a work plan prepared by an external service provider. The work plan shall record the subjects and subjects selected on the basis of a risk assessment and which are to be the focus of the certification. The work plan can also describe how extensive the document verification is designed to be,
- Workload estimate: 3 hpp / inspection.
Type 3: Other financial project audits
- Inspection rate: about 5-7 projects / year
- Description: The scope and priorities of the inspection are agreed on a case-by-case basis. For example, an audit may focus on a company in bankruptcy, and may require, in addition to a normal BF inspection, an analysis of the company's financial condition, among other things. A more detailed description can be found in Annex 1 (item 2),
- Workload estimate: 4 htp / inspection.
The above inspection rates are estimates and do not bind the Financial Center. In the case of inspection types 1 to 3, the Audit Officer of the Financial Center and an external service provider shall carry out an inspection visit.
The financial center selects two service providers; primary and secondary. The secondary service provider is used in the case of disability of the primary service provider. In addition, the Financial Center may use a secondary service provider in situations where the primary service provider is unable to provide the service within the required timeframe, eg due to its work situation or lacking the necessary expertise.