ARIA Grant Independent Accountants’ Reports (IARs)

Do you need an Independent Accountants’ Report for your ARIA grant?

Getting an ARIA grant is an exciting step for your project. But once the work is under way, you also need to keep track of what you’re spending and make sure your claims meet the terms of your funding agreement.

That’s where an Independent Accountants’ Report (IAR) comes in.

At A4G Audit, we’ve prepared IARs for several projects funded by the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). If you’re wondering what the report involves, when you need one or what information to gather, we can help you work through it.

What is an ARIA Independent Accountants’ Report?

An IAR is an independent check of the costs claimed against your grant. ARIA requires a registered external auditor to assess those costs against its eligible expenditure guidance, your funding agreement and the relevant accounting standards.

It isn’t an audit of your whole business. The focus is your grant claim: what you’ve spent, what you’re claiming and whether you have the records to support it.

When will you need one?

Your funding agreement sets out when your IAR is required. So the first thing we’ll ask for is a copy of that agreement and your reporting deadline.

It’s worth getting in touch before the deadline is close. The report itself is only part of the work; we also need time to review the claim, request supporting records and talk through any questions that come up.

What will we look at?

We’ll check the requirements of your particular grant before agreeing the scope of the work. Depending on your project, that could mean looking at:

• Whether the costs you’ve claimed relate to the funded work and fall within the right period
• Invoices, payment records, payroll information or timesheets that support the claim
• How you’ve calculated overheads
• Whether any costs have been claimed more than once
• How VAT and other potentially ineligible costs have been treated
• Costs incurred by partners or subcontractors that form part of your claim

The important point is that we’re checking your claim against your agreement. We won’t hand you a generic list and leave you to work out which parts apply.

What should you send us to get started?

Your funding agreement, reporting deadline and draft claim or expenditure schedule are a good starting point. If your claim isn’t ready yet, that’s fine, tell us where you are in the process.

We’ll review what you send and give you a clear list of the records we need. That might include invoices, proof of payment, payroll records, timesheets and information from project partners. You’ll know what we’re asking for and why.

Our project has partners. Do they need their own reports?

Usually, no. ARIA says that partners’ costs are checked as part of the lead grant recipient’s IAR, unless your funding letter agrees something different.

That does mean we may need supporting information from your partners. If they’re contributing costs to your claim, let us know early so there’s time to gather it.

What if you find a problem with our claim?

We’ll tell you and talk it through.

It might be a missing document or a cost that needs explaining. Or it might be something that needs changing in the claim. Either way, we’ll explain what we’ve found, why it matters and what the options are before the report is finalised.

We can’t make an ineligible cost eligible. But we can help you understand the issue and deal with it properly.

Is this the same as an Innovate UK IAR?

The idea is similar: an independent auditor checks the expenditure claimed against a grant. The detail is different.

ARIA doesn’t require the Innovate UK annexes or prescribe one report template. We’ll use your ARIA funding agreement and its eligible expenditure guidance to establish what your report needs to cover.

If your funding is from Innovate UK instead, read our guide to Innovate UK Independent Accountants’ Reports.

How do we work with you?

First, we look at your grant. Send us your funding agreement, deadline and details of the claim. We’ll review the requirements, explain the work involved and give you a fixed-fee quote.

Then, we tell you what we need. You’ll receive a list of documents and records tailored to your project.

Next, we review the claim. We check the costs and supporting information, and raise any questions with you as we go.

Finally, we prepare the report. Once the work is complete and any outstanding points have been resolved, we finalise the IAR in line with your funding requirements.

How long will it take and what will it cost?

That depends on your grant, the size and complexity of the claim, and how readily the supporting records are available. We’ll give you a fixed-fee quote and a realistic timescale once we’ve seen the details.

If you’re working to a tight deadline, tell us straight away. We’ll be honest about what’s possible and what we’ll need from you to keep things moving.

Need an ARIA IAR? Get in touch with us. 

A4G Audit is registered to carry on audit work in the UK by the ICAEW. We’ve prepared Independent Accountants’ Reports for ARIA and Innovate UK grants, and we know that what you need most is a clear answer about the work, the deadline and the next step.

Complete the form below with your grant name and reporting deadline, and we’ll be in touch to discuss your claim and provide a quote.