Deliberazione n. 3/ Certificazione Finanziamenti South Africa National Research Foundation - ICGEB

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1 Deliberazione n. 3/ Certificazione Finanziamenti South Africa National Research Foundation - ICGEB composta dai Magistrati: LA SEZIONE DI CONTROLLO PER GLI AFFARI COMUNITARI E INTERNAZIONALI Dott. Ennio COLASANTI Presidente Dott. Salvatore NICOLELLA Consigliere Dott.ssa Maria Teresa POLITO Consigliere Dott. Giacinto DAMMICCO Consigliere Dott. Michele COSENTINO Consigliere Nell Adunanza del 2 marzo 2015 Visto il mandato di external auditor dell International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) conferito alla Corte dei conti dal Board of Governors dell ICGEB nella sua XX riunione tenutasi a Trieste il maggio 2014; Visti i principi INTOSAI; Visti i principi internazionali di audit applicabili all attività delle Istituzioni superiori di controllo (International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions ISSAI); Udita la relazione del Consigliere Michele Cosentino sull attività istruttoria concernente i documenti contabili 2014 relativi ai progetti Career Advancement Fellowship e South Africa/Switzerland Joint Research Cooperation Programme finanziati dal South Africa National Research Foundation (NRF) e gestiti dall International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB);

2 Viste le proposte di audit certificate e audit report relative ai citati documenti contabili 2014 ed udita al riguardo la relazione del Cons. Michele Cosentino DELIBERA di approvare gli allegati audit certificate e audit report concernenti i documenti contabili 2014 relativi ai progetti Career Advancement Fellowship e South Africa/Switzerland Joint Research Cooperation Programme finanziati dal South Africa National Research Foundation (NRF) e gestiti dall International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). IL RELATORE F.to Michele Cosentino IL PRESIDENTE F.to Ennio Colasanti Depositata in Segreteria il 18 marzo 2015 Il Dirigente F.to Maria Teresa Macchione

3 Corte dei conti AUDIT CERTIFICATE Independent Auditor s Report We have audited in agreement with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the Host-Institution, the expenditures incurred during year 2014 related to the following grants: Career Advancement Fellowship, financed by the National Research Foundation and awarded to Dr. Kevin Dzobo; South Africa/Switzerland Joint Research Cooperation Programme, financed also by the National Research Foundation and awarded to Dr. Luiz Zerbini. Responsibility of the ICGEB Director-General for the grants and related expenditures It is the responsibility of the Director-General to draw up and faithfully present the expenditures in line with the National Research Foundation Rules. Furthermore, the Director-General is responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining the internal control system as he deems necessary to ensure the preparation and fair presentation to the NRF of the expenditures incurred and that they are free from material misstatement, whether as a result of fraud or errors. Responsibility of the auditor It is our responsibility to express an opinion on the grants expenditures based on our audit. We have conducted our audit in accordance with the International

4 Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions, published by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). Those standards require us to comply with ethical requirements, and to plan and to perform the audit in such a way as to obtain reasonable assurance that the transactions are free from material misstatement. Furthermore, we have carried out the audit of the two grants awarded and the related expenditures above mentioned for the Year 2014 in accordance with the Audit Guidelines for all NRF Awards Version 1.9 issued on November 2014 and we have followed the Audit Template for all NRF Awards BAR, CoE &THRIP (see annex). The assessment of the risk of material misstatement in the expenditures is left to the discretion of the auditor; however, the purpose of this audit is not to detect frauds or fraudulent practices. We believe that the audit evidence obtained from the ICGEB provides a sufficient and appropriate basis for our opinion. Opinion In our opinion, the expenditures incurred in year 2014 related to the grants awarded, in particular related to the Career Advancement Fellowship awarded to Dr. Kevin Dzobo (ZAR 450,000) and to the South Africa/Switzerland Joint Research Cooperation Programme awarded to Dr. Luiz Zerbini (ZAR 375,000) and declared to the National Research Foundation (NRF) are correct, as reported in Audit Template for all NRF Awards BAR, CoE &THRIP. 2 marzo 2015 F.to Michele Cosentino

5 AUDIT REPORT of GRANTS financed by SOUTH AFRICA NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION The Corte dei conti (the Supreme Audit Institution of Italy) has been appointed as the External Auditor of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) for auditing the Financial Statements related to the financial year In this capacity, in agreement with the ICGEB, the Host-Institution of two grants funded by the South Africa National Research Foundation (NRF), we have carried out the audit of the said two grants awarded in the year In particular: 1) Under the Career Advancement Fellowship, a grant at a value of ZAR 350,000 per annum for salary and an additional ZAR 100,000 per annum for running expenses, over a period of 5 years awarded to Dr. Kevin Dzobo in Professor Parker s Laboratory. 2) Under the South Africa/Switzerland Joint Research Cooperation Programme, a grant at a value of R1,394,600 for travel and running expenses (consumables) over a period of 3 years awarded to Dr. Luiz Zerbini. The present report gives account to the National Research Foundation (NRF) of the results of our audit. The audit considered the Award letter and relevant grants conditions documents, all the expenditures incurred till 31 December 2014 in respect to the budget assigned and the consistency of the expenditures with the above-mentioned documents. We have carried out the audit of the two grants awarded and the related expenditures above-mentioned for the Year 2014 based on ISSAI standards (the standards of the International Organization of the Supreme Audit Institutions) and, in particular, according to the Audit Guidelines for all NRF Awards

6 Version 1.9 issued on November 2014 and we have also followed the Audit Template for all NRF Awards BAR, CoE &THRIP (see annex). Furthermore, according to paragraph 2 of the Audit Guidelines for all NRF Awards Version 1.9, our audit had the purpose to check whether the expenditures are in accordance with the a) financial policies of the beneficiary institutions and b) NRF Conditions of Grants provided with the grant or scholarship. We have planned the working activities according to the Audit Guidelines for all NRF Awards Version 1.9 and to our audit strategy to obtain a reasonable assurance that the expenses are free from material misstatement. We have tested, on a sample basis, a number of transactions, not inferior to 10% of the total (as requested in paragraph 6.3 of the Audit Guidelines for all NRF Awards Version 1.9) and the relevant documentation and we have obtained sufficient and reliable evidence in relation to the expenditures incurred in 2014 having the ICGEB as Host-Institution. According to the Conditions of funding of each grant, we have obtained a copy of the two Annual Progress Reports in order to verify the compliance with the above mentioned Conditions ; however, we should specify to the NRF that we have no scientific background in order to assess the scientific correctness of the information provided by the beneficiaries of the grants. Furthermore, it is worthwhile mentioning that in order to verify the compliance with points 9, 10, 11 and 12 listed in Audit Template for all NRF Awards BAR, CoE &THRIP we have requested to the two grant-holders (namely, Dr. Zerbini and Dr. Dzobo) to sign a written declaration. We have requested to the ICGEB s Component in Capetown to verify the said declarations. During the audit, all questions related to accounting and administrative issues were clarified and discussed with the responsible officials. The audit team had regular discussions with Ms. Irene Muriuki, Administrative Officer in the ICGEB South Africa s Component, and with the Management in

7 the ICGEB Headquarters located in Trieste, depending on the subject matter under consideration. Thus, we have obtained through the audit a sufficient basis for the opinion given below. Finally, we wish to express our appreciation for the courtesy shown by all the ICGEB officials to whom we asked information and documents. 2 marzo 2015 F.to Michele Cosentino