F4E Annual Report 2009 - Fusion For Energy - Europa

CHAPTER 4Budget, Financeand AccountingThe F4E budget for 2009 was initially adopted for the global amount of EUR 372.10 million in commitmentappropriations and EUR 187.30 million in payment appropriations. This budget was successively amendedat the next three meetings of the Governing Board. The final authorised F4E budget for 2009 comprised EUR355.13 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 173.61 million in payment appropriations.Implementation of the 2009 Budget98.9% of the overall budget in commitmentappropriations was implemented, of which 99.0%derived from operational budget appropriations (TitleIII of the expenditure) and 97.5% from administrativeexpenditures (Title I & II). 65.3% of the overall budgetwas implemented in payment appropriations, ofwhich 65.5% came from the operational budgetappropriations and 64.2% from the administrativeexpenditure.Financial Information System (ABAC)F4E implements the ABAC system (Accrual BasedAccounting) owned by the European Commissionand used by many EU bodies.Thanks to the ABAC/SAP full outsourcing scheme,F4E has benefited from a high standard financialsystem for a small fraction of its potential acquisitionprice.2009, as the first full year of financial autonomy,was a year of consolidation in the use of theABAC modules set up in 2008 (ABAC-SAP, ABACWorkflow and ABAC Assets); in particular regardingthe full implementation of ABAC Assets to registerall purchases and donations. This was critical toestablish the 2009 Financial Statement. By beingdirectly linked to the SAP central accounting systemfor both acquisition and retirement procedures,ABAC Assets ensures the cohesiveness of the overallABAC system.Other positive elements include a good control ofthe supply chain (ABAC Assets requires to place theorder and record the goods reception via the system)and some modern means to manage inventory (infraredbar code readers, etc.).Legal Framework – Accrual accountingstandards in F4EAccording to its statutes, the annual accounts of F4Eare fully consolidated with those of the EuropeanCommunities. The 2009 financial statement wasestablished by using the consolidation packageprovided by the European Commission.The accounting rules and regulations used in theannual accounts are also laid down by the EuropeanCommission. In addition they are on an accrual basisand are compliant with the International Public SectorAccounting Standards (IPSAS).During 2009, the number of payments beingprocessed by F4E continued to increase while theaverage time to pay from receipt of invoices fell toaround 20 days which is within the 45 day periodforeseen in the Financial Regulation.ANNUAL REPORT 2009 FUSION FOR ENERGY51