WBSO desk control by RVO | No more company visits, but digital supporting documents

Company visit at the customer's premises

Normally, the checks are made by means of a company visit at the customer's premises, but due to the applicable COVID-19 measures, RVO is currently carrying out the checks online. Suppose you have been selected for a desk audit. You have to prove the reconciliation of the time- and project administration by sending documentary evidence digitally. An important point to note here is that you cannot now provide further explanation of the project administration, which is possible during a company visit. This means that the supplied documents with regard to the hours and project administration should match each other one on one and that there is no room for interpretation. RVO carries out strict checks on this.

What are the checks on?

RVO checks whether your R&D administration complies with the legal requirements. Think of questions such as:

• Are the activities substantiated in the project administration?
• Can the work performed be traced back to the time records, per employee, per project and per day?
• And if the application refers to 'actual costs and expenses', are the costs and expenses accounted for in the R&D records?

In short, your R&D records must show that the activities carried out relate to the awarded projects. A check will also be carried out on the submitted realisation notification and BSN declaration.

Optimal support for your WBSO desk audit

Hezelburcht advises its clients that desk audits should always be carried out via Hezelburcht, so that it can guide them through the process of submitting the documents to RVO. Many of our clients have concluded a compliance contract under which Hezelburcht periodically checks their S&O administration, so that in the event of an audit the documents can be supplied immediately. This service is experienced as pleasant, because it offers assurance that the administration is in order and that the audits will be carried out without any problems.

This is also evident from the WBSO track record. Over the past ten years, Hezelburcht has secured a total of 12,292 WBSO grants and € 211 million in benefits for its business contacts. This is a success rate of 87%!