Admin e-guide and Groupe de Travail sur les Procédures Administratives (GTPA)

• The CERN Admin e-guide is a guide to the Organization's administrative procedures, which has been drawn up for the benefit of the various administrative services as well as all members of the personnel and other categories of persons having access to the site or installations of the Organization. It contains concise information on the procedures in force and exists in both English and French.
• The GTPA is responsible for:
  • establish and keep up to date the guide of CERN's administrative procedures;
  • to propose all measures aimed at simplifying and optimizing existing procedures;
  • to carry out specific work related to administrative procedures.

Anti-Money Laundering Office

Although CERN is a scientific organisation, it is not immune from exposure to money laundering risks in respect of external funds. The Organization, therefore, has a responsibility to take appropriate measures to address and mitigate such risks.

The reference document “Anti-Money Laundering Measures on External Funds”, produced by the FAP department, establishes the CERN measures on anti-money laundering insofar as external funds are concerned and sets out the procedure to be followed if money laundering is suspected. It should be read in conjunction with CERN’s broader legal framework, in particular, “Integrity at CERN”, “Guidelines for the implementation of the Conflict of Interest Policy”, “CERN Code of Conduct” and “CERN Anti-Fraud Policy” (see section Responsibilities and duties related to integrity and anti-fraud below).

These Measures apply to Controlling Services in the FAP department involved in the financial planning, budgeting, accounting and monitoring of external funds, as well as to all persons having signature rights on budget codes and Third-Party Accounts involving external funds . Furthermore, Controlling Services directly involved in activities generating revenues from external sources (e.g. fundraising from private donors or knowledge transfer) will familiarise themselves with these Measures.

The reference document “Guidelines for Mitigating the Risk of Money Laundering on External Funds” details general strategies for mitigating the risk of money laundering and complements the Organization’s Anti Money Laundering Measures on External Funds.

Money Laundering Reporting Office (MLRO)

In the event of knowledge or suspicion that money laundering is taking or has taken place within the Organization, or concern about a transaction that may contravene the above-mentioned Measures, the Controlling Service must inform the MLRO and cease the related activity immediately. The responsibilities of the MLRO include:

• Monitoring the day-to-day operation of the Organization’s anti-money laundering policies and ensuring that policies are up-to-date;
• Acting as a focal point for receiving and considering disclosures concerning money laundering activities;
• Performing the relevant financial controls, If deemed necessary;
• Advising and providing instructions to the Controlling Services;
• Providing adequate awareness and training to Controlling Services;
• Keeping records of the reports and the findings in writing, which shall be made available to auditors and, if necessary, relevant national authorities upon request.

To find out more about CERN’s Anti-Money Laundering Measures on External Funds, you can enroll on the following course on the CERN Learning Hub: Money laundering on external funds: identify and report it! 

Contact person

MLRO

Carmelo SAITTA

Financial management of major and strategic contracts

The ability to monitor the financial performance of contracts is of major importance as the absence of financial performance policies and controls may result in an inefficient use of the Organization’s resources.

The objectives are focused on improving the controls of affordability and budget availability prior to placing a contract and, subsequently, during the contract execution phase. To this end, financial risks inherent to the contracts need to be identified as early as possible in the process and recommendations made on how to mitigate the risks identified in close collaboration with all stakeholders involved.

The activities will focus on the following categories of contracts:

1. Major Contracts (pre-contract phase):

The RPC service shall be invited to the start-up meeting for all type of contracts that meet the following criteria, on the basis of the Departmental Request (DR):

• The estimated budget (DR) exceeds 10 MCHF and there is only one department involved;
• The estimated budget (DR) exceeds 5 MCHF and there is more than one department involved;
• The estimated budget (DR) exceeds 5 MCHF and the request is for a single-source/sole-source supplier;
• For contracts below the above-mentioned amounts when there is a substantial financial or technical risk for the Organization (ad-hoc requests), based on the “judgement” of the procurement service.

2. Strategic Contracts (contract execution phase):

The RPC service shall also be informed, if due to changes in scope of a running contract, the approved financial envelope is likely to be significantly exceeded.  Specific attention shall be given to “strategic” contracts or groups of contracts representing a significant financial or business continuity risk, i.e. those contracts involving a high technical or financial impact for CERN in case of adverse circumstances and which are CERN-wide.

Contact person

RPC service