When shared staff costs drift after a budget revision
Payroll percentages locked at award date often outlive the budget that justified them — and funders notice at mid-term.
Field Notes
Notes on eligible costs, sampling, and preparing for funder scrutiny — written for grant finance teams in Hong Kong.
Practical articles for finance officers and programme managers who hold grant ledgers day to day.
Capital purchases sitting on operating grant lines
Equipment bought from an operating grant can look routine in the ledger until someone reads the eligible-cost schedule.
Building an evidence index before the funder’s auditors arrive
Auditors work from their request list. Your folder structure should mirror that list, not your internal drive habits.
Reading hospitality and meeting costs against the agreement
Meals and venue hire are small lines that attract outsized funder attention — wording in the circular matters more than custom.