Award Closeout
Sponsored Program Closeout
Sponsored program closeout is the culmination of the sponsored program life cycle and ultimately results in the completion of required financial and technical deliverables/reports, final billing, the collection of outstanding accounts receivable, the submission of the final financial report, and the return or disposition of any residual funds.
The University of North Dakota (UND) has the responsibility to close out a sponsored program in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations, 2 CFR Part 200 and other sponsor requirements. Principal Investigators (PIs) should refer to the sponsored program award document for the final closeout timeline. The closeout period typically begins 90 days before the end of the award period and concludes 90-120 days after the award end date.
Definitions
A type of grant, cooperative agreement, or contract in which the awarding agency provides payment in advance of allowable incurred costs, to the extent prescribed in the award document. Unexpended balances at the close of the award are returned to the awarding agency.
A type of grant, cooperative agreement, or contract in which the awarding agency provides for payment of allowable incurred costs, to the extent prescribed in the award document.
A type of grant, cooperative agreement, or contract in which the awarding agency provides a specific level of support without regard to actual costs incurred under the award.
The process by which the awarding agency determines all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the award have been completed and the grant may be closed.
The timeframe, typically 90 days prior to the end date and 90-120 days after the award end date, where final billing and final reports are prepared and submitted.
Reports required by the sponsor at the close of an award. The reports vary by sponsor but federal sponsors most often require financial, property, invention, and technical reports.
The unobligated cash balance at the end of the performance period, after all project costs have been allocated to the award, all deliverables and financial obligations have been completed and final payment from the sponsor has been received.
The amount of awarded funds not spent. The total expenditure for an award was less than the amount awarded.
Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure all expenditures are accurately and appropriately charged to the correct project(s), based on the benefit to the project and all expenditures are consistent with university and sponsor regulations.
- The PI and/or department administrator will review all sponsored project expenditures, including payroll, on a monthly basis. This will ensure all expenditures charged to a sponsored project are in accordance with the award terms and conditions. If funds are encumbered during the closeout period, the PI and/or department administrator should work with Procurement & Payment Services to unencumber the funds or close the purchase order.
- The PI and/or department/college are responsible for any adverse financial consequences (i.e., unallowable costs, overages, sponsor default on payment, etc.). An entry to correct any adverse financial consequence must be submitted as soon as possible. Should Grant & Contact Accounting (GCA) notify the department of the adverse financial consequence and it is not resolved within 30 calendar days, GCA will select a non-sponsored fund under the PI’s department/college and submit the correcting entry.
Procedure
To facilitate the closeout process, approximately 90 days in advance of the award end date, Grant & Contact Accounting will notify the PI, Co-PI, department administrator and/or business office by sending a Notice of Expiring Award. This notification identifies tasks to be completed in preparation of award closeout. A notification will not be sent for awards already in the process of a No-Cost Extension (NCE) request uncles GCA is unaware of said request.
- Prior to the final invoice due date, GCA will contact the PI, Co-PI, department administrator and/or business office for verification of final expenses.
- Upon confirmation, GCA will reconcile the General Ledger with Project Resource and prepare the final invoice.
- It is during this time; GCA and the PI will prepare Closeout Reports required by the sponsor as indicated in the Sponsored Program Closeout Policy. Upon receipt of final payment and successful submission or acceptance of final reports, the award may be financially closed in PeopleSoft.
If an unexpended balance exists at the conclusion of an advanced pay award, meaning the total amount paid from the sponsor exceeds total expenditures, the unexpended funds will be returned to the sponsor. G&C will review sponsor guidelines for proper return of the funds, initiate a payment request through UND Marketplace, and notify the sponsor as needed.
At the end of the closeout period of a cost reimbursable award, the total expenditure should equal the total amount paid from the awarding agency.
In the event of a residual balance on a fixed amount award, the Residual Balance Transfer Form must be initiated and completed by the PI’s department/college. The form should include all projects under the fixed amount award. The portion of the remaining balance attributable to indirect costs, based on the full indirect cost rate, will be transferred to Resource Planning & Allocation. The portion of the funds available for direct costs may be transferred to the requesting department.
If the PI has overspent on a project budget or is responsible for a cash deficit on another project, the residual balance transfer will be withheld until the matter is resolved.
The award will be closed in PeopleSoft Finance approximately 60 days after successful submission or acceptance of all required reports, receipt of final payment, and resolution of all budget deficit, surplus or outstanding encumbrances.