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Grant Closeout Process

Research Services understands that the closeout of a grant or other agreement is the process by which the sponsoring agency determines that all applicable administrative actions and required work of the agreement have been completed by the University and the sponsoring agency.

The date of completion is the date on which all work under grants and other agreements is completed or the date on the award document, or any supplement or amendment thereto, on which sponsorship ends. Each grant shall be closed out as promptly as is feasible after expiration or termination. In many cases, the way in which close out procedures are handled, such as timely submission of final reports and the quality of these reports, can have a direct impact on chances for future funding.

As the ending date approaches, Research Services, the Research Accounting office, Research and Service Foundation, and the Principal Investigator ensure that all agency specific and university requirements have been met and all necessary records are in the file for each project.

Research Accounting Grant Closeout Responsibilities

Research Accounting (RA) is responsible for verifying there are no additional financial obligations to be met for a sponsored project before it is inactivated in PeopleSoft and closed out on the university side.

Research Accounting Grant Closeout Procedures

90 Day Notifications	Research Accounting sends notification to PIs around 90 days prior to a projects end date. The 90 Day Notification informs them of the upcoming end date and asks them to do the following: -Contact Research Services and RA if planning to seek a NCE -Contact RA to discuss any outstanding expenditures; -Confirm all purchases have been approved 45 days prior to end date; -Terminating or transferring all employees paid from the project prior to the end date; -Contact Research Services and RA if expecting additional years of funding. The PI is also reminded that all technical and programmatic reports must be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award.
30 Day Notifications	An email is sent to the PI along with a 30 Day Notice of Award Closeout form. The form includes the Award Dates, Funding amount, Expenditures to date, and asks the PI to inform RA within 10 days if they plan to: -Receive additional years of funding -Request a No Cost Extension -Close award at end date See Award Closeout Process for further information. If the grant is a fixed price contract, the PI is asked to identify the residual account in which they wish for remaining funds to be transferred. The PI also certifies on the form that they have reviewed and made adjustments to any expenditures as needed and that they have submitted all technical and programmatic reports in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award.
Inactivation of Grant	Research Accounting received a notice of close from Research Services. Upon receipt of the NOC, RA ensures there are no active positions on the project, all effort reports have been certified, that the Accounts Receivable balance is zero, and that final expenditures of the NOC match the Peoplesoft expenditure report. The grant is then inactivated in Peoplesoft Grant Panel, the SpeedType is inactivated, departments are notified that the project chart stream and payroll codes should be deactivated in all systems, and the grant is removed from the grant listed and moved to the closed files.
Residual Balances	The RSF notifies RA after analyzing a fixed price contract of the amount of additional IDC that the university can collect on the remaining balance of the contract and the amount that can be moved to a residual account. Research Accounting processes a journal to move the amounts to the respective account.

Research Accounting Grant Policies and Procedures

Closeout of Sponsored Awards Policy – RSSP-501

Closeout is the final stage of a funded project. As the award recipient, the university has the responsibility and obligation to close and to submit necessary technical and final reports. Proper closeout of an award is also important for audit purposes.

Procedures
Expense close date is the last day on which expenditures will be posted to the account. All expenses must be allowable, allocable, and incurred prior to the project’s end date.

No P-Card purchases should be made with grant funding within 45 days of the end date.

Any P-Card transactions not processed by the grant’s end date will become the responsibility of the department.
The expense close date will be automatically set by the PeopleSoft Financial System (PFS) at 60 days after the project’s end date. The Office of Research Accounting (ORA) and the Georgia Southern University Research and Service Foundation (RSF) are the only offices authorized to allow expenditures beyond that date, and the only postings typically permitted are journal corrections, payment vouchers, credit adjustments, and F&A corrections. These dates are based on project reporting dates set at 90 days after the project’s end date. If an agreement requires a shorter period between the end date and expense close date, the period of time stated in the agreement has precedence.

Roles and Responsibilities

Principal Investigator (PI)
Informs the RA about any problems related to expenses, management, or budget before the project’s end date;
Submits all documentation for expenditures to the RA by the deadline;
Ensures that the project does not incur a deficit, defined as total expenditures and outstanding commitments exceeding the total amount budgeted;
Ensures that cost-shared resources have been allocated to the project;
Submits the necessary technical reports and meets any other technical or programmatic requirements of the award or agreement; and
Submits all programmatic reports to the sponsor in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award.
Research Accountant (RA) – Office of Research Accounting (ORA)
Contacts the PI or department administrator to determine whether any expenditures have not been processed;
Notifies the PI at 90, 60 and 30 days prior to the end date to determine the necessity of no-cost extensions, supplemental funding requests, or other updates per the PI and funding agency.
Ensures that expenditures are reasonable, allowable, and allocable;
Assists the PI in resolving any outstanding items;
Works with the PI and/or department administrator to minimize last-minute adjustments before the final report/invoice is due to the Research and Service Foundation (RSF);
Coordinates adjustments or transfers with the PI and/or department;
Prepares adjustment/transfer forms for the deficit and coordinates with the RSF;
Runs a closeout report to ensure expenditures match revenue;
Reviews the Accounts Receivable Aging report with the RSF;
Deactivates the project in the PFS after confirming all receivables have zero (0) balance;
Notifies the RSF of any unusual university financial reports or invoicing problems and/or deadlines (e.g., year-end invoicing delays);
Posts all expenses to the project before the final invoice or financial report is submitted to the sponsor.
College/Academic Department or Responsible Unit
Assumes responsibility for budgetary over-expenditures on the part of the PI;
Assumes responsibility for disallowed costs incurred by the PI; and
Approves adjustments/transfer by the signature of the PI or a department official.
Research and Service Foundation (RSF)
Prepares and submits all invoices and financial reports to the sponsor by the deadline;
Contacts the RA before submitting the final report/invoice to confirm that all transactions are posted in the PFS;
Ensures that all cash is collected on the final invoice and the financial report has been submitted; and
Submits financial reports to the sponsor in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award.
VP for Business and Finance:
Financial Accounting: Deactivates copier code as of the grant’s end date.
Payroll: Transactions must meet established payroll deadlines to ensure checks are processed by the grant’s end date.
Facilities Services: All plant charges should be posted no later than 30 days after the grant’s end date.
Postal Services: Deactivates post office box as of the grant’s end date.
Procurement: For grant-funded transactions, at least 5 business days prior to the Procurement & Contract Services deadline, the transmittal sheet must be signed and the package forwarded to the Office of Research Accounting for approval. The cardholder must understand that if the designated authority is not available to sign the transmittal sheet by the deadline, the package will be forwarded to his or her next available supervisor until the package is reviewed and approved. No P-Card purchases should be made with grant funding within 45 days of the grant’s end date. Any P-Card transactions not processed by the grant’s end date will become the responsibility of the department that housed the award.
The P-Card system speed chart is deactivated.
Information Technology Services: For example, deactivate phone lines or technology services as of the grant end date.

Timing Guidelines
The following are general guidelines for final expenditures or adjustments respecting the most common project closeout dates:
90-day Closeout (90 days prior to award end date)
The Research Accountant (RA):
prepares the closeout report at the beginning of each month and identifies awards that have an end date within the next 90 days;
crosschecks the information listed with the information in the award file to confirm the exact project end date;
prepares and sends the PI an email with the “90-Day Notification of Project Expiration,” which states the requirements that must be met by the end date; a copy of the 90-day notification letter is sent to the RA, RSFA, College Dean, department chair, and appropriate departmental administrator; and
confirms that the PI is not requesting supplemental funding or a no-cost extension.
30-day Closeout (30 days prior to award end date)
The RA identifies projects that have an end date within the next 30 days and:
runs the PFS Payroll Distribution Report to identify hourly and salaried employees paid by the project within the last three (3) months; notes their names on the 30-day closeout notice; and forwards a copy of the notice to the RA, RSF, PI, College Dean, department chair, and appropriate administrative personnel;
emails the PI a reminder of the requirements and deadlines for closeout (e.g., technical report, final financial report, final invoice); and
when an award closes, but the project has additional funding for more than one year, works with the PI to set up the following year’s award documents.
The PI/department identifies employees who must be moved to a new funding source (next budget year or new award) if the project continues.
The PI ensures that all project personnel have reported hours worked and/or absence(s) in eTime.
The RA meets with the PI to review the financial information in the PSF; for example:
Open encumbrances/purchase orders: ensures all invoices have cleared, and encumbrances are closed; checks for any open POs and contacts university Procurement staff to ensure that invoices are submitted within 45 days of the project’s end date (for projects closing within 90 days of end date).
Recurring charges (i.e., telecom, Eagle Printshop, postage, fuel card): reviews and closes any POs for recurring internal GS expenditures or identifies a new source of funding;
Procurement cards: notifies the Procurement Card Office that the project should be inactivated in its system by the 15^th day of the month that the project ends;
Reimbursed release time (buyout): reviews General Ledger (GL) to ensure that all RRT has been charged; and
Cost Share: identifies any cost-share requirements and works with the RSF to ensure that proper documentation is obtained and/or completed.

Closing Out a Project
The RA contacts the PI to identify any project reports due (technical, patent, or other) and secures a copy of the final technical report(s);
The RA checks the PSF to identify equipment purchases and any open encumbrances; reviews expenditures and confirms with the PI that the expenses posted to the PSF General Ledger are the actual expenses that should be reported on the final report/invoice;
discussion of any discrepancies with the PI and the RSF;
checks personnel and salary accounts for accuracy using the Business Objects Query to identify salary transactions;
confirms with the PI that the employee list is accurate;
ensures that the posted salary charges and periods are correct according to the agreement and the award budget and posted to the award;
reviews capitalized equipment expenses to determine if they should be moved and/or transferred to the department for depreciation;
identifies and closes outstanding purchase orders;
reviews subcontractor payments and expenses and confirms that they are posted, and encumbrances alleviated;
confirms that any expenditure transfer adjustments have been posted in the PFS;
ensures that time and effort reports are complete, and support documents received; and
initiates an expenditure transfer to reconcile and adjust any inappropriate expenses.
Final Closeout
The RSF completes the reconciliation and reviews any discrepancies with the RA. If the reconciliation is not complete (i.e., payments for invoices, F&A adjustments), the RSF identifies the necessary adjustments.
Submission of Final Invoice/Financial Report
The RSF:
generates a draft version of the final invoice or financial report based on the information listed in RSF accounting records and reviews any concerns with the RA;
after sending a final financial report to the sponsoring agency and receiving final payment, notifies the RA to initiate Notice of Closed Award (NOCA).
The RA:
after receiving the NOCA and determining that all accounts receivable have been posted, inactivates the grant account in PFS and notifies the GC and the RSF;
sends a monthly Accounts Receivable Aging report to the RSF for review; if accounts receivable are still outstanding, follows up with the PI.
Examples of outstanding items that may require follow-up are technical reports; disallowed charges, which must be charged to the PI’s departmental F&A account per Board of Regents Business Procedure Manual.
if all accounts receivable have been collected, and the account balances, finalizes project inactivation in the PFS.
Any residual balance earned from fixed-price/fee-for-service projects/accounts may be expended per the University policy regarding use of residual funds.

Residual Balance Policy

This policy establishes an institutional procedure for residual revenue earned on restricted fixed-price or fee-for-service contracts: (1) timely and appropriate use; (2) compliance with the sponsor?s policy and restrictions; and (3) approval and documentation of further expenditures.

Procedures
Upon full closeout, the RSF will transfer residual balances over $500 earned on a fixed-price/fee-for-service contract to a departmental or center sponsored program residual balance account. The Vice Provost for Research and/or Provost must approve residual balances over $10,000, or 20% of the approved project cost whichever is greater.
The PI/PD must complete the Residual Balance Transfer Form and provide written justification.
The form must be signed by the PI/PD and the dean and forwarded to Research Accounting for approval. After Research Accounting approves, the form will be submitted to the VPRED for final review/approval, if required.
Before residual funds are transferred to the department, center, or fiscal unit, the F&A rate is calculated on the total award amount and deducted from the residual funds.
• In the case of multiple PI/PDs or Co-PI/PDs, the residual balance is distributed to the department, center, or fiscal unit involved in the project in the same proportion as their aggregate F&A recoveries were distributed for the fixed-price/fee-for-service contract.
• Before the account is extended or funds transferred, the residual balance will be used to cover any cost overruns (deficits) accrued by the same fiscal unit director on other internal or external restricted accounts.

Last updated: 7/20/2021