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Award Closeout Process

Closeout is the final reconciliation and reporting of expenses and activities 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.

As part of the closeout process notices are sent 90, 60 and 30 days prior to expiration to the PI, departmental administrator, department chair/director, and College Dean.

Projects typically reach final closed status within 12 months of the project end date.

Please see the University Closeout of Sponsored Award policy as well as the information below for complete process and timing guidelines for final expenditures, p-card purchases and/or adjustments for expenditures.

Close Out 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:

    Agency Closeout

    Requirements

           Final Submission of

           Transactions to RA
             30 days        15 days after project end date
             60 days        15 days after project end date
             90 days        45 days after project end date

These dates allow the PI, the Office of Research Accounting, and the Research and Service Foundation to review final project expenditures prior to submitting the final financial report to the sponsor.

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:pen 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 15th 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.

For Additional Information or Questions on the closeout process, contact your Research Accountant.

Last updated: 4/27/2021

Georgia Southern University Research Services

Office of Research • P.O. Box 8005, Statesboro, GA 30460-8005 • 912-478-5465 • research@georgiasouthern.edu