Final Closeout

Preparing an award for final closeout is a joint effort by the PI, Research Accountant and Research and Service Foundation (RSF).  See detailed information below. 

For additional information or questions on the closeout process, contact your Research Accountant.

Closeout Preparation

A number of steps must be taken to prepare for final award closeout, as outlined below.  This process is a joint effort by the PI, your Research Accountant and the Research and Service Foundation (RSF). 

• The Research Accountant contacts the PI to identify any project reports due (technical, patent, or other) and secures a copy of the final technical report(s);
• The Research Accountant 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 Research Accountant. 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 Research Accountant;
• after sending a final financial report to the sponsoring agency and receiving final payment, notifies the Research Accountant to initiate Notice of Closed Award (NOCA).

The Research Accountant:

• after receiving the NOCA and determining that all accounts receivable have been posted, inactivates the grant account in PFS and notifies the Grant Coordinator 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.

Last updated: 4/27/2021