Finance and Budget

University Controller’s Office

Award Closeout Procedures and Final Reporting

Most grants require a final report of expenditure. Agencies of the federal government, as well as non-federal organizations, demand strict adherence to the reporting requirements set forth in the award document. Final financial reports will be based on information recorded in Banner. Grants and Contracts Accounting (G&C) will submit the Final Financial Report to the sponsor no later than the due date specified in the award document.

The Principal Investigator (PI) and Financial Administrator (FA) must ensure all costs are correctly recorded on a timely basis in Banner. If additional time is required for award activities, it is the PIs responsibility to request a no-cost extension. The PI is ultimately responsible for the management of the award and, as such, must ensure that all expenses charged are accurate and allowable under the terms of the award and that expenditures are correctly recorded in Banner in a timely manner.

To aid in ensuring a timely closeout process, G&C requests that departments utilize the Pre-Closeout Action Form. As part of this process, Fiscal Administrators associated with a sponsored project(s) in Banner, will receive an automated notification 90, 60, and 30 days before the project end date with a link to the form.

No-Cost Extension

A no-cost extension (NCE) allows a PI to extend the project by up to 12 months for the sole purpose of completing the research activities without additional funding. An NCE request is an amendment to the award agreement and must be formally submitted to the sponsor for approval. NCE requests are not approved for the sole purpose of using the unobligated budget. All no-cost extensions require review and approval by the Division of Sponsored Programs.

Carryforward

Carry forward allows unobligated funds remaining at the end of the budget period to be carried forward to the next budget period. Sponsors may require approval in writing to carry forward funds from one budget year to the next.

Fixed Price Closeout

Once all deliverables have been met, if there is a remaining balance on a fixed-priced agreement(s), the PI/Department has several options to closeout the award in Banner and transfer the remaining funds (see below).

  • The department may transfer fixed price expenditures from other research index to a fixed price pool index to use the residual balance; this will close the index at the current end date; full facilities and administrative costs will be charged based on the original agreement.
  • If a principal investigator or department has several fixed price index, Grants and Contracts Accounting will consolidate balances into one index as each fixed price project has been satisfactorily completed; full facilities and administrative costs will be charged up to the amount stated in each agreement

Any transfer of fund must be done in a timely manner and in accordance with the Financial Closeout of Sponsored Award Policy. In order to complete the transfer of funds, please complete the Fixed Price Closeout Form.

Deficit

A deficit occurs when expenditure exceeds the authorized award amount, budget allocation or revenue available. All budget deficits must be resolved in order for the closeout process to be finalized. The department and PI should work collaboratively with G&C to ensure the deficit is cleared in a timely manner. If a cost transfer is needed, it must follow the requirements detailed here.

Final Reporting

Final reports are intended to highlight achievements and outcomes, while also detailing expenditures made during the life of a grant award. Final reporting requirements vary by Sponsor but may include final financial report, final technical report and patent and invention report. It is important to review the notice of award to determine reports due at closeout. Submission of the final financial report is the sole responsibility of G&C.