Sponsored Research Closeout Procedures

1. Background Information

The closeout team is responsible for reviewing each speedtype, project, and award for compliance with sponsor, university, and federal rules and regulations. Generally, departmental corrections and finalized expenditures should be completed within 90 days of the award end date. 

During award closeout, our team performs the following:

• Verifies that reported costs are allowable, allocable, and directly beneficial to the project.
• Clears any residual cash balance in accordance with sponsor guidelines (i.e. refund, department transfer,etc.). Fixed price residuals will be handled in accordance with the attached fixed price residuals procedural statement.
• Corrects any other issues that prevent project closeout by working with a subject matter expert and/or the appropriate campus contact(s). 

Closeout procedures are established to: 

• Maintain compliance and relationships with sponsors which promotes:
  • on-time payments
  • future funding to our principal investigators
  • minimal audit risk or findings
• Streamline the administration of sponsored projects that have ended
• Ensure prudent fiscal management
• Conform with federal rules and regulations

Issues that include overspending, questionable expenses, late charges, unexpended funds, undocumented cost-sharing, and accounting errors frequently cause serious delays in timely closeout.

2. Closeout Checklist 

Our closeout team closes projects and awards in the format of a checklist, ensuring all of the proper steps have been taken in compliance with sponsor, university, and federal rules and regulations. The areas we review in the project closeout include:

• Grant Closure: Verify the project has ended.

• Review of Expenditures: Confirm that expenses are reasonable, allowable, allocable, followed award terms and conditions, and took place within the budget period. 

• Review Budget: Review the proposed and approved budget in comparison to the project’s expenditures.

• Encumbrances: Verify there are no outstanding encumbrances against the award.

• Receivables: Verify there are no outstanding receivables.

• Revenue: Verify revenue matches expenses.

• F&A: Verify F&A costs are correct.

• Residual or Overdraft Balance: Provide refunds and transfer appropriate balances.

• Fixed Price Residuals: Guidelines for handling residual cash balances.