The closeout is a critical piece in the life cycle of a grant. Preparation for closeout should begin three months prior to the end date of the grant in order to accurately forecast expenses and any adjusting financial entries that need to be made. It is also a point where many PI’s realize the need to apply for no-cost extensions from the sponsor.
If your grant is from the NIH, your grant may be subject to Streamlined Noncompeting Award Procedures (SNAP). Grants that are subject to SNAP can be identified by looking at the grant notice of award (NOA).
The closeout process should start 90 days before the end of the award. The closeout checklist is the starting point for a sponsored program. Please contact OSP with any questions as you begin this process. The PI should notify OSP and/or initiate the process immediately if they are interested in requesting a no-cost extension.
If the PI is ready to close the award, the PI will need to ensure that all costs are appropriate and all transactions have been properly recorded. This includes:
- Verifying that restricted categories are spent according to the award notice;
- Verifying that F&A charges are correctly posted;
- Verifying that cost sharing requirements are identified and recorded, if applicable; and
- Verifying that all program income is properly recorded, if applicable.
If the grant has sub-awards, the PI should ensure that the final financial report of expenditures has been submitted.
If the award is overspent, the excess costs are moved using transfer accounts to ensure proper recording of expenditures by program (e.g. Research, Instruction, and Public Service). To clear over expenditures, grants accounting will move any excess expenses to the relevant departmental account.
Closing documents may include the:
- Final Financial Status Report (FSR): The final financial status report is prepared and submitted to the sponsor within 90 days of the end of the award, or as required by the award terms and conditions. In a few instances it may be difficult for grants accounting to meet this deadline due to the processing of – Personnel Activity Reports (PAR’s), unpaid obligations and pending recipient of the sub-awardee’s final financial status report.
- Patent/Invention Reports: If patents or inventions were part of the sponsored project, the PI should complete final patent/invention reports.
- Property Report: Purchasing can help complete and submit any required property reports.
- Final Technical Report: The PI prepares and, in most cases, also submits the final technical report and any other technical/progress reports as required by the sponsor. When final reports require the signature of an authorized official or if the report needs to be submitted by an authorized official, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs for help.