Closing Out an Award

Overview

The closeout of an award or sponsored project (Project) is the process whereby an awarding or sponsoring agency (Sponsor) determines that all awardee actions and work as required by the Project have been completed by the awardee. The purpose of this procedure is to provide guidance on the steps needed to close out a Project and to outline the responsibilities of the:

  • Principal investigator (PI),
  • Campus grants officer or grants office staff (GO) and,
  • RFCUNY Project Administrator and Assistant Project Administrator (PA).

Project Budget and Expense Report and Final Financial Report

The PI and/or GO is responsible for completing a final review of the Project-Sub-Year (PRSY) account “Project Budget and Expense” Report and other RFCUNY web reports. The purpose of this review is to confirm that all Project expenses have been appropriately charged to the PRSY account. The final review should be completed after the Project end date but prior to the submission of the final financial report or invoice (Final Financial Report) by the PA to the Sponsor. The PI and/or GO should inform the PA that all expenses are properly reflected in the “Project Budget and Expense” Report or request adjustments to correct any errors or discrepancies. The accuracy of the Final Financial Report submitted to the Sponsor by the PA will depend on the accuracy of the “Project Budget and Expense” Report.

The PA will prepare and submit to the Sponsor a Final Financial Report in accordance with Sponsor requirements by the due date.

Final Financial Report by Fund Group – Federal, State, City and Private

Federal

Federal Financial Report (FFR) - An Annual or Final FFR is submitted to the Sponsor.

  • Annual reports are generally submitted 90 days after the end of each annual reporting period.
  • Final reports are generally submitted within 120 days after the Project end date.
  • Some Sponsors may require an earlier submission date.

State

Final Financial Reports are submitted by the due date set forth in the grant award or agreement. Reports are generally submitted within 60 days following the end date of the award. However, the due date for the report can vary by State agency and the terms and conditions of the award agreement.

For NYS Education Department (NYSED) awards, a Final Expenditure Report (FS-10-F) is prepared and submitted by the PA. For Federally funded NYSED awards, a FS-10-F is generally due within 90 days following the end date of the award. For State funded NYSED awards, a FS-10-F is generally due within 30 days following the Project end date.

City

Final Financial Reports are submitted by the due date set forth in the City contract. Reports are generally submitted within 60 days following the end date of the award. However, the due date for the report can vary by City agency and the terms and conditions of the contract.

For NYC Memorandum of Understandings (or Intra-city agreements), Final Financial Reports for the fiscal year ending June 30th are submitted by the middle of July. Due to this short time frame, the PA will contact and maintain communications with the PI leading up to the fiscal year end and submission of the report.

Private

(Corporations, Foundations, Nonprofit and Other Organizations)

Final Financial Reports are submitted by the due date set forth in the grant award or agreement. This report may summarize expenses paid for a time period (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annually) or may be for the full award term. If no deadline is imposed, the PA will generally submit the report within 120 days following the end date of the award or earlier if requested by PI.

Cost Share

If a Project requires cost share, then the PI should complete a Cost Share Form and submit the form to the PA. The Cost Share Form should be submitted annually and at completion of the Project. When required by a Sponsor, a formal cost sharing report is certified by the PI or authorized college official before submission to the Sponsor by the PA.

Progress/Project Reports - Non-Financial Technical Reports

Submission of a Final Progress/Project Report and technical non-financial report is the responsibility of the PI. Failure to submit such report(s) will prevent the closeout of the Project by the Sponsor. The PI should inform the PA if submission of such report(s) will be delayed.

Intellectual Property

A final report of Inventions or disclosure of intellectual property is the responsibility of the PI and/or GO. This report or disclosure is submitted by the PI and/or GO to the Sponsor if applicable.

Final Inventory of Equipment

If required by Sponsor, RFCUNY will prepare a final property inventory report. The report is sent to the PI and college Grants Office for verification. The PI is responsible for sending the certified report to the award Sponsor.

Subaward Final Project Report

If a sponsored Project includes a subaward, the PI is responsible for obtaining the final report from the subrecipient and retaining a copy.

Payment Requests

The PI should submit all payment requests prior to the end date of the Project with the exception of expenses that may be paid after the Project end date.

Expenses Paid after Project End Date

Notwithstanding any sponsor-imposed limits, it is acceptable to process some payments for costs that were incurred prior to the Project end date but paid after that date. Such expense should be posted to the PRSY account prior to the submission of the final financial report by the PA to the Sponsor. Payment request should be submitted 30 days prior to the due date of the Final Financial Report.

Examples of common after the Project end date expenses include:

Payroll expenses

Service center charges

Subaward/Independent Contractor final payments

Subaward and Independent Contractor Final Payment

A final invoice from the subrecipient and independent contractor should be reviewed by the PI for accuracy and a Contract Manager Payment Request submitted through RF Payment Request System. The payment request should be submitted 30 days prior to the due date of the Final Financial Report.

Purchasing Card (P-Card)

P-Card transactions should be reconciled in Concur within 35 days of a purchase or earlier depending on the due date of Project’s Final Financial Report. Transactions should be reconciled prior to the PA’s creation of the Final Financial Report.

Releasing Encumbrance Balances

Any remaining encumbrance balances on the PRSY account should be cleared prior to the PA’s creation of the Final Financial Report.

Personnel Encumbrance

The PI should submit terminations in the e-PAF system for each employee on the PRSY account. PAF terminations should be submitted after the final pay period payroll expense has been posted to the PRSY account.

Purchase Order (PO) Encumbrance

The PI should notify the PA to remove any PO encumbrance balance remaining on the PRSY account. It is the PI’s responsibility to cancel the PO with the vendor if there are items on backorder.

Other Than Personnel Services (OTPS) Encumbrance

The PI should notify the PA to remove any encumbrance balance remaining on the PRSY account budget line(s) after all expenses have been posted to the PRSY account.

Subaward or ICA Encumbrance

The PI should notify the PA to remove any encumbrance balance remaining on the PRSY account after Subaward or ICA final invoice has been paid.

OTPS Advance Expense

Documentation such as travel expense vouchers, receipts, disbursement logs and written statements to account for Travel, Metrocard and other advance payments should be submitted to the PA prior to the PA’s creation of Final Financial Report.

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