Award Closeout for Sponsored Programs

Handbook Section and Topic Page Links

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: Proposal and Budget Development

Section 3: Managing Awards

Section 4: Travel and Procurement

Section 5 Closing an Award

Man gesturing with his hands in front of a desk

Includes:

Charges After Award End Date
Service / Recharge Center Billing Code Change
Releasing Encumbrance Balances
Resolving Deficits: Cost Overruns and Uncollectible Accounts Receivable
Unallowable and Unallocable Costs
Fixed-Price Agreements
Technical & Other Reports
Transfer or Termination of Sponsored Research

Background

The process by which a Federal or non-Federal awarding sponsor determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the award have been completed by the recipient and sponsor. This refers both to an internal closeout as well as ensuring external sponsor requirements have been met.

NYU Approach

For Federal awards, final financial reports and final invoices generally must be submitted within 90 days after the award end date. Please note that both NIH and NSF have currently offered to extend final reporting to 120 days after the end of the project. SPA will work with the PIs and Departmental Administrators to make sure all final reports are submitted within specific agency guidelines.

For subaward/subcontracts where NYU is the subrecipient, the final invoice should generally be submitted to the prime grantee within 60 days after the award end date. Conversely, NYU must receive the final invoice from sub-recipients within 60 days of the award end date to allow for proper review and timely submission of the report and/or invoice to the sponsor.

Charges incurred after award end date

Any charges posted after the termination date must be fully explained and justified for allowability/allocability.

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Request for a Service/Recharge Center Billing Code Change

The Department should notify the service center that a project is terminating 60 days prior to the project termination, to prevent charges from being posted after the project has ended.

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Releasing Encumbrance Balances

If, after all expenses have posted, there is an encumbrance balance remaining, the Department must notify Payroll or Purchasing to remove the encumbrance.

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Resolving Deficits: Cost Overruns and Uncollectible Accounts Receivable

The Department must clear any deficits (i.e., over expenditures) within 90 days after the award ends.

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Unallowable and Unallocable Costs

Unallowable and unallocable costs must be removed from the sponsored project before the award ends.

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Fixed-price Agreements

If there is a surplus after the agreement has ended, full overhead will be applied to the agreement and any remainder transferred to the Department’s discretionary account.

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Technical & Other Reports

Final technical reports, final reports of inventions, and the final inventory of equipment are normally due within 90 days after the project-end date. PI's are responsible for ensuring that all technical reports are submitted on time. PI's are also responsible for ensure that Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) is provided the submission date of the final technical (or program) report.

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Transfer or Termination of Sponsored Research

When a PI leaves the University, a replacement may be appropriate. All requests for transfer or termination must be initiated by the PI to the responsible OSP Project Officer. Sponsor approval (in writing) is required before a new PI can be assigned.

Transferring an award from New York University (NYU) to another institution requires a written request by that institution to the sponsoring agency. Included with the request should be written authorization from NYU.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who prepares and signs off on Financial Reports?

Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) prepares all interim and final Financial reports based on amounts recorded in the University’s general ledger, FAME. Interim reports are not submitted to departments for review unless requested in advance by the department. Any adjustments will be included at project expiration with the Final report provided appropriate justification is provided. SPA will submit the Final Financial report to the department for review.

The department should return the final financial report to SPA in a timely manner to allow SPA to review the final financial report. If the department does not respond within 48 hours prior to the reporting deadline, the report will be issued to the sponsor.

When is a Financial Status Report due?

Reporting deadlines vary by agency. Generally, Federal sponsors require a final report within 90 days of project expiration. The Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) Deliverables Report lists reporting due dates. If you need access or training in using these reports, please email your SPA Team inbox:

Team 1: SPA.Team.1@nyu.edu
Team 2: SPA.Team.2@nyu.edu

To identify your Team Inbox, go to the SPA Contacts page.

Are there circumstances when departments submit bills directly to sponsors?

Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) generally prepares all invoices. Occasionally, departments may prepare invoices, however, SPA must review and sign off on all invoices prior to submission to the sponsor.

Who is responsible for the timely collection of Accounts Receivable (A/R)?

Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) is responsible for collection with assistance from the departments. E.g., a payment may be 90 days overdue because a Progress Report has not been submitted by the Department. However, the department is ultimately responsible for any receivables which cannot be collected from the sponsor.

When is a sponsored project officially closed by Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA)?

SPA will close or inactivate a project when all expenses in the University's general ledger, FAME, agree to the amount reported to the sponsor, and all payments have been received.

What is a negative encumbrance?

A negative encumbrance typically occurs when there are insufficient funds available for the original payroll encumbrance journal to post, or an invalid chartfield was provided. A negative encumbrance will artificially inflate the project’s available balance, and may lead to further spending resulting in a project deficit. Departments must review their Budget Exception Reports to identify the encumbrance fail and resolve immediately, as any deficits will be the sole responsibility of the department.

What if my project is in deficit?

Departments should confirm whether the correct budget is reflected in the Budget Summary Reports and should also confirm that the amount agrees to the agency authorized budget. Departments should review all expenses to ensure charges were posted to the correct project. If a deficit exists, the department must transfer those costs to a discretionary chartfield using a cost share program. Such costs are perceived as valid research costs that cannot be billed to the sponsor, but must be tracked for purposes of the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rate Proposal.

What if my project has a surplus?

Departments must confirm that all appropriate expenses posted to the project.
If the award requires funds be returned to the sponsor, Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) will submit a Business Payment Form request to Accounts Payable (AP).
If the award is silent or allows the balance to be retained by New York University (NYU), the department should submit a Journal Entry Management System (JEMS) request to transfer the surplus to a discretionary chartfield. Please consult with SPA on the appropriate accounts to use.

Related Training

SPA 017: Closing and Award

Open SPA 017: Closing an Award (NYUHome login required)

This learning module will discuss the closeout process, and will cover the following policies outlined in the SPA Handbook:

Award Closeout for Sponsored Programs
Financial Record Retention for Sponsored Programs

Sections:
- Defining Closeouts (5:30 min.)
- Record Retention (5 min.)
- Award Closeout (8:30 min.)

Total Duration: 19:00 minutes