Close Out Process

The University is mandated under Uniform Guidance regulations CFR 200.343 Closeout Procedures to comply with federal Close-out requirements. Most government agencies require projects to be finalized within 90 days following the expiration date of the grant/contract. While all obligations on a government award must be made prior to the end date of the grant, the University has 90 days to liquidate all obligations incurred under the government award following the grant end date.  this includes the transfer of salaries to other funded projects or operating accounts, the identification and inventory of equipment purchased with grant funds, the correction of errors, posting of charges, and other close-out programmatic reporting requirements. .

Internal Management/Notifications

The Grants and Sponsored Projects (GSP) office will oversee the closeout process working jointly with the Principal Investigator / Program Director (PI/PD) and the Finance Division. The internal FDU close-out process will begin 90 days prior to the expiration date of an award. The PI/PD will receive several notifications including:

  • A 90-day notification prior to award closing and actions necessary for project close-out. At that time, the GSP Sponsored Programs Associate will schedule an appointment with the PI/PD to discuss the close-out process, financial and programmatic reporting requirements, possible request for a no-cost extension in time.
  • A 30-day notification prior to award closing on the current status of expenditures and reminder of programmatic reporting requirements.
  • A final notification of closed award 90 days following the termination of the award or sooner if all reporting obligations have been met.

Other Close Out Considerations

Equipment

All equipment purchased with grant/contract funds remains the property of the University following the conclusion of the grant, unless otherwise indicated by the funding agency. The faculty member must confirm that equipment purchased with grant or contract funds has been inventoried and tagged by the University. All subsequent costs, such as maintenance contracts, will become the responsibility of the Department/School.

Programmatic Reporting Requirements

The GSP will review final narrative reports for all grants to ensure that they meet agency requirements. Faculty are expected to address the objectives of the proposal and to report the results of the project evaluation in the final report. Products, publications or deliverables should be included if required with the final report. The GSP will submit all reports and deliverables to the agency on behalf of the PI/PD and send a confirmation of acceptance by the agency.

Final Payment

Most sponsors will not provide for final payment until satisfactory final program and financial reports have been received and accepted. once the final financial report has been approved by the Finance Office and submitted to the agency, no further expenditures can be charged to the restricted account number. The GSP will request that the Finance Office mark the account inactive to avoid any future charges to the account.