Award closeout is the final reconciliation and reporting of expenses. Most sponsors require a final report or invoice once the project period has ended. This is part of the reporting requirements outlined in the initial award documents.

The fund manager (FM) prepares a Closeout Packet (COP), which consists of worksheets that may require additional review or documentation in order to reconcile against expenses posted to the General Ledger. The PI reviews the COP for accuracy and signs the certification page. The COP and certification page serve as the final documentation submitted to the central office Extramural Fund Management (EFM) responsible for preparing the final invoice or financial report to close out the contract or grant.

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) sends three notifications, which include the fund expiration date, current balance, EFM accountant and key demographic information of the award. The PI and the FM receive the three notifications as follows:

• 90 days prior to fund expiration
• 30 days prior to fund expiration
• On the day of fund expiration

Mandatory 90-day meeting

To ensure the accuracy of transactions posted to the fund, a mandatory meeting with the PI, Admin and FM will be set-up 90 days prior to the budget period end date. FM’s will initiate this meeting by sending a request via email based on the schedule found in the Final COP submission deadlines table below. The meeting will include the following:

• Expense Monitoring – It is the PI, Admin and FM’s responsibility to conduct a thorough review of expenses posted to the ledgers as of the 90-day mark prior to fund close. This review will identify Warning/Unallowable object codes and necessary action to correct/justify the transactions.
• Funding Changes – The admin and PI must request from the FM any salary changes required for staff or academic personnel within 2 weeks of the 90-day meeting, accompanied by all necessary documentation i.e., Staff DCR, Semel Cost Transfer Justification, and Faculty DCR.
• Cost Transfers consist of the following 2 types:
  
  1. Non-Payroll Cost Transfers – Non-payroll cost transfers can be requested at any time. During monthly reconciliation, any errors should be identified and transfers requested prior to receiving the next monthly financial report. Any transfers after 120 days from the doc date will not be allowed for transfer, except on an exceptional case basis, unless they are deemed as unallowable charges to the project. In this case, an unrestricted fund would be required to transfer the expenses.
  2. Payroll Cost Transfers
     • Staff: Staff DCR requests should be made in a timely manner to ensure all changes are reflected on the ledger at the time of closing a fund. Staff DCRs requiring payroll cost transfers, requested in the 60 days prior to the fund end date, will only be processed on an exceptional basis and require division director, chair and OES director approval.
     • Academic Payroll: Retro-activity is NOT allowed except under exceptional circumstances, i.e., late award setup, late interdepartmental transfer, late transfer from Dean’s Office. Faculty salary funds changes must be requested in advance based on the schedule set forth in the Semel FACULTY/ACADEMIC APPOINTEE SALARY DCR POLICY AND PROCEDURES by Semel Finance Office. If the request affects an upcoming COP, please indicate that to make the Finance Office aware of the urgency. Requests must be submitted by the due date to have them processed by the quarter’s payroll deadline. Only ONE change/quarter/faculty is allowed; however, Salary Savings (SS) requests can be submitted more often. Actions received after the due date will be subject to processing in the following quarter’s cycle, subsequently changing the effective date of the request to the first month of the next quarter. For PIs over the salary cap, salary CANNOT be moved retro-actively from a NON-CAPPED source (non C&G funds) to a CAPPED (C&G funds) source. There are NO exceptions.

Please Note Late Cost Transfers: Transfers requested 60 days prior to the fund end date, require the admin to submit a cost transfer request form signed by the PI and Center Director to the OES FM, who will then obtain the OES Director and Chair signatures. Any cost transfers requested after the fund end date will ONLY be processed on an exceptional case basis.

Semel Cost Transfer Justification Form is required with Fund Manager, PI, OES Director and Department Chair signature for the following transfer requests:

• Transfers over 121 days from the transaction doc date
• Transfers over 90 days on expired funds
• Transfers within 60 days prior to the fund end date

*Please Note: Retransfer requests are audited and considered High Risk. Strong justification and all signatures are required.

Final COP submission deadlines:To ensure Semel and EFM meet the sponsor requirements, the OES FM will prepare the COP and send to the Admin and the PI for review per the schedule below:

Should the mandatory 90-day meeting not take place, the Fund Manager will process a COP per the expenses posted to the ledger as of the fund end date. Any overdraft will be the responsibility of the PI to cover with an unrestricted fund. Any balances remaining will be returned to the sponsor.

For Questions:
Primary Contact: Hari Wijesekera, HWijesekera@mednet.ucla.edu