Fund Closeout
1. Closing Sponsored Research Funds (5-Ledgers):
Project Directors receive written notification of sponsored research funds that are scheduled to end at 90, 60 and 30 days prior to the scheduled end date of the project. Project Directors should work with their SR administrator during this time to forecast final expenditures, finalize cost sharing documentation, request no-cost extensions or carryover of unobligated funds to a subsequent budget period.
Technical Reports:
Project Directors are responsible for timely submission of final technical reports and deliverables. The PI is responsible for record retention of all programmatic materials and reports; however, a copy of all reports should be forwarded to the SR administrator as good business practice.
Financial Reports:
Once the fund has ended, the SR administrator will work with the Project Director to finalize all expenditures and verify cost sharing documentation has been completed in preparation for submission of a final invoice or financial report to the sponsoring agency. SDSU Research Foundation is typically required to submit either a final financial report or a final invoice within 90 days after the end date of a project. Due dates for specific awards may vary. (See your grant award or contract document or fund analysis for specific award requirements.) Not meeting these deadlines may result in denial of payment for legitimate expenses and may also jeopardize the Research Foundation's ability to receive future funding.
Records Retention:
Funding agencies require SDSU Research Foundation to retain records on closed awards for a specified period to provide a window of time in which they may access the records for audit purposes after a project has ended. SDSU Research Foundation is required to retain all years of a competitive segment of an award for a minimum of three years after the final year of the project has ended. (A competitive segment is funding awarded in one-year award increments (up to 5 years) referencing the same grant/contract number.)
If a closed project files are the subject matter of audits, appeals, litigation or the settlement of claims arising out of the performance of the project, SDSU Research Foundation is required to retain these records until resolution is reached. The PI is responsible for retaining all programmatic records and reports for the required period of time and making them available as needed in the event of an audit or other request.
Closing of Other Specialized Fund Types:
2. Closing of Fixed-Price Contracts (5-Ledgers):
The majority of agreements received by SDSU Research Foundation are cost-reimbursable; however, periodically a sponsor will agree to pay SDSU Research Foundation a set fee for satisfactory completion of contracted services or submission of deliverables. The determination of the fee should be negotiated based on the best estimate by the P.I. of the costs necessary to perform the services being contracted. The budget should include recovery of the full facilities and administrative costs (F&A) applicable to the type of award based on SDSU Research Foundation's federally negotiated F&A rates. Any requests for a waiver or reduction of the full rate must be approved in writing by the Director of Sponsored Research Development. During the contract period, all expenditures necessary to complete the contract must be charged against the fund, including reimbursement to SDSU for any state-funded expenditure incurred on behalf of the project.
SDSU Research Foundation either receives set payments or invoices the sponsor based upon a set schedule, generally tied to the completion of certain project tasks and/or deliverables. In the event the project director was able to complete the contracted services for less than the agreed upon rate, the remaining direct cost balance may be requested to be transferred into a campus program self-support (9-ledger) fund. The following information must be provided with the request:
- A detailed explanation of how services were completed and why a surplus is remaining. Specific line item surpluses should be addressed in the explanation.
- A calculation of the percentage of funds remaining as compared to the original cost estimate to complete the work.
- A certification by the P.I. that all expenditures have been posted to the fund.
- A certification that there are no costs that have been incurred by SDSU that have not been reimbursed by the fund.
- A certification from the dean of the college that work was not done on university time and no reimbursement is owed when funding remains in faculty line items because faculty performed the work but did not take overload.
- An explanation as to how the surplus will be used once it is transferred into a 9-ledger.
The director of sponsored research administration will review and approve all close-out journal vouchers for fixed price contracts where a surplus balance exists. If a waiver was granted at the contract negotiation stage for an F&A rate less than the Foundation's federally-approved rate, and a surplus balance exists at the end of the agreement, SDSU Research Foundation will retroactively apply and collect F&A earned at the full rate on direct expenditures applies against the fund prior to authorizing the transfer of any surplus. Additional one-up authorizations may be required if the remaining surplus is substantial either in amount or as a percentage of the original cost estimate.
Once approvals have been received, surplus is transferred into a campus programs self-support fund. The 9-ledger fund is established in the project director's name and must define how the residual balances will be used. All 9-ledger requests now require approval of SDSU Business and Financial Affairs office. All 9-ledger funds are established with a minimum 6% administrative fee. The difference between the full F&A rate and the 6% administrative fee to be earned on the surplus will be collected as earned revenue prior to the transfer of funds into the project director's 9-ledger fund.
3. Close out of Campus and Community Programs (9-ledgers)
SR administrators review all 9-ledger funds with balances less than fifty dollars ($50.00) or funds with no revenue/expense activity during the past two years on a periodic basis to determine if they have fallen into inactive status. Administrators contact the Project Director of each fund to determine whether additional activity is expected or if the fund should be closed. Project Directors should work with their administrators to close or consolidate these funds with existing discretionary funds if appropriate.
In addition, a fund review is conducted of each 9-ledger approximately every three years, unless otherwise established by the parameters of the individual fund to ensure accurate record keeping. Funds designated as recharge centers will be reviewed annually. During the review, a Campus and Community Programs Fund Profile Update (survey) is forwarded to the Project Director to review and determine if the fund's: 1) stated purpose is current and accurately reflects the activities occurring, 2) the origin of revenue has remained the same or should be updated with any new income sources and 3) review the nature of expenses that occur related to the fund. This data is reviewed and SDSU Research Foundation records updated if needed.
Surveys are forwarded to Project Directors electronically and returned to each administrator for review. Upon receipt, the administrator compares the survey to the existing documentation in the fund file. The survey is also reviewed by an SRA manager or the SRA director to determine if the fund should be renewed. If approved, an updated analysis is created and distributed reflecting the new end date on the fund. A new review date is established for the fund and the end date is extended as appropriate in the Banner Finance system. Upon completion of the review, the survey is filed into the fund file. Project Directors should notify their SR administrator if the purpose of the fund has changed during the interim time period between reviews.
4. Close-out of Campanile Funds (C-Ledgers):
SR administrators will periodically notify Project Directors of C ledger funds that have low balances and/or have been inactive for a period of time. Project Directors should work with their administrators to close or consolidate these funds with existing gift funds if appropriate.
5. Close-out of Research Support Funds (2-Ledgers):
SR administrators will periodically notify Project Directors of 2 ledger funds that have low balances and/or have been inactive for a period of time. Project Directors should work with their administrators to close or consolidate these funds with existing RSF funds if appropriate.
Please note:
Discretionary funds, including most 9-ledger self-support activities, all gift funds and research support funds, are not transferable to other organizations or individuals. In the event a Project Director retires, transfers to another university or otherwise leaves SDSU or SDSU Research Foundation, research support funds will revert to SDSURF. All other existing funds under the Project Director's name will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine reallocation.