Closeout Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

List of FAQ

1. What if my award ends in the middle of the month? Does this mean that I will get my advance closeout notification fewer than 60 days before the award expires?
2. What if financial reports are due 60 days after the award end date rather than 90 days – do I still have 75 days after the end date to make my final adjustments?
3. Why am I getting an alert 60 days in advance (as opposed to 90, or 30)?
4. Will I get my closeout alerts an extra month early if my financial report is due earlier than 90 days after award end date?
5. If I want to make corrections later than 75 days after the award end date, and OSR hasn’t submitted the final financial report to the sponsor yet, can I still make them?
6. Why does OSR need the last two weeks to prepare and submit my report? Weren’t they working on it all along too?
7. My PTA shows an extended end date in Oracle; why are you asking me for closeout information when my end date is in the future?
8. I am expecting additional funding to cover the overdraft I currently have on the project. I don’t want OSR to submit the financial report until that funding has arrived, what should I do?
9. Can I request a no-cost time extension after the award is over?

Detail of FAQ

1. What if my award ends in the middle of the month? Does this mean that I will get my advance closeout notification fewer than 60 days before the award expires?
   A: Awards that end on or before the 20th of a month will receive their advance closeout notification more than 60 days before the award expires . For example, an award that ends August 15th th will receive its closeout notifications on June 1 st, -- or 75 days in advance of the planned expiration date. Awards that end on or after 21 st of a month will receive their closeout notifications at the same time as awards that expire at the end of that same month (e.g., an award that ends August 23 rd will receive its advance closeout notification on July 1 st. )
   
   
2. What if financial reports are due 60 days after the award end date rather than 90 days – do I still have 75 days after the end date to make my final adjustments?
   A: No, the terms of the award will always take precedence. If Stanford is required to submit a financial report 60 days after the end date, we have to honor that date. We recommend reviewing your award documents when you receive your 60 days-in-advance notification to verify the due date of the financial report. If you aren’t certain or can’t locate the requirement, consult your OSR closeout accountant. OSR staff will also try to alert departmental administrators of unusual due dates for reports as early as possible.
   
   
3. Why am I getting an alert 60 days in advance (as opposed to 90, or 30)?
   A: The administrators who attended last year’s ABC session on the new closeout strategy were asked for their input on how early they would like to receive their first closeout alert. Sixty days in advance of expiration was the choice of the majority of the administrators present. Receipt of an alert 60 days in advance also allows the PI and department an adequate amount of time to request no-cost time extensions, to consult with their subrecipients about their progress, to incur final project costs, and to begin the process of an orderly shutdown of the project.
   
   
4. Will I get my closeout alerts an extra month early if my financial report is due earlier than 90 days after award end date?
   A: No, not at the moment. There is no data element in Oracle or SPIDERS that captures the financial report due date, so the first time OSR staff know about the early due date for the financial report is the same time when the departmental administrator knows about it -- when they review the award terms and conditions after receiving the 60 days in advance notice. OSR staff and departmental staff should work together to make sure that expenditures are reviewed and final adjustments made in the time frame available.
   
   
5. If I want to make corrections later than 75 days after the award end date, and OSR hasn’t submitted the final financial report to the sponsor yet, can I still make them?
   A: It depends. Invalid expenses should always be removed when they are located; even if this means that a revised final financial report will need to be submitted. Sometimes late adjustments are unavoidable (e.g, new information comes to light that makes you realize that an expense should not have been charged.) Departmental staff should immediately notify their OSR closeout accountant if they feel a report should not be submitted. Because auditors often interpret late cost transfers as evidence of poor internal controls, departments should be prepared to explain the special circumstances, including the reason why the change was not properly identified at an earlier time (e.g., during monthly review, PI certification review, or previous closeout review.) It is expected that these types of situations will be rare. Generally, expenditures (even otherwise allowable ones) cannot be transferred onto a project at this late date and will have to be covered from other sources.
   
   
6. Why does OSR need the last two weeks to prepare and submit my report? Weren’t they working on it all along too?
   A: Yes, the OSR closeout accountant has also been working on the financial close of the award throughout the closeout period. OSR prepares and submits many final financial reports (typically, 3-10 per month per staff member, most of which are due at the same time). The two week period allows adequate time both for preparation of these final reports and aggregation of any required backup documentation. It also permits time for OSR to conduct its internal review process for accuracy and completeness. Most OSR accountants also carry other work assignments, including I-Journal review, PTA setup review, and interim financial reporting. This time period helps ensure that these ongoing tasks can be completed in a timely manner contemporaneously with closeouts.
   
   
7. My PTA shows an extended end date in Oracle; why are you asking me for closeout information when my end date is in the future?
   A: The deadline for final financial (and other) reports is based on the agency-approved period of performance. If you submitted an approved “Extended Account” form, OSR extended the award end date in Oracle to allow spending to continue. The award end date in Oracle thus may not be the same date as the “official” period of performance stipulated by the Sponsor. If you are uncertain about the official end date of your project, look it up in SPIDERS (or ask your Institutional Representative).
   
   
8. I am expecting additional funding to cover the overdraft I currently have on the project. I don’t want OSR to submit the financial report until that funding has arrived, what should I do?
   A: Contact your Institutional Representative early for help in following up with a sponsor to verify if additional funding will be forthcoming, and to verify when Stanford can expect to receive an award. In some cases, the agency may permit you to charge costs incurred late in a project to that project’s renewal funding; in these cases, an “Early Account” form can be submitted and any allowable and allocable costs charged or moved to the renewal award PTA. If Stanford has still not received the funding two weeks before the report due date, a final financial report based on the existing funding must still be prepared and submitted.
   
   
9. Can I request a no-cost time extension after the award is over?
   A: RPH 3.1 indicates that no-cost time extensions are expected to be requested on or before the award end date, or such earlier time as the agency may require. While Institutional Officials will still countersign otherwise appropriate requests submitted after the award end date, an official sponsor approval (usually from the Grants Officer) is required before the award can be removed from the closeout process. They may also ask why the request was not submitted in a timely manner. Federal agencies are allowed thirty days to respond to a request of this nature; thus requests submitted significantly after the end date are at risk for receiving a response in time. Departments should complete their financial reviews and closeout adjustments even if a no-cost time extension is pending; this will facilitate a timely closeout in the event the request for an extension is denied by the sponsor (or facilitate the eventual closeout of the project if an extension is approved.). Stanford still has the obligation to submit the final financial report by the original due date unless the agency has officially extended the period of performance of the project before that time.