Sponsored Programs

A unique characteristic of sponsored project funds versus other trust funds is their limited life span. As such, every sponsored agreement must be "closed out" at some point in time, and a final financial report may have to be sent to the sponsoring agency.

• For most agreements, closeout comes at the end of the project period, which may be either a single or multi-year period. 
• For some agreements, a formal closeout is required at the end of each budget period within the project period.
• You should receive reminders from Special Funds Accounting (SFA) as your closeout date nears, along with a helpful checklist of final tasks.
• The keys to a successful closeout of a sponsored agreement are:
  • Working with your contact person in SFA and your Departmental Administrator to identify all of the costs of the project;
  •  The submission of a timely and accurate financial status report (FSR)**, and other reports as required by the terms and conditions of the award agreement, to the agency. 

**The FSR is a generic term for the agency-prescribed method of reporting expenditures whether it is a final invoice or other format.

• Other reports that may be required are MBE/WBE (a report of purchases from Minority-Owned or Women-Owned Businesses), Final Inventory of Equipment, or Final Report of Patents and Inventions. 
• Each staff person in SFA is responsible for compliance with these procedures as they close out their assigned sponsored agreements.
• Any final cash balances, positive or negative, must be resolved before the fund can be inactivated. Residual balances of fixed price contracts are closed in accordance with related procedures.