Financial Guide 2006 - Part III - Chapter 18: Closeout
Highlights of Chapter
- Background
- Closeout of Discretionary/Categorical Awards
- Closeout of Block/Formula Awards
- Refund of Federal Grant Monies and/or Program Income at Closeout
Background
All discretionary/categorical and block/formula award recipients have 90 days after the end date of the award to close out the award. However, recipients should start the closeout process as soon as the program is completed and all monies have been spent. This will enable accurate reporting of financial information on the financial statement.
Closeout of Discretionary/Categorical Awards
- Cash Reconciliation. The recipient should request reimbursement for any funds due to cover expenditures and obligations (incurred prior to the grant expiration date and liquidated no more than 75 days after the grant expiration date) at award closeout. The recipient's Federal expenditures (outlays) must be equal to or greater than the cash disbursements from the awarding agency.
- Drawdown of Funds. Recipients should request final payment for reimbursement of Federal expenditures made within the approved period in conjunction with the final Financial Status Report.
- Recipient Closeout Requirements. Within 90 days after the end date of the award or any approved extension thereof (revised end date), the following documents must be submitted by the recipient to the awarding agency:
- Final Financial Status Report. This FINAL report of expenditures must have no unliquidated obligations and must indicate the exact balance of unobligated funds. Any unobligated/unexpended funds will be deobligated from the award amount from the awarding agency. Any match requirement must be met by the end of the grant period. Matching contribution must be reported on the final SF269A. Recipients who have drawn down funds in excess of their Federal expenditures, shall return unused funds to the awarding agency at the same time they submit the final report. Recipients under the PAPRS and ASAP payment systems should make adjustments for any cash balances on subsequent requests. (Recipients must report obligations and expenditures at the recipient/subrecipient level.)
- Final Progress Report. This report should be prepared in accordance with instructions provided by the awarding agency.
- Invention Report. All inventions that were conceived or first actually reduced to practice during the course of work under the award project must be listed on this report before closeout.
Closeout of Block/Formula Awards
The timeframe for closeout of block/formula awards is also 90 days from the end date of the award. Cash disbursements and recipient expenditures must be reconciled before closeout.
Refund of Federal Grant Monies And/Or Program Income At Closeout
If funds must be returned at award closeout, award recipients should remit:
- a check made payable to DOJ/Office of Justice Programs;
- a cover letter or voucher containing the grant award number for the refund, the unobligated balance, and an itemization of funds (e.g., the amount to be applied to excess payments, interest income, program income, questioned costs and so forth); and
- a printout of the final SF269A report which reconciles the amount of the refund.
The final SF 269A should report the amount of Federal funds returned on line 10(i) (unobligated balance of Federal funds) and any unexpended program income returned on line 12(F).
When refunds are due to the OJP, the OC Customer Service Branch will contact the award recipient requesting the funds owed. If the award recipients fails to remit the funds, OC will refer the debt to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection.
Failure to remit funds due to OJP may result in withholding or freezing of funds on all grants awarded to the grantee organization.
Effective December 1, 2006 all checks submitted to OJP by check will have their check converted into an electronic funds transfer (EFT). Upon presentment, all checks will be copied. The account information from the checks will be scanned and stored. OJP will debit the account for the amount specified on the check. The account will be debited approximately twenty-four (24) hours. The drawdown will be reflected on the remitter's regular account statement.
The remitter will not receive a return check from the bank. OJP will destroy all checks; however, the information on the checks will be stored electronically.
Electronic transfer debit funds from remitter's account faster than normal check processing. If the EFT cannot occur due to insufficient funds, OJP will try to make the transfer two more times. OJP may charge a processing fee for insufficient funds.
All refund checks and letters should be submitted to: Office of Justice Programs, Office of the Comptroller, ATTN: Accounts Receivable Branch, 810 Seventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531.
Note: Furnishing your check information is voluntary, but a decision not to do so may require remitters to make payment by some other method.
