Fixed Price and Fixed Fee Contract - Closeouts

This procedure applies to all fixed price and fixed fee contracts, including clinical trials. Before any sponsored project will be closed out, the principal investigator (PI) must complete and submit deliverables to the sponsor.

Before the project end date:

Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) will send a notification to PIs and their unit administrators approximately 60 days before the end date of a fixed price award, inquiring whether a no cost extension is needed. If additional time is needed to complete the work, the PI must obtain a no cost time extension (from SPA or from the sponsor if the latter requires), requesting the amount of additional time needed and updating progress information or any budgetary detail the sponsor requests. SPA must countersign requests to sponsors.

Form UM 1767 (Departmental Fixed Price Closeout Checklist) is available for departmental use in maintaining documentation of the closeout. These forms are specifically recommended for retention within the department whenever there were significant changes from what had originally been proposed (e.g., changes in scope, budget, or timeline; significant unexpended balances or overdrafts).

After the project end date:

On a monthly basis, Sponsored Financial Reporting (SFR) identifies all sponsored projects that have ended and have not been sent through the closeout process.  SFR  will work with the PI/unit administrator to confirm the sponsored project is ready to be closed and proceed with the normal closeout process.

Final project balance:

If the sponsored project has received a reduction or waiver from the published F&A rate, SFR will charge the full F&A costs to the sponsored project before any final balance is determined. For example, if a project should have received $26,000 in F&A at the 26% rate but received a reduction to 10% and therefore received $10,000, an additional $16,000 will be taken before the final balance is determined.

SFR will then transfer the residual balance to a non-sponsored chart-string specified by the unit administrator or to the residual program.

Oversight:

Research Integrity and Compliance (RIC) will periodically assess the fixed price awards held by a PI or a department to verify proper costing (pricing and charging of applicable expenses). Additional clarifying information may be sought, or corrective actions identified if there appears to be a pattern of large unexpended balances or large overdrafts.