The Sponsored Program Final Cost Deadline, referred to in the guidance as “deadline date,” addresses industry trends, assists in timely closeouts of awards to comply with sponsor requirements and reduces MSU’s audit and financial risk. Although the Principal Investigator has fiscal responsibility for sponsored program awards, the guidance is intended to assist the PI and their department administration in timely processing of final expenses.
Effective August 1, 2024, all final costs/expenses on sponsored program RC accounts must be posted to the account by a predetermined deadline date.
- Costs that are fully routed and posted to the RC account’s Operating Statement by the deadline date will be included in the final financial report/draw/invoice to the sponsor.
- Costs that are not posted to the RC account’s Operating Statement by the deadline date will not be included for reimbursement and/or reported to the sponsor and must be covered by an unrestricted Michigan State University (MSU) account.
For each sponsored program RC account, there is a field titled, “Deadline for Posting Costs,” within the Closeout tab in Account Explorer that will display the deadline date. The deadline date will also be reflected in email communication from CGA to the Principal Investigator and department contact when the account is fully set up in Account Explorer and before the project ends.
The deadline for posting accounts is determined by the due date of the final financial report/draw or invoice.
Final financial report/draw or invoice is due 60 or more days after the project period end date:
For accounts that have a final invoice/financial report due date of greater than 60 days after the project period end date, all final expenses must be posted to the account no later than 30 days prior to the final report due date. For example, if the final invoice/financial report is due within 120 days of the project end date, all final expenses must be posted to the account within 90 days after the project period end date.
Final financial report/draw or invoice is due 45-60 days after the project period end date:
For accounts that have a final invoice/financial report due date between 45-60 days after the project period end date, all final expenses must be posted to the account within 30 days after the project period end date.
Final Financial Report/draw or invoice is due less than 45 days after the project period end date:
For accounts that have a final invoice/financial report due date of less than 45 days after the project period end date, all final expenses must be posted to the account within 30 days after the project period end date. In addition, a list of all pending expenses that should be included on the final invoice/financial report must be provided to the CGA Reports Group (reports@cga.msu.edu) at least two weeks before the final invoice/financial report is due.
If the pending expenses that were provided by the unit and included on the final invoice/financial report are not posted to the account within 30 days after the project end date, they will no longer be allowed on the account and must be covered by an unrestricted MSU account. CGA will then submit a revised final invoice/financial report and will issue a refund to the sponsor for those expenses, if applicable.
If an expense is posted within 30 days of the project period end date but was not included in the list of pending expenses provided by the unit, the costs must be removed from the RC account and transferred to an unrestricted MSU account. This includes all transaction types (DVs, GECs, salary, Service Billings, PO payments, etc.).
No predetermined due date for a final financial report/draw or invoice:
For accounts that do not have final financial reporting requirements, all final expenses must be posted to the account within 60 days after the project period end date.
For pending KFS/non-pay transactions that require CGA review/approval, the department must contact CGA Audit and Compliance Group (audit.compliance@cga.msu.edu) no later than five business days before the deadline date.
For pending hourly payroll transactions that require CGA approval, the department must contact CGA Audit and Compliance Group (audit.compliance@cga.msu.edu) no later than five business days before the applicable HR cutoff date.
For SAP transactions that require CGA approval, the department must contact CGA Awards Group (awards@cga.msu.edu) no later than 5 business days before the applicable HR cutoff date.
It is important that the department follows all final transactions through their route log to make sure that all approvals in the workflow are completed on time (ex. CGA, UPL, Controller’s Office), so costs are posted to the account by the deadline date.
Additionally, if there is a unique situation, please contact CGA Audit and Compliance Group (audit.compliance@cga.msu.edu) for guidance.
