Closing an award

An award closes when fourteen checks pass or are explicitly excepted by
somebody with the authority to except them. This page lists them and
says what closing does and does not mean.

What has to be clear

1. Nothing is still reserved, committed or owed.
2. Every reconciliation difference is resolved.
3. No payment is in an unknown state.
4. Advances, refunds and receivables are settled.
5. Cost share, programme income and indirect costs are trued up.
6. The final financial report is issued.
7. The final programme report is delivered.
8. Contracts, orders and subawards are closed.
9. No legal or environmental obligation is open.
10. Records are complete and retention is set.
11. Audit findings are closed or accepted.
12. The donor has accepted the closure.
13. Assets are disposed of as the agreement says.
14. The proof package is built and verifies.

Two of them cannot be excepted

An award cannot close while a payment is in an unknown state, because
the whole meaning of that state is that nobody knows whether the money
moved.

An award cannot close without a final financial report, because the
report is what closing means to a donor.

Every other check can be excepted, with a reason, a person's name and an
approval. An award closed with exceptions says so on its face, for ever.

What closing does not mean

It does not mean the records can be deleted. Retention periods continue
and any legal hold continues.

It does not mean nothing further can happen. An award can be reopened,
as a new case linked to the closed one, and the original stays exactly
as it was.

If somebody else has not answered

Eight of the checks belong to other parts of LEAT. If one of them cannot
answer, the check is unknown and the award does not close. We do not
treat a missing answer as a passing one.