Chapter 2. Accounting Services
Section 2.4. Establishing an Index

2.4.3. Residual Funds in Closed Accounts

Residual Funds: Monies remaining within an account, after the expenditures for the project (research or otherwise) have been completely paid for. The funding may have come from an external sponsor, or from internal sources.

Closed Accounts: An account also known as inactive or terminated, which cannot have charges or account entries made to it, for a determined period of closure (temporary or permanently).

In some cases, funds received for a project may exceed expenditures incurred in conducting the project. Examples of such cases are found in fixed-price contracts, seminars, conferences, and various courses. If the grant or contract contains no stipulation that any excess funds must be returned to the sponsor, Accounting Services will transfer any residuals to the Designated Fund of the University for use by the department chair/director in which performance of the original contract took place.

Residual monies or deficits in accounts for seminars, conferences, etc., will be transferred to the master accounts for these activities. Deficits in terminated restricted accounts, when and if they do occur, must be underwritten from unrestricted funds (generally, DXXXXX series accounts) available to the departments.

Before any residual funds are transferred, a thorough examination will be made by Accounting Services to determine that all costs which are properly chargeable to the projects being accounted for have, in fact, been charged. Financial managers are also advised that all costs properly chargeable to a project must be reported to Accounting Services for inclusion in the financial report for the project, regardless of the extent of funding available.