May Newsletter

5/17/2023

End of Fiscal Year 2023 Notice 

The state’s accounting system will stop processing payments in mid-June for its annual fiscal year-end closing procedures. Therefore, the Ohio Department of Education must adjust its timetable for approving project cash requests. To ensure timely payment, submit project cash requests to the Office of Grants Management by 5 p.m., Tues., June 13, 2023.  Funds can be requested to cover allowable expenses already incurred, as well as advance funds to cover expenses that will be paid through July 14, 2023. Cash management guidelines normally requiring advance funds to be liquidated within five business days of receipt are temporarily relaxed during this time frame. However, please note that all funds must be liquidated in accordance with the dates designated on the request. Having unspent funds after the time frame indicated on the cash request constitutes a violation of cash management guidelines and may result in an audit finding.  

  If a request contains an advance amount, please outline how the funds will be expended and the expected FY23 liquidation date in the Justification of Need section of the cash request. Payment cash requests for an advance amount must reflect a June or July advance period that corresponds with the liquidation date indicated on the request. To receive approval consideration, advances must be for immediate needs within the period specified above and the justification entered for advance funds must provide sufficient detail.  If these guidelines are not met, the Office of Grants Management will delay or return the request unapproved and it may not be paid until after July 1.

  The Office of Grants Management will review project cash requests as quickly as possible and in the order received. To expedite the process, please attach supporting documentation if the total reimbursement amount is greater than 10 percent of the allocation.  If the Office of Grants Management does not receive a cash request by the deadline, it cannot guarantee payment before the system closes for the current fiscal year. This means the payment will be issued when the state accounting system is back online. In addition, the large volume of requests received during this time may result in delays for some payments due to a shortage in state appropriation (spending authority). The Office of Grants Management will process payments that do not meet the deadline or cannot be issued due to lack of appropriation after July 1. In the rare case that you end the fiscal year with a deficit, please review ORC Section 3315.20| Deficits in special funds.