The National Research Foundation (NRF) bases future funding allocations on the results of audited financial reports of the current period. In order to avoid forfeiture of future grants, it is vital that the University submits these reports on or before the deadlines set by the NRF.

In order for the University to meet the reporting deadline for the 2024 financial year, please take note of the following reporting guidelines and milestones:

1.         FINANCIAL REPORTING

NRF only permits claims for actual and valid paid expenditure incurred in 2024. Commitments and encumbrances (outstanding orders) may not be included in the financial report. Including amounts not yet paid will result in forfeiture of the funding. Should grant-holders have outstanding orders or claims, carry-forwards may be applied for (refer to section 1.4 below).

1.1      Purchase Orders

All requisitions/purchase orders must be processed by no later than 1 November 2024. No requisitions for NRF cost centres will be allowed after this date.

1.2      Invoice Payments

All 2024 invoices must support the 2024 purchase orders that were processed. Grant-holders are requested to submit all documents which relate to official orders and purchases to the Accounts Payable Division by 5 December 2024. The submission of Invoices with invoice dates between 5 December and 31 December 2024 is due on or before 6 January 2025.

It is the responsibility of the grant-holder to ensure that all invoices are submitted and all vouchers are approved on time by the cost centre manager.

1.3      Advances

The submission of advance settlement reports relating to NRF grants and cost centres is due on or before 5 December 2024. Please ensure that all supporting documents are attached to the report and original documents are sent to your relevant faculty accountant by that date. These reports must be finalised in terms of the relevant policy (TE001). 

1.4      Unspent funds (Carry Forward – (CF))

Per the NRF financial reporting guidelines, the NRF does not allow automatic transfer of unspent grant balances to the following year; therefore, not all unspent funds can be rolled over to the following funding year. The NRF uses clear and transparent criteria to decide which funds can or cannot be carried forward. When submitting the online request of unspent balances (Carry-Forward (CF)) for 2024 in respect of outstanding commitments (e.g. purchase orders), please ensure that you upload supporting documentation for such requests. Only committed and unpaid expenses for CF at the end of a multi-year grant, or final year of funding of a grant, are considered.

It is the responsibility of the grant-holder to submit a motivation together with the Annual Progress report (refer to 2. below) to the NRF and obtain the above-mentioned written approval.  Excluded from the CF process are grants under the Incentive and Evaluation and Monitoring programme.

Please be advised that should there be any outstanding orders for which payment has not been processed by 5 January 2025; alternative sources of funding of the grant-holder must be provided to facilitate payment.

2.         ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT (APR)

The APR for the 2024 financial year is an on-line submission on the NRF system, which will open mid-November. The completed APR submission date is no later than 12 February 2025. The University’s NRF funding will be negatively impacted; in the 2025 financial year should the NRF not receive these reports in a timely manner. Please note that should you have multiple grants, an APR for each of your awards must be submitted. Furthermore, should the grant-holder not fulfil this requirement, i.e. submit only one (1) APR for grant holders with multiple grants, this will affect the release of your 2025 awards of all your grants and consequentially, all your projects will be placed on hold.

3.         EXTERNAL AUDIT

Per the NRF financial reporting guidelines, an external audit of all NRF awards is mandatory. The external audit commences on 12 February 2025, which will provide assurance that the grants and scholarships utilised were in accordance with the conditions of all grants and the financial policy of the University.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in making the 2024 NRF submissions a success.

Mr MN Moolla

Director: Finance