Single Audit Services

Single Audits for Non-Government Entities Subject to Federal Spending Threshold Requirements

Single audits can feel overwhelming, but our CPA audit firm can help you determine whether you need to complete one, and how to make the process go as smoothly as possible. We’ll also give you recommendations on how to improve the process each year.

What Is a Single Audit?

Single audits are a federal requirement for nonprofits and government-funded entities spending $1,000,000 or more in federal grant money in a single fiscal year. This applies even if you reach the $1 million mark by totaling multiple federal grants together. This calculation also includes pass-through funds.

Single audits combine a standard financial statement audit with an internal control audit and a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA). The SEFA shows what the funds were intended for, how you spent the money, what you spent it on, and whether you followed the policies required by each grant. The spending threshold went up from $750,000 to $1,000,000 for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024 under the 2024 Uniform Guidance update.

The term “single audit” exists because prior to 1984, organizations had to complete a separate audit for each federal grant. Now, the process has been simplified so you only have to complete a “single” audit for all of your federal grants combined. Request a FREE consultation to determine if you need a single audit.

Single Audit Threshold: $1 Million for Fiscal Years Beginning On or After October 1, 2024

The new single audit requirements entail that a non-federal entity spends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards during the fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2024.

The previous spending threshold was $750,000 (in effect for fiscal years beginning before October 1, 2024). The dollar amount increased as part of the 2024 OMB revisions to the Uniform Guidance.

If you only spent funds under one federal program, you may be eligible for a program-specific audit instead of a full single audit that’s intended more for entities spending funds from multiple grants within a single fiscal year.

Single Audit vs. Regular Audit vs. Yellow Book Audit

Regular audits, also called financial statement audits or audited financials, examine your financial records. Yellow Book audits include the information from a regular audit, follow Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) and also include extra reporting on your internal controls and legal compliance.

Single audits include all of the information contained in a Yellow Book (GAGAS) audit plus a compliance audit of the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA).

What's Included in a Single Audit

• A financial statement audit performed under the GAGAS (Yellow Book) standard
• Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) — this schedule lists every federal program from which you spent funds during the fiscal year. It also includes the award number, federal agency, and dollar amount spent.

  NOTE: Our senior auditors prepare and test the SEFA for you, so your team doesn’t have to figure out the format from scratch.

• Major program determination — Our senior auditor uses a risk-based approach to identify which of your federal programs are “major” and must therefore be tested for compliance.
• Compliance audit of major programs — this involves testing against the requirements in the OMB Compliance Supplement (issued annually).
• Internal controls testing for compliance with the requirements for each major program
• Schedule of findings and questioned costs
• Data Collection Form (Form SF-SAC) and submission to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC)

What's New in Single Audits: SAM.gov Vendor Checks

One of the most common compliance issues we see when reviewing your internal controls involves vetting your vendors when you spend federal award funds.

Overlooking this important issue can lead to findings on your audit and make it more difficult to secure federal funding in the future.

You cannot pay federal funds to debarred or suspended vendors.

To avoid this problem, you need to check and recheck all of your new vendors before you pay them, as well as all existing vendors. Even if you’ve been working with a vendor for years, they could have been debarred or suspended without your knowledge since you started working with them.

Use the SAM (System of Awards Management) exclusion list to search for entities and individuals who are prohibited from receiving federal awards, grants, or contracts, often as a result of fraud or other criminal activity. Vendors can also be debarred or suspended for failing to meet federal regulatory/compliance standards.

If you have paid a vendor on the SAM list, that will show up on your single audit. That finding can make it more challenging to qualify for future grants.

Document this cross check in your internal controls, and document it again each time you re-check the list before paying a vendor.

Including this step in your AP process prior to the audit is the single most important step you can take to avoid findings. We can help you implement this process during your audit prep.

Single Audit Due Date and Submission

Your audit report and Data Collection Form must be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) within:

(a) 30 calendar days following receipt of the auditor’s report

OR

(b) 9 months after the end of the audit period, whichever is earlier

Late submission can result in your organization being designated a “higher-risk auditee” in future audits. In some cases, it can affect your future federal funding eligibility.

Who Needs a Single Audit?

• Nonprofits that spent $1 million or more in federal funds from agencies like HHS, HUD, DOT, USDA, EPA, NSF, DOE, etc. in a single fiscal year beginning or after October 1, 2024
• State and local governments
• Tribal governments
• Public and private universities that receive federal research funding
• Subrecipients of federal pass-through funding (if total federal expenditures hit the $1M threshold)

Why Work With Clarity Tax Group on Your Single Audit

Since single audits are so important to future federal grant awards, we work closely with you before the audit starts to avoid negative audit findings. We also adhere to high quality standards to ensure your satisfaction, including:

• Registration with the PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) and peer reviews of our practices, conducted by a separate CPA firm every 18 months.
• Senior auditors complete your audit services, not junior staffers.
• Year-round availability — single audit fieldwork doesn’t pause for tax season.
• We confirm you actually meet the threshold before recommending a single audit. If your total federal expenditures fall under $1M, we’ll tell you.

Your Single Audit Process: What to Expect

1. First, we schedule a FREE 30-minute scoping call with you to determine whether your federal expenditures meet the threshold for the fiscal year in question
2. You receive an engagement letter from us, including a fixed-fee quote
3. You participate in a pre-audit readiness review, including a SEFA walk-through
4. We make a risk-based major program determination for you
5. Fieldwork begins, with a typical timeline 6–8 weeks for a single audit and even less time if you have clean books and respond quickly to our requests for information
6. We submit our findings and our report to you
7. We prepare your Data Collection Form for submission to the FAC
8. We have a post-audit debrief and review any findings you need to address before next year

Single Audit FAQs

What's the difference between a single audit and a financial statement audit?

Financial statement audits examine your financial records. Yellow Book audits follow Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). They include everything that’s in the financial statement audit, as well as additional reporting on your internal controls and legal compliance.

Single audits include all of the information contained in a Yellow Book (GAGAS) audit PLUS a compliance audit of the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA).

What is the federal award expenditure threshold for a single audit?

Single audits are required if your non-federal entity spends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards during the fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2024.

When did the single audit threshold change to $1 million?

The single audit threshold went to $1 million, an increase over the previous threshold of $750,000 (in effect for fiscal years beginning before October 1, 2024) as part of the 2024 OMB revisions to the Uniform Guidance.

What is SEFA?

SEFA is an acronym for Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. It lists all of the federal programs associated with your expenditures during the fiscal year, and includes the award number, federal agency, and dollar amount spent.