Article | Higher education

Single audit – is your institution ready?

Nov. 16, 2023 · Authored by Kishan Patel

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards Subpart F require all higher education institutions that receive and expend federal assistance totaling $750,000* or more during the entity’s fiscal year to have an annual audit performed by an independent (external) auditor. The single audit reporting package (including the audit report) must be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) within 30 days after the institution receives its audit report or nine (9) months after the institution’s fiscal year-end, whichever comes first.

Audit criteria is established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) through issuance of the Compliance Supplement, which identifies potentially applicable compliance requirements that may be subject to audit. Use of the Compliance Supplement by the auditor is mandatory and the compliance supplement is updated annually to reflect changes and additions to program requirements.

Single audit objectives

Objectives of the single audit may include the following:

Financial statements: determine whether financial statements of the entity are presented fairly in all material respects and in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
Compliance: determine whether the auditee has complied with federal statutes, regulations, guidelines and terms and conditions of the federal award that may have a direct and material effect on each of the entity’s major programs
Internal controls: gain a sufficient understanding of internal controls over compliance, including testing operating effectiveness, to support a low assessed level of control risk for each major program

While not a main objective, stakeholders may use the single audit to determine risks of subrecipients, per Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200.332. For additional information on use of the single audit to determine subrecipient risks, see Conducting pre-award subrecipient risk assessments.

Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA)

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What we do	What you get
Assess your institution’s policies, procedures and resources related to federal compliance and adherence to applicable laws and regulations	A facilitated discussion with key process owners across the institution to identify opportunities for increased communication and foster collaboration, as well as a policy gap analysis to determine what documentation needs to be updated, developed and implemented
Identify the roles and responsibilities between departments that are involved in control and monitoring activities	A clear understanding and layout of any controls or collaboration efforts in place to facilitate compliance with federal requirements
Evaluate current procedures to assess compliance with federal regulations and requirements	Actionable recommendations or enhancement opportunities to address identified gaps, challenges or risks based on federal regulations and requirements

Single audit – is your institution ready?

Single audit objectives

Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA)

Related sections

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Department of Education releases new round of COVID-19 funds for colleges and universities

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