OMB Releases Single Audit Guidance; GAQC Publishes Helpful Explainer

Late last month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released new guidance regarding single audits in the form of a compliance addendum. A recent article from the Journal of Accountancy explains that “single audit practitioners have been eagerly awaiting this guidance to gain an understanding of federal expectations for the compliance requirements and suggested audit procedures to be considered by auditors relating to new COVID-19 funding received by their clients.”

The addendum responds to a number of questions regarding COVID-19 funding that was established by the CARES Act. Because the new release is considered late, it also includes a three-month submission extension for single audits for organizations that received COVID-19 funding.

In the wake of the OMB release, the AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) released a very helpful explainer of some of the key items included in the addendum. The article highlights a variety of key items from the GAQC explainer, including:

• The exclusion of Provider Relief Fund expenditures and lost revenue on the Schedule of Expenditures and Federal Awards (SEFA).
• The inclusion of the fair market value of donated personal protective equipment on the SEFA.
• The requirement that single auditors test Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) reporting for COVID-19 programs.

For more details, including additional items included in the GAQC explainer, click here to read the Journal of Accountancy article in full.