A single audit combines financial statement auditing, federal award compliance auditing, and related internal control work within one coordinated engagement. Its major programs are federal programs selected for focused compliance auditing through the required risk and coverage process.
The applicability screen separates these situations:
The fiscal year's beginning date determines whether the current audit provisions identified in the Standards line apply. The current $1,000,000 trigger replaces the earlier $750,000 trigger; an award's issuance date or the auditor's report date does not select the audit threshold.
- For a fiscal year beginning before the stated effective date, the auditor applies the earlier audit provisions throughout that fiscal year.
- For a fiscal year beginning on or after that date, the auditor applies the current audit provisions, including the revised Type A schedule below.
- A $900,000 expenditure total reaches the earlier audit trigger but falls below the current trigger.
- Audit provisions and award-specific administrative requirements can have different transition rules; major programs require attention to both during planning.
Common mistakes
- Wrong expenditure base. Substituting a $2,000,000 award ceiling for $900,000 of current qualifying expenditures incorrectly triggers an audit under the current provisions.
- Wrong boundary band. The wrong-band calculation is , rather than the schedule's $1,000,000 threshold at exactly $34,000,000.
- Quarter of the wrong population. Auditing one of four identified high-risk Type B programs omits three required major programs.
Bottom line
- Covered entities generally require a single audit when annual federal awards expended reach $1,000,000 under the current audit provisions.
- Federal expenditures include qualifying direct, pass-through, noncash, and loan activity; award ceilings and cash receipts are not substitutes.
- Designated clusters count as one program, and program-specific audit eligibility requires more than receiving one program.
- Type A classification uses the applicable expenditure band and large-loan adjustment; size classification does not establish program risk.
Exam shortcut
Start by marking the fiscal-year regime, entity type, and federal expenditures. Cross out award ceilings and cash draws when they merely distract from qualifying expenditures. Separate the scratch work into size, program risk, and auditee status. A changed fact in one category does not automatically change the others. Circle required programs before calculating coverage. Keep those selections even when a smaller set would clear the percentage.
The full lesson (about 6,294 words, 42 min read) adds 2 worked examples, all 6 common mistakes, a self-check, free in the app.
Learning objectives
- II.G4
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