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Part III: Post Award Requirements
Chapter 19: Audit Requirements

HIGHLIGHTS OF CHAPTER:

  • Audit Objectives
  • Audit Reporting Requirements
  • Failure to Comply
  • Audit Threshold
  • Audit Confirmation Requests
  • Due Dates for Audit Reports
  • Audit Compliance
  • Resolution of Audit Reports
  • Top Ten Audit Findings
  • Audits of Subrecipients
  • Technical Assistance
  • Full-Scope Auditing
  • Commercial (For-Profit) Organizations
  • Distribution of Audit Reports
  • OIG Regional Offices

This chapter establishes responsibilities for the audit of organizations receiving agency funds. The intent of this chapter is to identify the policies for determining the proper and effective use of public funds rather than to prescribe detailed procedures for the conduct of an audit.

AUDIT OBJECTIVES

Awards are subject to conditions of fiscal, program, and general administration to which the recipient expressly agrees. Accordingly, the audit objective is to review the recipient's administration of funds and required non-Federal contributions for the purpose of determining whether the recipient has:

  1. Established an accounting system integrated with adequate internal fiscal and management controls to provide full accountability for revenues, expenditures, assets, and liabilities. This system should provide reasonable assurance that the organization is managing Federal financial assistance programs in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
  2. Prepared financial statements which are presented fairly, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
  3. Submitted financial reports (which may include Financial Status Reports, Cash Reports, and Claims for Advances and Reimbursements), which contain accurate and reliable financial data, and are presented in accordance with the terms of applicable agreements.
  4. Expended Federal funds in accordance with the terms of applicable agreements and those provisions of Federal law or regulations that could have a material effect on the financial statements or on the awards tested.

AUDIT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Independent auditors should follow the requirements prescribed in OMB Circular A-133.

If the auditor becomes aware of illegal acts or other irregularities, prompt notice shall be given to recipient management officials above the level of involvement. The recipient, in turn, shall promptly notify the cognizant Federal agency of the illegal acts or irregularities and of proposed and actual actions, if any.

All awarding agency personnel have the responsibility to inform the OJP's Office of the Comptroller, DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility, the Office of Inspector General, and State and local law enforcement agencies or prosecuting authorities, as appropriate, of any known violations of the law within their respective area of jurisdiction.

Audit costs for audits not required or performed in accordance with OMB Circular A-133 are unallowable. If the grantee did not expend $500,000 ($300,000 for fiscal year ending in 2003 and prior) or more in Federal funds in its fiscal year, but contracted with a certified public accountant to perform an audit, these costs may not be charged to the grant.

FAILURE TO COMPLY

Failure to have audits performed as required may result in the withholding of new discretionary awards and/or withholding of funds or change in the method of payment on active awards.

AUDIT THRESHOLD

  1. Effective FY ending after December 31, 2003, non-Federal entities that expend $500,000 or more in Federal funds (from all sources including pass-through subawards) in the organization fiscal year (12- month turnaround reporting period) shall have a single organization-wide audit conducted in accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular A-133.
  2. Effective FY ending after December 31, 2003, non-Federal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year. Records must be available for review or audit by appropriate officials including the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and General Accounting Office (GAO).

AUDIT CONFIRMATION REQUESTS

Send audit confirmation requests to:

Office of the Comptroller
Attention: Monitoring Division
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531

DUE DATES FOR AUDIT REPORTS

Audits are due no later than nine (9) months after the close of each fiscal year during the term of the award.

AUDIT COMPLIANCE

Techniques to use to determine recipient compliance with Federal requirements when an organization-wide audit is not conducted include:

  1. Obtaining audits from recipients that were made in accordance with the "Government Auditing Standards" ;
  2. Relying on previous audits performed on recipient's operations;
  3. Desk reviews by program officials of project documentation;
  4. Project audits by auditors or auditors obtained by recipients; and
  5. Evaluations of recipient's operations by program officials.

RESOLUTION OF AUDIT REPORTS

Timely action on recommendations by responsible management officials is an integral part of the effectiveness of an audit. Each recipient shall have policies and procedures for responding to audit recommendations by designating officials responsible for:

  1. Following up;
  2. Maintaining a record of the action taken on recommendations and time schedules for completing corrective action;
  3. Implementing audit recommendations;
  4. Submitting periodic reports to the cognizant Federal audit agency on recommendations and actions taken; and
  5. Providing an audit special condition on all subawards. This special condition contains information, such as the audit report period, required audit report submission date, and name and address of cognizant Federal agency. The policy of the awarding agency is not to make new awards to applicants who are not in compliance with the audit requirements.

The awarding agency monitors the audit requirements through its audit tracking system and is responsible for tracking audit reports received through the audit process until resolved and closed.

TOP TEN AUDIT FINDINGS

  1. Untimely report submissions;
  2. Lack of documentation;
  3. Inadequate monitoring of subrecipients;
  4. Inadequate time/effort reports;
  5. Inaccurate reports (Financial Status Reports);
  6. Commingling of funds;
  7. Excess cash on hand;
  8. Unallowable costs;
  9. Inappropriate changes; and
  10. Conflicts of interest.

AUDIT OF SUBRECIPIENTS

When subawards are made to another organization or organizations, the recipient shall require that subrecipients comply with the audit requirements set forth in this chapter.

Recipients are responsible for ensuring that subrecipient audit reports are received and for resolving any audit findings. Known or suspected violations of any law encountered during audits, including fraud, theft, embezzlement, forgery, or other serious irregularities, must be communicated to the recipient.

For subrecipients who are not required to have an audit as stipulated in OMB Circular A-133, the recipient is still responsible for monitoring the subrecipients' activities to provide reasonable assurance that the subrecipient administered Federal awards in compliance with Federal requirements.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

The Office of the Inspector General, DOJ, is available to provide technical assistance to recipients in implementing the audit requirements of this chapter where the DOJ is the assigned cognizant agency or has oversight responsibilities because it provided the preponderance of direct Federal funding to the recipient. This assistance is available for areas such as:

  1. Review of the audit arrangements and/or negotiations;
  2. Review of the audit program or guide to be used for the conduct of the audit; and
  3. On-site assistance in the performance of the audit, when deemed necessary, as a result of universal or complex problems that arise. Requests for technical assistance should be addressed to the appropriate Regional Inspector General's Office, DOJ (see listing of regional offices).

FULL-SCOPE AUDITING

In addition to arranging and providing for the organizational, financial, and compliance audits required by the OMB Circular A-133 individual recipients and subrecipients are encouraged to provide for additional audit coverage, as deemed appropriate. The additional audit coverage that may be provided should be determined based on the circumstances surrounding the particular organization, function, program, or activity to be audited, management needs, and available audit capability. Additional audit coverage could involve such organizational determinations relating to the following:

  1. Are resources managed and used economically and efficiently?
  2. Are desired results and objectives achieved effectively?
  3. Are the organization's accounting system and system of internal controls acceptable prior to the receipt of awarding agency funds?
  4. Are the organization's systems and controls adequate to detect fraud, waste, and abuse?

COMMERCIAL (FOR-PROFIT) ORGANIZATIONS

These organizations shall have financial and compliance audits conducted by qualified individuals who are organizationally, personally, and externally independent from those who authorize the expenditure of Federal funds. This audit must be performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, 1994 Revision. The purpose of this audit is to ascertain the effectiveness of the financial management systems and internal procedures that have been established to meet the terms and conditions of the award. Usually, these audits shall be conducted annually, but not less frequently than every two years. The dollar threshold for audit reports established in OMB Circular A-133, as amended, applies.

DISTRIBUTION OF AUDIT REPORTS

The submission of audit reports for all grantees shall be as follows.

  1. State and Local Governments, Institutions of Higher Education, and Non-Profit Institutions. All completed audit reports for State and local governments, institutions of higher education, and non-profit institutions should be mailed to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, Bureau of the Census, 1201 East 10th Street, Jeffersonville, IN 47132.
  2. Commercial Organizations and Individuals. One copy of all audit reports for commercial organizations and individuals should be mailed to the Office of the Comptroller, Office of Justice Programs, ATTN: Control Desk, U.S. Department of Justice, 810 7th Street NW, Room 5303,Washington, DC 20531.

OIG REGIONAL OFFICES

Regional Audit Office Geographical Area
Atlanta Region (40)
Ferris B. Polk, Regional Audit Manager
75 Spring Street, Suite 1130
Atlanta, GA 30323
Phone: (404)-331-5928
Fax: (404)-331-5046
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands
Chicago Region (50)
Carol S. Taraszka, Regional Audit Manager
500 W. Madison, Suite 3510
Chicago, IL 60661
Phone: (312)-353-1203,
Fax: (312)-886-0513
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin
Dallas Region (80)
George W. Stendell, Regional Audit Manager
207 S. Houston Street
Box 4, Room 575
Dallas, TX 75202
Phone: (214)-655-5000
Fax: (214)-655-5025
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
Denver Region (60)
David M. Sheeren, Regional Audit Manager
1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 1500
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: (303)-864-2000
Fax: (303)-864-2004
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
San Francisco Region (90)
Robert J. Kaufman , Acting Regional Audit Manager
1200 Bayhill Drive, Suite 201
San Bruno, CA 94066
Phone: (650)-876-9220
Fax: (650)-876-0902
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Guam, Trust Territory of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
Philadelphia Region (70)
Richard A. McGeary , Regional Audit Manager
701 Market Street, Suite 201
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: (215)-580-2111
Fax: (215)-597-1348
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
Washington Region (30)
Troy M. Meyer, Regional Audit Manager
1300 North 17th Street, Suite 3400
Arlington, VA 22209
Phone: (202)-616-4688
Fax: (202)-616-4581
District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia

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