In the United States , the Single Audit , Subpart F of the OMB Uniform Guidance , is a rigorous, organization-wide audit or examination of an entity that expends $ 750,000 or more of federal assistance (commonly known as federal funds , federal grants , or federal awards) received for its operations. Usually performed annually, the Single Audit's objective is to provide assurance to the US federal government as to the management and use of such funds by recipients such as states, cities, universities , non-profit organizations, and Indian Tribes. The audit is typically performed by an independent certified public accountant (CPA) and encompasses both financial and compliance components. The Single Audits must be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse along with a data collection form, Form SF-SAC.
95-685: Before implementing the Single Audit, the federal government relied on numerous audits carried out on individual federally funded programs to ensure these funds were spent properly. Because the government had numerous agencies awarding hundreds of different programs, the task of auditing all programs became increasingly difficult and time-consuming. To improve this situation, the Single Audit Act of 1984 standardized audit requirements for States, local governments, and Indian tribal governments that receive and use federal financial assistance programs. In 1985,
190-453: A Pass-through entity that provides the federal assistance to another recipient. The Pass-through entity is still considered a recipient, but the assistance assigned to it may be "passed on" or "passed-through it" to another recipient. The entity that receives the assistance from a pass-through entity is a sub-recipient . This is allowed because certain federal programs may not have the organizational structure to provide assistance directly to
285-499: A directory and a dictionary , facilitating both recipients and the general public in finding information of a specific program. Currently, programs in the Catalog are being classified by the GSA into 15 types of assistance, which are then sub-classified into seven financial types of assistance and eight non-financial types of assistance: To help potential recipients locate a federal program,
380-404: A low-risk auditee. A high-risk auditee is a recipient which has a high risk of not complying with federal laws and regulations, while a low-risk auditee is the exact opposite. The Uniform Guidance has set certain requirements a recipient must meet to be considered a low-risk auditee. This includes the following to be evaluated for each of the preceding two audit periods: The Uniform Guidance uses
475-403: A Single Audit covers the study and understanding (planning stage) as well as the testing and evaluation (exam stage) of the recipient with respect to federal assistance usage, operations and compliance with laws and regulations. The financial component is exactly like a financial audit of a non-federal entity which includes the audit of the financial statements and accompanying notes. Depending on
570-405: A bridge, providing food or medicine vouchers to the poor, or providing counseling to violence victims. Programs are assigned to offices within a federal agency and may include administrative personnel who work directly or indirectly with the program. Each program is created with a specific purpose and has unique operations and activities, (i.e., no program is made for the same purpose and to operate
665-564: A budget justification document to present to relevant congressional committees, especially the Appropriations Committee. Finally, by the first Monday in February, the president must review and submit the final budget to Congress to approve. OMB is also responsible for the preparation of Statements of Administrative Policy (SAPs) with the president. These statements allow the OMB to communicate
760-410: A non-recipient entity. The second report is about the status of internal controls relative to the financial statements and major programs. The third report is an opinion, or a disclaimer thereof, on the degree to which the recipient has complied with laws, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal assistance awards. Following the last two reports, if the Single Audit produced audit findings,
855-465: A program is called the "popular name". However, the official name of program is standardized within the federal government so that federal agencies can maintain better accountability of their assigned assistance. For example, an individual who receives rent assistance payments through the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program might not know the exact official name of the program, and may simply call it
950-435: A program to see if they complied or not. The examination does not require observing every single document and every single process generated by the program. Nevertheless, the auditor is required to perform enough procedures to form an opinion on whether the program (as a whole) complied with laws and regulations. Due to the amount of federal regulations, the federal government has provided certain guides and literature to assist
1045-415: A recipient may be considered a pass-through entity and a sub-recipient at the same time. Certain programs may require the original recipient to pass on the assistance to sub-recipients (i.e., the federal program requires that the assistance be provided to nonprofit neighborhood watch organizations, and the assistance passes recipient through sub-recipient until it reaches them), while others may require that
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#17328695417011140-452: A recipient's financial records, financial statements , federal award transactions and expenditures , the general management of its operations, internal control systems, and federal assistance it received during the audit period (the time period of recipient operations examined in the Single Audit, which is usually covers a natural or fiscal year). The Single Audit is divided into two areas: Compliance and Financial. The compliance component of
1235-401: A rent assistance program usually tied to public housing projects, also engage in the activity of rent subsidizing. Programs administer assistance by "granting" or "awarding" a portion of the assistance to recipients. These are called Federal grants or awards. Recipients must first apply for the award directly to the federal agency that administers the program. The agency must then determine
1330-427: A term of one year (although some may have a longer lifespan, even indefinitely), and the recipient must use the assistance within that timeframe. This is done because federal assistance is tied to the federal government's budget process, and any funds not used by a recipient within the specified time limit reverts to other uses. As a condition of receiving Federal awards or grants, recipients must agree to comply with
1425-664: A uniform and standardized system has been assigned to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) since 1984. There were precursor catalogs to this one, focusing on particular topics and maintained by other groups, such as the US office of education https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED067776/page/n17/mode/2up pub. 1972 pg. iii. The GSA achieves these tasks by maintaining the Federal assistance information database, which incorporates all federal agency programs that provide grants and awards to recipients. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) assists
1520-417: A whole. After the Single Audit is concluded, the recipient prepares two documents: a "Data Collection Form" and a "Reporting Package". The data collection form, Form SF-SAC, is a standard form which is basically a summary of the Single Audit. It includes details of the auditor, a list of the federal programs audited, and a summary of any audit findings reported by the auditor. The Reporting Package includes all
1615-510: Is allowed to extend recipients' deadlines to complete and submit a Single Audit package by up to three months. The extension may be given automatically, but recipients should still retain documentation of how the pandemic reduced its operational capacity and how the award was affected. On June 18, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo, stating that extensions are no longer allowed for organizations with 2020 year-ends because, "during
1710-407: Is any federal program within a recipient that meets the following criteria. In other words, if a recipient expended a total of $ 25 million or less in federal assistance, then any single program which expended $ 750,000 or more is considered a Type A. If a recipient expended $ 30 million in federal assistance, then any single program which expended $ 900,000 or more (3% × $ 30 million)
1805-521: Is considered a Type A program. Special consideration must be given to large loan programs in determining the Type A threshold. A Type B program is any single program which does not meet the Type A requirements. Example 1: The City of Example operates a Section 8 program, and expended $ 950,000 in Section 8 funds and $ 5,000,000 of total federal assistance during the year. Since this amount does not exceed $ 25,000,000,
1900-414: Is decreased to 20%. This determination affects the entire Single Audit because the auditor adjusts the scope of the audit accordingly. Since the auditor must provide an opinion to the federal government on whether the recipient and its programs complied with laws and regulations, the auditor performs sufficient procedures to confirm the opinion is correct. To determine which federal programs to audit under
1995-468: Is for federal participation in the development and use of voluntary consensus standards and in conformity assessment activities. A-119 instructs its agencies to adopt voluntary consensus standards before relying upon industry standards and reducing to a minimum the reliance by agencies on government standards . Adoption of international standards is widely followed by U.S. agencies. This includes: List of OMB directors. Federal assistance in
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#17328695417012090-788: Is made up mainly of career appointed staff who provide continuity across changes of party and administration in the White House. Six positions within OMB ;– the Director, the Deputy Director, the Deputy Director for Management, and the administrators of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs , the Office of Federal Procurement Policy , and the Office of Federal Financial Management – are presidentially appointed and Senate - confirmed positions. OMB's largest components are
2185-410: Is not expected to perform risk assessments on smaller Type B programs with expenditures that do not exceed 25% of the Type A threshold determined in step 1. Type B programs which have a low risk of not complying are not required to be audited. High-risk Type A and high-risk Type B programs are considered major programs and must be audited. The auditor then totals all of the federal award expenditures for
2280-613: Is part of, or located within, the United States and its territories and possessions. Recipients are grouped into six main categories, as established by the GSA: Every program is designed with a specific recipient in mind. Certain programs have restrictions on who may receive the assistance because of the nature of its activity or service. Examples include infrastructure programs and grants, which are usually restricted to States, local governments, and U.S. territories—because these are usually
2375-403: Is provided and administered by federal government agencies , such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , through special programs to recipients . The term assistance (or benefits ) is defined by the federal government as: The transfer of money, property, services, or anything of value, the principal purpose of which
2470-469: Is the agency's responsibility to adequately provide assistance, as well as manage, account, and monitor the responsible use of federal funds used for that assistance. The agencies then supply the assistance to beneficiaries (known as recipients , see below), such as States, hospitals, non profit organizations, academic institutions, museums, first responders, poverty-stricken families, etc., through hundreds of individual programs . These programs are defined by
2565-460: Is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by Federal statute,…and includes, but is not limited to, grants, loans, loan guarantees, scholarships, mortgage loans, insurance…, property, technical assistance, counseling, statistical, and other expert information; and service activities of regulatory agencies. To provide federal assistance in an organized manner, the federal government offers assistance through federal agencies. It
2660-553: Is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, policies, and procedures to see whether they comply with the president's policies and coordinates inter-agency policy initiatives. Shalanda Young became OMB's acting director in March 2021, and was confirmed by the Senate in March 2022. The Bureau of the Budget , OMB's predecessor, was established in 1921 as a part of
2755-516: The Code of Federal Regulations , with summaries and guidance for these regulations contained in OMB Circular letters. Given the enormous size of federal assistance provided, the Federal government has designed different types of grants, each with its own unique way of awarding and/or operating: A recipient of federal awards or funds is defined as any non-federal entity that receives federal assistance and
2850-724: The Department of the Treasury by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 , which President Warren G. Harding signed into law. The Bureau of the Budget was moved to the Executive Office of the President in 1939 and was run by Harold D. Smith during the government's rapid expansion of spending during World War II . James L. Sundquist, a staffer at the Bureau of the Budget, called the relationship between
2945-527: The United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued OMB Circular A-128, "Audits of State and Local Governments," to help recipients and auditors implement the new Single Audit. In 1990, OMB administratively extended the Single Audit process to non-profit organizations by issuing OMB Circular A-133, "Audits of Institutions of Higher Education and Other Non-Profit Organizations" which superseded OMB A-128. These new guides and provisions standardized
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3040-474: The "rent subsidizing" program, due to its type of activity or service. However, there are many other federal rent subsidizing programs, which require standard program names to differentiate them. In this case, programs such as Supportive Housing for the Elderly (Sec. 202), which is a project-based rental assistance program exclusively for the elderly and Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program-Special Allocations,
3135-653: The 1990s, OMB was reorganized to remove the distinction between management staff and budgetary staff by combining the dual roles into each given program examiner within the Resource Management Offices. OMB prepares the president's budget proposal to Congress and supervises the administration of the executive branch agencies. It evaluates the effectiveness of agency programs, policies, and procedures, assesses competing funding demands among agencies, and sets funding priorities. OMB ensures that agency reports, rules, testimony, and proposed legislation are consistent with
3230-531: The AGO, has become a pass-through entity and the cities and counties have become "sub-recipients", all the while the assistance is still serving the federal program's purpose to prevent crime. Sub-recipients may in turn pass on the assistance to another sub-recipient to serve the purpose required by the federal program, for example if the cities mentioned above pass on part of their assistance to nonprofit organizations dedicated to patrolling neighborhoods at night. Therefore,
3325-496: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 200 with the single audit requirements in Subpart F of this section. The terms 2 CFR 200 and Uniform Guidance can be used interchangeably. The federal government provides an extensive array of federal assistance to recipients reaching over $ 400 billion annually. This assistance is provided through thousands of individual grants and awards annually for
3420-541: The Compliance Supplement) to meet these audit objectives. The auditor must understand the recipient's internal control system to determine if the recipient has proper safeguards that help manage federal assistance responsibly. After obtaining sufficient knowledge of that system, the auditor must perform audit procedures to verify the recipient's internal control system works properly, and the recipient's federal program operations comply with laws and regulations (e.g.,
3515-621: The Coronavirus pandemic, many recipients learned the capabilities and are now getting the experience to perform the objectives of the Federal programs remotely with limited access to their physical office." The auditor is responsible for conducting the actual audit of the recipient in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) and using the guidance provided by the OMB Circular A-133 and its Compliance Supplement, all of which establish certain rules to follow during
3610-709: The Federal Government expects to be considered as part of a Single Audit. Without it, auditors would need to research thousands of laws and regulations for each single program of a recipient to determine which compliance requirements are important to the Federal Government. For Single Audits, the Supplement replaces any agency audit guides and other audit requirement documents for individual Federal programs. Compliance requirements are series of directives provided by Federal agencies that summarize hundreds of laws and regulations applicable to federal assistance and are important to
3705-559: The GSA in maintaining the database by serving as an intermediary agent between the Federal agencies and GSA. In addition to these tasks, the Federal Program Information Act requires the GSA to provide federal assistance information to the general public through the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), a free register, which incorporates both federal agency and federal program information. This register acts as both
3800-519: The General Services Administration assigns a two-digit number unique to each federal agency authorized to provide assistance, and a three digit number to each federal assistance program within that agency. With these designations, a federal assistance program is identified by the combination of both numbers, which in turn creates a five digit number divided by a dot (55.555). The two digit numbers assigned to federal agencies are: Due to
3895-689: The Office of Legislative Affairs, the Budget Review Division (BRD), and the Legislative Reference Division. The BRD performs government-wide budget coordination and is largely responsible for the technical aspects relating to the release of the president's budget each February. With respect to the estimation of spending for the executive branch , the BRD serves a purpose parallel to that of the Congressional Budget Office (which
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3990-514: The Section 8 program is considered a Type A program because $ 950,000 exceeds the $ 750,000 threshold. Example 2: Using the same data in Example 1 with the exception that the City of Example now expended a total of $ 30,000,000 in federal assistance, the Section 8 program would meet the Type A threshold because $ 950,000 is greater than $ 30,000,000 x 3% ($ 900,000). Example 3: Using the same data in Example 1 with
4085-633: The Single Audit in the United States to include all states, local governments, non-profit organizations, and institutions that receive federal funds from the US government. On December 26, 2013, OMB issued the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, which standardized compliance and audit requirements for government entities, non-profit organizations and institutions of higher education. These consolidated requirements are codified in Title 2 of
4180-482: The Single Audit. The auditor must establish audit objectives that determine whether the recipient complied with laws and regulations. They must research the recipient's federal assistance awards and programs to determine applicability of specific laws and regulations. They must understand the recipient, its organization, operations, internal control systems, and ability to responsibly manage federal assistance. They must perform audit procedures (some of which are suggested by
4275-659: The United States#Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance#CFDA number In the United States , federal assistance , also known as federal aid , federal benefits , or federal funds , is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the federal government that directly assists domestic governments, organizations, or individuals in the areas of education , health , public safety , public welfare , and public works , among others. The assistance, which can reach to over $ 400 billion annually,
4370-450: The White House's official position on proposed legislation. In practice, the president has assigned the OMB certain responsibilities when it comes to the budget and hiring authorities who play key roles in developing it. OMB coordinates the development of the president's budget proposal by issuing circulars , memoranda, and guidance documents to the heads of executive agencies. The OMB works very closely with executive agencies in making sure
4465-437: The agencies to discuss issues in the upcoming budget. In July, the OMB issues circular A-11 to all agencies, which outlines instructions for submitting the budget proposals, which the agencies submit by September. The fiscal year begins October 1 and OMB staff meet with senior agency representatives to find out whether their proposals are in line with the president's priorities and policies and identify constraints within
4560-473: The amount of assistance to be awarded and notifies the recipient of the award. To be official, an award requires a contract or grant agreements between the agency and the recipient that details the use of the award and restrictions and limitations. Federal awards may specify a time period during which the recipient may use the assistance. This is called the Period of Availability of Federal Funds. Most grants have
4655-484: The applicable laws and regulations related to the program and its agency, as well as any provisions included in the contracts and grant agreements entered between the recipient and the agency. Failure to do so may lead to sanctions, including fines and penalties, exclusion or suspension from participating in federal assistance programs and activities, and/or criminal charges. Most federal program regulations for which agencies and recipients must always comply are compiled in
4750-460: The assistance and their objectives are designed to be generic in nature, because of the amount of different federal programs provided by the government. For example, many federal programs have eligibility requirements for individuals or organizations to participate in such programs because they have been established by either laws, regulations, or contract provisions. However, while the criterion for determining eligibility varies from program to program,
4845-412: The assistance they pass on. The following is a list of circular letters issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget that provide significant information and guidance for Federal agencies, recipients, auditors, and the general public over the use and management of federal funds, operations of federal assistance programs, and agencies' and recipients' compliance with laws and regulations imposed by
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#17328695417014940-423: The assistance they received. Additionally, Federal agencies routinely visit recipients and inspect their records and statements to check for situations of noncompliance with laws and regulations, and require periodic financial and performance reports that detail recipient operations. Federal agencies also require pass-through entities to perform similar procedures to their sub-recipients, since they are responsible for
5035-426: The audit objectives (i.e., it is the auditor who determines the necessary amount of his/her audit work needed to form an opinion on whether the recipient complied with laws and regulations). United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget ( OMB ) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function
5130-604: The auditor in the examination, which includes the OMB Compliance Supplement and the Compliance requirements: The OMB Compliance Supplement is a large and extensive guide created by the OMB for Single Audits, and is considered the most important tool of both the auditor and the recipient when performing, or being subject to, a Single Audit. It was created following amendments in 1996 to the Single Audit Act and serves to identify existing important compliance requirements that
5225-472: The auditor must prepare the Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs discussed earlier. The auditor's judgment is necessary to determine which audit procedures are sufficient to achieve the audit objectives, and whether additional or alternative audit procedures are needed to achieve such objectives. The auditor is responsible for determining the nature, timing, and extent of the audit procedures necessary to meet
5320-505: The auditor to perform a compliance audit on that program. For a Type A program that is considered to be of low risk, then the auditor is not required to perform a compliance audit, although the Uniform Guidance allows the auditor to do so if he/she chooses. Although the risk assessment is performed by the auditor based on his/her judgment, the Uniform Guidance does have two requirements for a program to be considered low risk. In assessing
5415-616: The auditor's final reports along with the recipient's financial statements. It includes: Both the Data Collection and the Reporting Package are kept by the recipient with copies submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC), and to any Federal agency who specifically requests it. Federal guidelines require recipients to submit the documents no more than 30 days after the auditor submits his reports or 9 months after
5510-541: The budget process and proposal is smooth. The development of the budget within the executive branch has many steps and takes nearly a year to complete. The first step is the OMB informing the president of the country's economic situation. The next step is known as the Spring Guidance: the OMB gives executive agencies instructions on policy guidance to use when coming up with their budget requests along with due dates for them to submit their requests. The OMB then works with
5605-473: The budget proposal until late November. The OMB director then meets with the president and EOP advisors to discuss the agencies' budget proposals and recommends a federal budget proposal, and the agencies are notified of the decisions about their requests. They can appeal to OMB and the president in December if they are dissatisfied with the decisions. After working together to resolve issues, agencies and OMB prepare
5700-514: The comments into a consensus opinion of the administration about the proposal. It is also responsible for writing an Enrolled Bill Memorandum to the president once a bill is presented by both chambers of Congress for the president's signature. The Enrolled Bill Memorandum details the bill's particulars, opinions on the bill from relevant federal departments, and an overall opinion about whether it should be signed into law or vetoed . It also issues Statements of Administration Policy that let Congress know
5795-399: The compliance audit of a recipient with a planning stage and an exam stage. During the first stage, or planning stage, the auditor must study the recipient, determine whether there is a high or low risk that the recipient does not comply with laws and regulations, identify federal programs, and evaluate such programs. The second stage, or exam or audit stage, is where the auditor actually audits
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#17328695417015890-471: The compliance audit portion of the Single Audit). As part of the Single Audit, the auditor must prepare and submit three individual reports to the recipient and to the federal government. The first report is an opinion, or a disclaimer thereof, on whether the recipient's financial statements are presented in conformity with US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, identical to a financial audit's report on
5985-407: The compliance audit, federal assistance expended by the recipient (also called federal expenditures ) during one year is identified by federal program name, Federal agency and CFDA number . These federal expenditures are then combined to determine the total amount expended during the year. Any recipient whose total federal expenditures during a year equal or exceed $ 750,000 requires a Single Audit. If
6080-400: The entity, and perform and document a risk assessment based on such study to determine whether each program has either a high or low risk of not complying with laws and regulations. Auditor may consider numerous factors including current and prior audit experience, good or poor internal controls over Federal programs, many or no prior audit findings, continuous or lack of oversight exercised by
6175-427: The exception that the City of Example now expended a total of $ 100,000,000 in federal assistance, the Section 8 program would not meet the Type A threshold because $ 950,000 is less than $ 3 million, and would be considered a Type B program. After determining which programs are Type A and Type B, the Uniform Guidance requires that the auditor study and understand the operations and internal controls of such programs within
6270-471: The extensive amount of assistance the federal government provides, federal agencies rely on numerous monitoring activities performed by themselves, pass-through entities, and external sources. The most common monitoring procedure is the Single Audit . This is an annual examination of a recipient's operations and records that determines whether or not the recipient complied with laws and regulations applicable to
6365-418: The federal assistance and programs. The planning stage is considered an integral part of the Single Audit because it allows the auditor to design and perform the audit based on the qualities, characteristics and needs of the recipient to be audited. Before determining which federal programs to examine, the auditor must first determine, based on specific criteria, whether the recipient is a high-risk auditee or
6460-495: The federal government as: "any function of a Federal agency that provides assistance or benefits for: (1) a State or States, territorial possession, county, city, other political subdivision, grouping, or instrumentality thereof; (2) any domestic profit or nonprofit corporation or institution; or (3) an individual; other than an agency of the Federal government". Therefore, programs (or "functions") can refer to any number of activities or services provided by agencies, such as building
6555-421: The federal government over the recipient, evidence or knowledge of fraud, and the inherent risk of the Federal program. For a Type A program to be considered low risk according to 2 CFR 200.518 , it must have been audited as a major program at least once in the past two years and must not have had: For any Type A program considered to be a high risk of not complying, the Uniform Guidance requires that
6650-535: The final day of the audit period, whichever comes first. On March 19, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo allowing certain extensions of deadlines because of the COVID-19 pandemic . For award recipients with fiscal year-ends through June 30, 2020, an agency is allowed to extend recipients' deadlines to complete and submit a Single Audit package by up to six months. For award recipients with fiscal year-ends between July 1 and September 30, 2020, an agency
6745-574: The final recipient and requires support from other entities. For example, crime-prevention federal programs may be assigned to a State Attorney General's Office (AGO) (considered a State government). This State office may decide to assign part of its federal grant through sub-grants (also known as sub-awards ) to cities and counties within the State (considered local governments) for crime-prevention activities such as neighborhood watch programs or supplying new equipment to police forces. The original recipient,
6840-477: The fiscal year audited. The Single Audit also requires that a financial audit be performed on the recipient that includes the federal assistance operations as well as the non-federal assistance operations. Tests of transactions and account balances are performed to ensure that the information presented in the financial statements, and notes thereof, are presented fairly in all material respects in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Additionally,
6935-734: The five Resource Management Offices, which are organized along functional lines mirroring the federal government, each led by an OMB associate director. Approximately half of all OMB staff are assigned to these offices, the majority of whom are designated as program examiners. Program examiners can be assigned to monitor one or more federal agencies or may be deployed by a topical area, such as monitoring issues relating to U.S. Navy warships. These staff have dual responsibility for both management and budgetary issues, as well as for giving expert advice on all aspects relating to their programs. Each year they review federal agency budget requests and help decide what resource requests will be sent to Congress as part of
7030-445: The government, basically making sure its day-to-day operations run. Without a budget, federal employees could not be paid, federal buildings could not open and federal programs would come to a halt in a government shutdown. Shutdowns can occur when Congress refuses to pass a budget. The Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) was created as an OMB committee by President Ronald Reagan's Executive Order 12549 in 1986, for
7125-425: The high- and low-risk determination to regulate the dollar amount of federal expenditures to be audited. Although the actual work necessary for a Single Audit is established by the auditor, the OMB has set a limit for auditing high-risk and low-risk auditees. For high-risk auditees, the auditor is required to audit not less than 40% of all the federal assistance received during the year. For low-risk auditees, that limit
7220-445: The identified major programs and divides by the total federal award expenditures for the entity as a whole. For low-risk auditees, major program expenditures as a percentage of total award expenditures must be at least 20%. For high-risk auditees, the required coverage percentage is increased to 40%. If the identified major programs do not meet the required coverage percentage, then the auditor must select additional programs to audit until
7315-442: The management of federal aid received. The federal government monitors the federal aid provided to any recipient and requires all pass-through entities to monitor the aid they pass on. Noncompliance of a federal regulation on the part of the sub-recipient may also be attributed to the pass-through entity because it is still responsible for the funds it passed on. The task of organizing and categorizing federal assistance programs into
7410-595: The objective of the Eligibility compliance requirement that "only eligible and qualified individuals or organizations participate" is consistent and universal across all federal assistance programs. This eligibility universal criterion is called the Eligibility compliance requirement. The Single Audit requires that a recipient prepare financial statements that reflect its financial position, results of operations or changes in net assets, and, where appropriate, cash flows for
7505-401: The only entities that administer public roads, bridges, etc. Another example is health-related research grants, which individuals are eligible for as long as they satisfy certain criteria, such as that they have a professional or scientific degree, three years of research experience, and are a citizen of the United States. The federal government allows certain entities mentioned above to act as
7600-449: The president and the bureau extremely close and subsequent bureau directors politicians, not public administrators. The bureau was reorganized into the Office of Management and Budget in 1970 during the Nixon administration . The first OMB included Roy Ash (head), Paul O'Neill (assistant director), Fred Malek (deputy director), Frank Zarb (associate director) and two dozen others. In
7695-408: The president's and agencies' policies to the government as a whole and set forth policymakers' agendas. During the review of the federal budget, interest groups can lobby for policy change and affect the budget for the new year. OMB plays a key role in policy conflicts by making sure legislation and agencies' actions are consistent with the executive branch's. OMB has a powerful and influential role in
7790-411: The president's budget and administration policies. OMB also oversees and coordinates the administration's procurement, financial management, information, and regulatory policies. In each of these areas, OMB's role is to help improve administrative management, develop better performance measures and coordinating mechanisms, and reduce unnecessary burdens on the public. OMB's critical missions are: OMB
7885-493: The president's budget. They perform in-depth program evaluations with the Program Assessment Rating Tool, review proposed regulations and agency testimony, analyze pending legislation, and oversee the aspects of the president's management agenda including agency management scorecards. They are often called upon to provide analysis information to EOP staff. They also provide important information to those assigned to
7980-765: The purpose of benefiting the general public in the areas of education, health, public safety, welfare, and public works, among others. However, as a condition of receiving this assistance recipients must comply with applicable federal and state laws and regulations , as well as any particular provisions tied with the specific assistance. The Single Audit provides the Federal government with assurance that these recipients comply with such directives by having an independent external source (the CPA) report on such compliance. However, it only applies to state, local government, and nonprofit recipients that expend $ 750,000 or more of such assistance in one year. A Single Audit encompasses an examination of
8075-475: The purpose of monitoring the implementation of the order. This order mandates executive departments and agencies to: Circulars are instructions or information the OMB issues to federal agencies that are indexed by major category: Budget, State and Local Governments, Educational and Non-Profit Institutions, Federal Procurement, Federal Financial Management, Federal Information Resources / Data Collection and Other Special Purpose. Circular NO. A-119 Circular A-119
8170-399: The recipient does not meet this threshold, a Single Audit is not required, although the recipient may elect to have a program-specific audit (an audit of a single federal program, without auditing the entire entity). Once this determination is performed, 2 CFR 200.518 requires that federal programs be categorized in two groups: Type A programs and Type B programs. A Type A program
8265-401: The recipient must prepare a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA), which is supplementary information to the financial statements unique to recipients of federal assistance that details all the federal assistance expended by the recipient during the year, categorized by federal program. The auditor must then audit and report on this Schedule "in relation to" the financial statements as
8360-525: The recipient not pass on the assistance (i.e., State must use the assistance entirely on its own). Some programs award assistance to a pass-through entity who is neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary, such as the Pell Grant program where students apply and receive the aid but it is the university's responsibility to receive and administer the applications and disburse the aid. Pass-through entities and sub-recipients are equally responsible for
8455-427: The recipient, the Single Audit can be simple and straightforward, or it could be complex and troublesome. This is because there are millions of federal grants awarded each year to thousands of recipients, each with its own independent way of operating. Therefore, the Single Audit differs from recipient to recipient and from federal program to program. For these reasons, the federal government requires auditors to perform
8550-414: The required coverage percentage is met. After the auditor determines which federal programs to audit, the auditor performs a compliance audit that scrutinizes operations of the program—examining files, documents, contracts, checks, etc. The auditor investigates, to some degree, transactions between the federal program and other parties. These functions are compared with the laws and regulations applicable to
8645-451: The risk of Type B programs, auditors should use professional judgement and criteria established in the Uniform Guidance. According to 2 CFR 200.518 , a minimum number of Type B programs must be identified as high risk, calculated as 25% of the number of low-risk Type A programs (rounded up). In assessing risk, auditors are encouraged to use an approach that allows different programs to be identified as high risk over time. The auditor
8740-494: The same way as a previously existing program) and it is assigned an official name to differentiate it from other programs. A program may be called by a different term than its official name by the general public, by an entity, or even by law or regulation—such as by the type of activity or service it engages, by a specific project name (e.g., the Big Dig tunnel project), or any other similar term. This type of name, title or term given to
8835-456: The statutory offices within OMB: the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the Office of Federal Financial Management, and the Office of E-Government & Information Technology , which specializes in issues such as federal regulations and procurement policy and law. Other components are OMB-wide support offices, including the Office of General Counsel,
8930-427: The successful management of such assistance. The OMB created 14 basic and standard compliance requirements for which recipients must always comply with when receiving and using federal assistance, and provided detailed explanations, discussions, and guidance about them in the OMB Compliance Supplement. These compliance requirements only serve as guidelines for compliance with the specific laws and regulations applicable to
9025-572: Was created in response to the OMB) for estimating Congressional spending, the Department of the Treasury for estimating executive branch revenue, and the Joint Committee on Taxation for estimating Congressional revenue. The Legislative Reference Division is the federal government's central clearing house for proposed legislation or testimony by federal officials. It distributes proposed legislation and testimony to all relevant federal reviewers and distills
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