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FAQ CONTENTS
Basic Questions
1.
Where can I find basic information about the Single Audit process?
2.
Is my organization required to conduct a Single Audit?
3.
Who do I contact if I have further questions?
4.
How do I search the Federal
Audit Clearinghouse database?
Submission Questions
6.
What is required to be submitted?
7.
Who should sign/certify the form?
8.
When is the Form SF-SAC and Single Audit reporting package due?
9.
How do I request an extension on the due date?
10.
Can I mail the 2008 Single Audit Package?
11.
Can an unfinished submission report be continued later?
12.
Can an online Report ID be re-used the following year?
13.
How will the 2008 Single Audits be loaded online?
14.
How do I check the status of
our submission?
15.
How do I make a change to the Audit or Form after it is submitted?
16.
How will the 2008-2010 Form SF-SAC and Single Audit Report be
certified?
17.
Will Submissions be verified?
18.
How do I delete a Report ID?
19.
How do I create a text searchable, unlocked, and unencrypted pdf file?
Auditing Questions
20.
How do I determine if my organization has a cognizant agency or an
oversight agency?
21.
How do I determine the Federal cognizant agency?
22.
How do I determine the Federal oversight agency?
23.
If there are no Prior Audit Findings, is a schedule still required?
24.
What programs should be identified as major programs?
25.
What is a DUNS number? (2004 version of the Form SF-SAC, Part I,
Items 5d, 5e, and 5f)?
26.
Does my organization have to report a DUNS number on the Form
SF-SAC (Part I, Items 5d, 5e, and 5f)?
27.
How do I get a DUNS number for my organization? (Part I, Items 5d,
5e, and 5f)?
28.
The auditee may have more than one DUNS, which one should we report
on the Form SF-SAC?
29.
Is there a central database where the DUNS numbers are listed?
30.
Both the DUNS and EIN numbers have hyphens, how will we enter those
in our electronic filing?
1.
Q
- Where can I find basic information about the Single Audit process?
A - For an overview of the Single Audit
Process, please read the Grants Management Committee’s Single Audit Pamphlet “Highlights
of the Single Audit Process” and the brochure “Single Audit Basics and
Where to Get Help” at: (http://harvester.census.gov/fac/OMBrevisions.html).
2.
Q
- Is my organization required to conduct a Single Audit?
A - According to the OMB Circular A – 133,
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/a133/a133_revised_2007.pdf),
Subpart
B--Audits §___.200
(a) “Non-Federal entities that expend $300,000 ($500,00 for fiscal years ending after December 31, 2003)
or more in a year in Federal awards shall have a single or program-specific
audit conducted for that year in accordance with the provisions of this part.
Guidance on determining Federal awards expended is provided in §___.205.”
Please see §___.205 for information regarding loans as
expenditures. Questions of interpretation should be directed to the contact for
your federal cognizant or oversight agency for audit. (See Questions 5 and 6.)
Contacts are listed in Appendix III of the OMB Circular A-133 Compliance
Supplement at: http://harvester.census.gov/fac/APPX3.htm.
3. Q - Who do I contact if I have further questions?
A1 - If you have technical audit questions
requiring interpretation of the OMB Circular A-133 as it applies to your
circumstances, you must contact your Federal cognizant or oversight agency.
Contact information is available in Appendix III of the OMB Circular A-133
Compliance Supplement at (http://harvester.census.gov/fac/APPX3.htm).
A2 - If you have technical
questions regarding program specific requirements, contact the Federal grantor
agency. If the program is provided directly from the Federal program agency,
the grant award document usually provides one or more points of contact. If the
program is provided directly and the grant award document does not identify a
contact person, refer to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance for contact
information. [The Catalog may be found at http://www.cfda.gov/]. If the award is received from a pass-through entity,
contact the pass-through entity for questions concerning requirements or
specific processes it imposes on its sub-recipients.
A3 - If you have questions about the status
of your submission, please check the status online at http://harvester.census.gov/fac/dissem/disclaim.html.
(Click “Retrieve Records” below the disclaimer, click Option 1, “Entity
Search” under Search for Status of Submissions.
A4 - If
you have basic questions regarding the submission or processing of your Single
Audit package, contact the Federal Audit Clearinghouse at
(301) 763-1551
(800) 253-0696
or email: govs.fac@census.gov
4.
Q - How do I search the Federal
Audit Clearinghouse database?
A - The Federal
Audit Clearinghouse maintains a database of Single Audit submissions going back
to 1997. To query our online database, go to our homepage
(http://harvester.census.gov/fac). There, click "Search
The Single Audit Database". After reading the disclaimer, click the
"Retrieve Records" button. Read the instructions. For files dated
2007 and earlier, we recommend that you click "Advanced Entity
Search" (Option 4) and enter criteria specific to your request. Most of
the search criteria relate to information on the form SF-SAC, so you may want
to familiarize yourself with the Form SF-SAC and its instructions first (http://harvester.census.gov/fac/collect/formoptions.html).
5.
Q - What
is the submission method for Form SF-SAC and Single Audit reporting packages
for fiscal periods ending in 2008 and later?
A - The Form SF-SAC and the Single Audit
Reporting packages for fiscal periods ending on or after January 1, 2008 must
be submitted online.
1. Create your online report ID at http://harvester.census.gov/fac/collect/ddeindex.html
, click on “Enter New Form”
2. Complete the Form SF-SAC
3. Upload the Single Audit
4. Certify the Submission
5. Click “Submit.”
6.
Q
- What is required to be submitted?
A
- According to the OMB
Circular A – 133,
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/a133/a133_revised_2007.pdf
) ,
Subpart C -- Auditees §___.320 Report
Submission. The following must be submitted:
§
A completed Form SF-SAC as described in Section _.320 of
OMB Circular A-133;
§
One
complete copy of the Single Audit reporting package as described in
Section_.320 of OMB Circular 133 including:
§
Financial Statement(s)
§
Schedule of expenditures of Federal Awards
§
Summary Schedule of Prior Audit Findings (see below).
§
Opinion on Financial Statements
§
Report on Internal Control- GAS
§
Report on Compliance- GAS
§
Report on Internal Control- A-133
§
Report on Compliance- A-133
§
Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs
§
Corrective Action Plan (if findings)
§
Opinion or Disclaimer of Opinion on Schedule of Federal
Awards
7.
Q
- Who should sign/certify the form?
A - According to the OMB Circular A – 133,
Subpart C -- Auditees §___.320 (b) Data Collection. A senior level
representative of the auditee and the auditor must sign the form. Electronic
signatures are accepted for submissions as of 2008. For prior years signatures
must be original and dated.
8.
Q
- When is the Form SF-SAC and Single Audit reporting package due?
A - The audit shall be completed and the
data collection form and reporting package shall be submitted by the the
earlier date of either 30 days after receipt of the auditor's report(s), or
nine months after the end of the fiscal year end date, unless a longer period
is agreed to in advance by the cognizant or oversight agency for audit. See OMB
Circular A-133 §___.320 (a), (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/a133/a133_revised_2007.pdf
).
9.
Q
- How do I request an extension on the due date?
A - Federal agencies no longer grant extensions to due dates for Single Audit submissions. If the auditee or auditor wishes to inform the Federal agency they will be late, he or she may do so by contacting the Federal oversight or cognizant agency for the audit. Contact information is available in Appendix III of the OMB Circular A–133 Compliance Supplement, or at http://harvester.census.gov/fac/APPX3.htm
For more Recovery guidance, including no extension for Single Audits, please see Item 7, pages 5 & 6 of the OMB Memorandum M-10-14 for additional guidance:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-14.pdf
10. Q - Can I mail the 2008 Single Audit Package?
A - No. Submissions of Form SF-SAC and the Single Audit
reporting package for fiscal periods ending on or after January 1, 2008 must be
submitted using the Federal Audit Clearinghouse’s Internet Data Entry System at
http://harvester.census.gov/fac/collect/ddeindex.html
11. Q - Can an unfinished submission report be continued later?
A - Yes. Log back into the report using the same password. The
checklist on the main menu will help
you determine what needs to be completed.
12. Q - Can an online Report ID be re-used the following year?
A - No. A new Report ID is required for each entity’s
submission for each fiscal period.
13. Q - How will 2008 Single Audits be loaded online?
A - Upload your complete Single Audit reporting package in a single
PDF file.
14. Q - How do I check the status of our
submission?
A -
Go to our homepage (http://harvester.census.gov/fac).
There, click "Search the Single Audit Database". After reading the
disclaimer, click the "Retrieve Records" link. Read the instructions.
To check the status of your submission, click “Entity Search” (Option 1) under
“Status of Submissions” and enter the EIN or a unique portion of the auditee’s
name.
15. Q - How do I make a change to the Audit or Form after it is
submitted?
A - Follow the instructions below to update an Audit or Form
that has already that has already been submitted:
1. Go to
http://harvester.census.gov/fac/collect/ddeindex.html
2. Click on "update a form"
3. Sign in using your Report ID and Password
created for your report.
4. When you get to the main menu (underneath the
green check marks), click
on
"Revise Submission"
5. Read the instructions and, if you are ready
to proceed, click "yes"
6. Upload the corrected A-133 report (the entire
report needs to be
uploaded, not just the
section that has changed)
7. You will need to go through the certification
process again. This is
done whenever anything is
changed in the SF-SAC or the A-133
8. Once certified by both the Auditee and
Auditor click on the "Submit "
to send it to the Federal
Audit Clearinghouse.
16. Q - How will the 2008-2010 Form SF-SAC
be certified?
A - When the submission is ready, the certifying officials
for the auditee and auditor will receive emails with unique signature codes and
a link to the website. Both auditee and auditor certifying officials are
required to enter their signature codes online to certify the Form.
17. Q - Will submissions be verified?
A - Yes. The auditee and auditor contacts will receive
automated emails from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse as verification of the
submission.
18. Q - How do I delete a Report ID?
A - At this time there is no option to delete records for clients. If you have not submitted the full A-133 report to
the Federal Audit Clearinghouse then simply stop working in that report and ignore it. Do not log back in. After 45 days the system will
automatically lock the report. Sometime in the future, the FAC will go in and purge abandoned reports IDs. If you have submitted a report
that you would like to delete or if you have any questions please give us a call at 1-800-253-0696 to discuss the matter further.
19. Q - How do I create a text searchable, unlocked, and unencrypted pdf file?
A - Click this link for instructions
20. Q - How do I determine if
my organization has a cognizant agency or an oversight agency?
A - According to the OMB Circular A – 133
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/a133/a133_revised_2007.pdf
),
Subpart D -- Federal Agencies and Pass - Through
Entities §___.400 Responsibilities. If the
amount of Federal Awards expended is more than $25 million ($50 million
for fiscal years ending after December 31, 2003) a year and includes
direct awards, your organization will have a cognizant agency. If the amount of
Federal awards expended is $25 million ($50 million for fiscal years
ending after December 31, 2003) or less, or includes no direct awards,
your organization will have an oversight agency.
21. Q - How do I determine the Federal cognizant agency?
A - Cognizant (COG)
agencies are determined by the Federal Audit Clearinghouse. A listing of
current cognizant agency assignments is in the “Cog List Report” available in
Specialized Reports (http://harvester.census.gov/sac/dissem/reports.html).
The following Cognizant Reference Chart shows the Federal award expenditure
threshold for Cognizance each audit year and the audit year used for Cognizant
agency determination.
22. Q - How do I determine the Federal oversight agency?
A - The oversight agency is the Federal
agency that awarded the greatest amount of direct awards expended. If no direct
awards were expended, the Federal agency that awarded the greatest amount of indirect
awards expended is assigned oversight responsibility. Oversight agencies are
identified by the Federal Audit Clearinghouse in the online database based on
the expenditures reported in the year of the audit.
The Federal oversight (or cognizant) status and Federal
agency for an audit is listed at the bottom of page two of completed Form
SF-SAC data for that audit. Completed Form SF-SAC data for any completed audit
can be found by searching the Single Audit database (see FAQ #4,
above).
23. Q - If there are no Prior Audit Findings, is a schedule still
required?
A - If there are no prior audit findings,
the Summary Schedule of Prior Audit Findings is not required. However, we
request that you include a separate statement that there are no prior audit
findings. In addition, Form SF-SAC Part III, Item 7 “Were Prior Audit Findings
related to direct funding shown in the Summary Schedule of Prior Audit
Findings?” should be answered ‘No’ if there were no prior audit findings or if
the prior findings were related only to pass-through programs.
24. Q - What programs should be identified as major programs?
A
- Auditors should take
care to ensure that programs indicated as major agree with the programs
identified as Major in the summary of auditor’s results and actually tested as
Major by the auditor.
The
June 2007 PCIE Report on the National Single Audit Sampling Project found the auditors were misreporting
coverage of major programs. Specifically instances were found where one or more
major programs were incorrectly identified as having been audited as a major
program when they were not audited. This is a very consequential error because
report users rely on correct identification of major programs as part of
Federal program monitoring.
25. Q - What is a DUNS number (2004 version of the Form
SF-SAC, Part I, Items 5d, 5e, and 5f)?
A - The Data Universal Numbering System
(DUNS) number is a unique nine digit identification number provided by the
commercial company Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). A DUNS number is required on
all applications for direct Federal awards. Additional information is available
at http://www.grants.gov/RequestaDUNS
.
26.
Q
- Does my organization have to report a DUNS number on the Form SF-SAC (Part I, Items 5d, 5e, and 5f)?
A - Beginning with fiscal periods ending in 2004, the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) requests, but does not require the reporting of
DUNS number(s) on all Form SF-SAC submissions. Because a DUNS number is unique
for each location, do not use another organization’s DUNS number.
27. Q - How do I get a DUNS
number for my organization
(Part I, Items 5d, 5e, and 5f)?
A - Your organization must have a DUNS number at the time it
applies to the Federal government for Federal awards. A DUNS number is required
under OMB policy as part of the application process. If your organization does
not have a DUNS number, call Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) at 866-705-5711.
The process to request a DUNS number assignment takes about 10 minutes and is
free of charge. You may also request a DUNS number assignment at the D&B
company website: (http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do).
If you already have a DUNS number, the D&B
representative will advise you over the phone. As a result of obtaining a DUNS
number you might be included on D&B's marketing list that is sold to other
companies. If you do not want your name/company included on this marketing list
D&B has asked that you contact them anytime, at the same numbers noted
above, to request your name/company be removed from the marketing list.
28. Q - The auditee may have
more than one DUNS, which one should we report on the Form SF-SAC?
A - If you report a DUNS number, the primary DUNS reported in
Part I, Item 5d should be the DUNS number used on the on the application for
the Federal award(s). If another organization served as the financial
administrator of the Federal awards expended by the auditee, that
organization’s DUNS number is requested and should be listed on Part I Item 5f
on the Page 4 continuation sheet. The auditor should note there is currently no
consequence for listing a DUNS number as the primary number (in Part I, Item
5d) when it is not actually the primary number.
29. Q - Is there a central database where the DUNS numbers are
listed?
A - Only Dun & Bradstreet has a complete
DUNS listing. Please contact Dun & Bradstreet for information or check for
your entity’s individual DUNS number at (http://ccr.dnb.com/ccr/pages/CCRSearch.jsp).
The Federal Audit Clearinghouse will display reported DUNS numbers on its
online database of completed Single Audit submissions.
30. Q - Both the DUNS and EIN numbers have hyphens, how will
we enter those in our electronic filing?
A - When either entering or uploading the DUNS number in the
Internet Data Entry System, enter only the numbers. Do not include hyphens
(dashes). Note also that DUNS reporting is not requested until the 2004 audit
year.