SINGLE AUDIT DATABASE INFORMATION

SINGLE AUDIT DATABASE INFORMATION OVERVIEW - SEARCH LIMITATIONS - CONTENT - ACCESS – BACKGROUND - PURPOSES - QUESTIONS (Revised 02/14/2011) OVERVIEW The Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) database consists of information about Single Audits of Federal awards as required by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133 (Revised June 27, 2003). This information is available to the public. However, persons who seek to use the Database are strongly urged to (1) understand the selective content of the database and (2) clarify questions about database information with (as appropriate) the Federal oversight or cognizant agency or the FAC. This database contains only a limited amount of data from the complete Circular A-133 reporting package. As such, any final analysis about a particular non-Federal entity should be based upon the information in the full report required under the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (including auditor's reports), rather than just the summary information from the data collection form. SEARCH LIMITATIONS The current database covers only the data collection form, (Form SF-SAC) data submitted and accepted. Extreme care should be exercised in drawing conclusions between entities/data now reflected in the database and those ultimately covered when all submissions are received for a given reporting year. Accuracy The FAC conducts completeness and internal consistency edits to ensure the accurate electronic capture of reported data, but does not verify the reported data on the form with the reporting package submitted. The accuracy of the information on the Form SF-SAC is the responsibility of the auditee and auditor, who both must sign the completed form. EINs Note that for entities’ submissions using the original Form SF-SAC for fiscal years ending on or before December 31, 2000, only a single Employer Identification Number (EIN) is reported for each entity’s report. This is true even when the entity covered in the database has two or more separate EINs assigned to it. Caution should be used in trying to compare entities and EINs covered in the Clearinghouse database with those reflected in any other source relating to Federal awards. For entities’ submissions using the revised Form SF-SAC for fiscal years ending on or after January 1, 2001, as reported, multiple EIN's will be included in the database. Similarly, for submissions covering fiscal years ending on or after January 1, 2004 DUNS numbers are requested, but not required. Type of Entity The FAC makes no claims as to the accuracy or completeness of the Type of Entity classifications contained in its database. The FAC Type of Entity classifications are only intended to be reasonable estimations of an entity’s organizational type and its mission. The FAC may periodically change the Type of Entity classifications in its database and the classification criteria to suit its own purposes without prior notification. The FAC assigns each entity a "Type of Entity" code based on a few possible sources such as prior Census analysis, FAC interpretation of information contained in an entity's Form SF-SAC or reporting package and in some cases by contacting the entity. However, misclassifications may occur because the information provided by the entity is inaccurate, unclear, or if the information is misinterpreted by the FAC. The FAC may classify an entity as “Unknown” if there is not enough information to make a reasonably accurate classification. Form Item Changes On the 2004 Form SF-SAC, Part III, Item 1 “Type of audit report on major compliance” from the 2001 Form SF-SAC was removed and the items in Page 3 were re-numbered. This item was replaced with a new column Part III, Item 9 (h), “Type of Audit Report” for each major program. Change of Terminology The 2004 Form was extended to apply to audits for fiscal periods ending in 2007. This extension included a change of terminology. Auditors were instructed to consider any reference to “reportable condition” on Part II, Items 3 & 4, and Part III, Items 4 & 5 as a “significant deficiency” per the definition in Auditing Standards Board Statement on Auditing Standards 112 and OMB Bulletin 06-03. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The 2010, 2011, and 2012 forms require the distinction between Recovery Act and Non-Recovery Act funds. Auditees and Auditors have been instructed to mark either “Y” for yes or “N” for no in part III, Item 9d. CONTENT The Database consists of information reported to the Clearinghouse on Form SF-SAC. Form SF-SAC is submitted to the Clearinghouse by non-Federal entities audited under the Circular. In general, the Form SF-SAC and the Database provide five kinds of information: (1) General Information (Part I). This includes affected fiscal and audit period, type of audit, Employer Identification Number (EIN), Data Universal Numbering System number (DUNS) and Federal cognizant or oversight agency; (2) Auditee Information (Part I, Item 6). This includes basic information about the non-Federal entity being audited such as address, phone number, contact name, and the auditee’s certification of completeness and accuracy of the information provided on the Form SF-SAC; (3) Auditor Information (Part I, Item 7). This includes basic information about the auditor and the auditor statement; (4) Financial Statement of Audit Information (Part II). This includes information on type of financial statement and financial statement audit results; (5) Federal Program Information (Part III). This includes information about the A-133 audit results and Federal awards expended by the non-Federal entity. ACCESS The Database was developed in close cooperation with OMB staff and representatives of over 20 Federal awarding agencies, and designed primarily for their use to help monitor and manage Federal grant award programs (including the review and resolution of reported audit findings). To facilitate this use, standard queries for accessing information in the Database are organized to extract the data by Federal agency and grant award programs they administer. The Database is maintained in electronic form and accessible to users with personal computers and Internet browsers. The Database is currently accessed via the Clearinghouse Internet site at the address: http://harvester.census.gov/fac. To access the Database at the Clearinghouse Internet site, select "Access Single Audit Data" and click the "Retrieve Records" button at the bottom of this page. BACKGROUND By Federal law (Title 31 U.S.C. Chapter 75), non-Federal entities that expend $300,000 (for fiscal periods ending in 1997-2003) or $500,000 (for fiscal periods ending after December 31, 2003) or more in Federal awards annually are required to have audits conducted in accordance with OMB Circular A-133 (Revised June 27, 2003). The Circular, which applies to audits of states, local governments, and non-profit organizations, provides detailed definitions and audit requirements, and requires "completed audit packages" to be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Completed audit packages must consist of: (1) A "reporting package" as specified in the Circular (and which includes the audit report); (2) A completed Form SF-SAC, "Data Collection Form for Reporting on Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations." This form is based on information in the reporting package. It is signed by both the auditor and auditee, and used by the Clearinghouse as the basis for developing and maintaining the government-wide audit database. The Circular prescribes unified reporting requirements for States, local governments, and non-profit entities, and mandates the use of the SF-SAC. The Circular applies to any covered non-Federal entity with respect to its fiscal years which begin after June 30, 1996; for most entities this means initial submissions under the revised Circular covered fiscal years ending June 30, 1997 or later. The Federal Audit Clearinghouse acts as an agent for OMB and its primary purposes are to: (1) establish and maintain a government-wide database of single audit results and related Federal award information; (2) serve as the Federal repository of single audit reports; and (3) distribute single audit reports to Federal agencies. Approximately 38,000 audits are filed annually. The Clearinghouse retains copies of Form SF-SAC and the reporting packages for a period of at least three years. PURPOSES The purposes of the Clearinghouse are administrative. It acts as an agent for OMB and its primary purposes are to: (1) establish and maintain a government-wide database of single audit results and related Federal award information; (2) serve as the Federal repository of single audit reports; and (3) distribute single audit reports to Federal agencies. The Database consists of information about audits of Federal awards as required by the Circular. Such information is available to the public. However, persons who seek to use the Database are strongly urged to (1) understand the selective content of the Database and (2) clarify questions about Database information with (as appropriate) the Federal oversight or cognizant agency or the Clearinghouse. This database contains only a limited amount of data from the complete Circular reporting package. As such, any final analysis about a particular non-Federal entity should be based upon the information in the full reporting required under the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (including auditor's reports), rather than just the summary information from the data collection form. QUESTIONS Please see the Frequently Asked Questions page on our website (http://harvester.census.gov/fac/faq.htm). All inquiries regarding the Database should be directed as follows: E-mail: govs.fac@census.gov (Preferred method) Phone: (301) 763-1551 (voice) (800) 253-0696 (toll free) For all questions regarding forms or submissions to our processing center in Jeffersonville, Indiana call (888) 222-9907.