The A-133 single audit is intended to provide a cost-effective audit.  Efficiencies can be considerable when an organization-wide audit, or single audit, is conducted in lieu of multiple audits of individual Federal programs.

Any Non-Federal Entity that expends $500,000 or more in Federal awards in its fiscal year is required to have a single audit.  OSU meets this criteria.

Non-Federal Entities subject to audit must:

1. arrange for a timely audit,
2. prepare appropriate financial statements and a schedule of expenditures of Federal awards,
3. ensure the audit is properly completed,
4. submit the single audit report when due, and
5. take corrective action on audit findings.

The single audit report includes:

• the financial statements (auditee’s responsibility to provide),
• a schedule of expenditures of Federal awards (auditee’s responsibility to provide),
• auditor’s opinions on the fair presentation of the financial statements and schedule of expenditures of Federal awards,
• auditor’s report on internal control and compliance pertaining to financial reporting,
• auditor’s report on internal control and opinion on compliance pertaining to major programs,
• auditor’s schedule of findings and questioned costs,
• auditee’s corrective action plans, and
• a summary schedule of prior audit findings which includes planned and completed corrective actions (auditee’s responsibility to provide).

The auditee is responsible for submitting a report that meets the requirements of the Circular.

If the auditee is a subrecipient, it must also forward a copy of a report containing audit findings to affected pass-through entities.  If the report contains no findings, the subrecipient is only required to provide the affected pass-through entities with a notification that the audit was completed.

The auditee is responsible for preparing a corrective action plan, taking corrective actions on audit findings, and reporting the status of corrective actions in subsequent reports.

An audit finding may include questioned program costs.  If any of the questioned costs are disallowed by the management decision, the auditee may have to refund the disallowed amount.

Most audit reports are a matter of public record.  Information is provided on the results of the audit that is entered into a database maintained by the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.  The Federal Audit Clearinghouse serves as the central collection point, repository, and distribution center for single audit reports.

Cognizant Agency – Recipients who annually expend awards in excess of  $25 million have a Federal cognizant agency for audit.  Oregon State University’s cognizant agency is the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Pass-Through Entities – Recipient entities are responsible for ensuring their subrecipient(s) meet the requirements of the Circular and specific requirements of the award.

Areas that auditors review: (but are not limited to)

• Cost Sharing - Is cost share required? If so, has cost share been met and documented?
• Equipment - Was approval obtained to purchase equipment? Was any equipment purchased within the last 6 months of the project? Are title-to codes correct?
• Rebudgets – Are rebudgets properly justified? Was prior approval obtained, if required?
• Dates - Are all transactions within start and end dates of the award?
• F&A Cost Rate - Is the correct basis being used?
• Student Pay – Are time certificates properly signed?
• Reports – What reports are required? Due dates? Dates that reports were submitted?
• Subcontracts – Are subawards reviewed, approved, spent correctly in the proper time period?
• Outside Program Income – What was it for? What method was used to account for it?
• Fee remissions – Approved by sponsor? Was there associated salary? Recruitment and Retention Differential?
• Effort Reporting documentation – Do we have signed PAR forms for everyone (except students) paid on award? Do we have time sheets for students?

Occasionally, the Office of Post Award Administration may contact departments to submit documentation to help assist in the audit process. Some of those areas might be student timecards, technical reports, etc.

If the Department or PI receives notification that a sponsor is coming for a site visit or audit, the Office of Post Award Administration should be contacted so the appropriate personnel can be included in these activities.

To view additional information on Federal audits see the Office of Management and Budget's webpage on the White House website.

In 1998, Congress passed a, now controversial, two sentence amendment to the budget bill ordering the Office of Management & Budgets (OMB) to revise regulations governing federal research grants to ensure that all research results and data would be publicly available through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.  The public comment period generated over 12,000 reactions.  Many in the scientific community feared that such early and unrestrained access would chill the willingness of individuals and businesses to participate in research.  Opponents of this proprietary information could not be assured confidentiality.

The OMB issued revised regulations, effective November 8, 1999, which limit public access to sensitive data that is part of federally financed scientific research projects.  The regulations redefine research data thereby providing more concise guidance on what data can be accessed under federal FOIA requests.

OMB modified the regulations in response to public comment.  Public Law 105-277 now specifically excludes from the definition of research data the following:

• preliminary analyses,
• drafts of scientific papers,
• plans for future research,
• peer reviews, or communications with colleagues,
• trade secrets,
• commercial information,
• materials necessary to be held confidential by a researcher until they are published, and
• personnel and medical information and similar information, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, such as information that could be used to identify a particular person in a research study. 

The changes set forth in Public Law 105-277  further define "published" and the term used by the federal government. 

Procurement contracts are also excluded from the scope of the revised regulations.

Questions may be directed to OSU’s legal advisor at (541) 737-2474.

Additional Information

Federal Register Online

Federal Register, October 8, 1999, Volume 64, Number 195, pages 54926 – 54930

The Office of Management and Budgets (see Grants Management)

OSU Websites

Granting Agency Websites

Other Reference Websites