Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards Illustrative Auditee Practice Aids
By Tammy Ricciardella
In response to the federal study on the quality of audits performed under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations (OMB Circular A-133) the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) launched a series of task forces to address the deficiencies noted in the study. One of the task forces established was the SEFA (Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards) task force.
The main objective of the SEFA task force was to develop guidance to assist auditors in addressing their responsibilities for the SEFA from an audit perspective. However, since the SEFA preparation is the responsibility of the auditee the task force has developed two Practice Aids as auditee tools. These practice aids should be used by auditees to ensure that the SEFA is accurate and complete. The two practice aids and their focus are as follows:
Worksheet for Identifying Federal Program Information
This practice aid is designed to assist the auditee in accumulating and documenting information on each of its federal awards. This will assist in ensuring the schedule of federal expenditures is complete. It is critical that the SEFA be accurate since it is utilized by the auditor to identify the major programs.
Auditee Disclosure Checklist for the SEFA
This practice aid is designed to aid the auditee in the task of preparing the SEFA in accordance with OMB Circular A-133. The practice aid provides a list of questions that the auditee should use to ensure that they have appropriately prepared the SEFA.
These practice aids, as currently written, do not take into consideration any additional SEFA or other auditee requirements related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). These may be updated at a later date and, if so, information will be posted to the GAQC Recovery Act Resource Center on the GAQC website (www.aicpa.org/GAQC) for updates that are applicable to the Recovery Act.
These practice aids can be located on the GAQC website at GAQC HOME > Resources > Research Tools and Aids. The website reference is http://gaqc.aicpa.org/Resources/Research+Tools+and+Aids. The practice aids are located under the link “Single Audit Practice Aids.”
For more information, please contact our Nonprofit Services Group at 440-449 6800 or Tammy Ricciardella, Assurance Director and Member of the Institute for Nonprofit Excellence in BDO Seidman's Greater Washington, D.C. office at tricciardella@bdo.com.
Information Courtesy:
