The purpose of the single audit is to protect the effectiveness of federal awards given. States, local governments, and not-for-profit entities can give these. The objective is to provide an independent opinion on the recipient’s compliance with the state or federal grants they receive.
Single audits are performed separately from a financial audit and require experienced professionals to conduct the audit. The Code of Federal Regulations and state statutes prescribe the rules and guidelines associated with a single audit. The procedures used are prescribed by the Government Auditing Standards and Auditing Standards Generally Accepted in the United States of America.
Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs provide a unique insight into the area of government and single audit services. Because of our headquarters in the Capital City, we have a large government practice. We perform financial audit and compliance services for governmental entities of all sizes and complexities.
These audit services have included preparing governmental financial statements in conformance with generally accepted accounting principles, governmental auditing standards, and governmental compliance requirements, single audits, and assistance in preparing the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for submission to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) provides significant professional resources, practice aides, and guides to enhance the quality of government audits, including single audits. The Government Audit Quality Center (GAQC) is one such resource that requires its members to participate in specialized training and to specifically include government audits in its triennial peer review.
THF is a member of the GAQC. In addition, THF’s Jeff Barbacci and Allison Harrel are both former members of the GAQC’s Executive Committee. This Committee consists of 12 CPAs from around the nation.