Single audit quality under scrutiny. (Audit Practitioner Alert).Firms that conduct audits for organizations receiving federal awards should be aware of recent industry, regulatory and professional developments in performing single audits. Most notably, the quality of audits performed in accordance with Circular A-133 and the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (the Single Audit Act) have come under scrutiny. Several federal agencies' Offices of Inspectors' General recently have expressed concerns about the quality of these audits during congressional oversight Congressional Oversight refers to oversight by the United States Congress of the Executive Branch, including the numerous U.S. federal agencies. Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report for Congress[1] Congressional Oversight hearings on the Single Audit Act. Together with other federal agencies, they announced their intent to consider developing a comprehensive, statistically based benchmark measure of single audit quality and to continue to monitor audit quality over time. Some agencies soon will begin to measure the quality of audits submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse The Federal Audit Clearinghouse, or FAC, is an office within the United States Federal government in charge of receiving, classifying, sorting, and distributing to U.S. Federal agencies the Single Audit reporting packages of millions of recipients of Federal assistance. or single audits. OIG Noun 1. OIG - the investigative arm of the Federal Trade Commission Office of Inspector General independent agency - an agency of the United States government that is created by an act of Congress and is independent of the executive departments findings of substandard substandard, adj below an acceptable level of performance. audits will result in referrals to state licensing officials and, if they are members, to the AICPA AICPA See American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). for disciplinary action. Recent peer reviews and AICPA disciplinary investigations also have found deficiencies in single audits. Deficiencies detected through the disciplinary process could result in published suspensions or expulsions from the AICPA. CalCPA and the AICPA urge firms that conduct audits to consider their quality control policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental applicable to Circular A-133 single audits. Members with questions about single audits should call CalCPA's Accounting and Auditing Hotline at (800) 922-5272, ext. 2355 or fax (650) 802-2350. To view some commonly noted deficiencies in conducting single audits go to www.calcpa.org/members/knowledge/articles/singleauditquality.html. |
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