Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A research university expending $400 million in federal awards undergoes its annual Single Audit, with NIH grants identified as a major programme.
- Is an instance
A non-profit expending $1.2 million in federal funds is subject to Single Audit for the first time.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A purely private-foundation-funded organisation with no federal funds is not subject.
- Not an instance
A sponsor's specific programmatic audit is not the same as the comprehensive Single Audit.
Editorial commentary
The Single Audit examines an entity’s financial statements, schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA), internal controls, and compliance with major-programme requirements. The threshold was raised from $750,000 to $1,000,000 of federal expenditure in 2024 under revisions to 2 CFR 200. Auditors test major programmes identified through a risk-based approach. The audit report is publicly available through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Findings of material weakness or non-compliance can trigger high-risk designation by federal agencies.
The threshold, dated and sourced
The current $1,000,000 expenditure threshold comes from OMB’s April 2024 revision to 2 CFR 200 Subpart F, effective for non-federal entity fiscal years beginning on or after 1 October 2024 — entities expending less than that in federal awards during the fiscal year are exempt from the Single Audit requirement (though records must still be available for review). This figure is secondary-sourced, corroborated across EAC.gov, EPA.gov, and university sponsored-programs office pages that converge on the same $750,000-to-$1,000,000 change; re-verify directly against ecfr.gov before treating it as current if citing more than roughly a year after this note. See Single Audit: 2 CFR 200 Subpart F requirements and thresholds for the full compliance breakdown, including major-programme selection and reporting deadlines.
How it connects to subrecipient monitoring
A prime recipient’s subrecipient monitoring obligations under 2 CFR 200.332 explicitly include reviewing a subrecipient’s own Single Audit findings where applicable — a subrecipient’s audit is one of the risk signals a pass-through entity is expected to factor into how closely it monitors that subrecipient going forward.
Checking this against the current guidance
Whether a mid-year change to your federal expenditures actually triggers a Single Audit for the whole fiscal year, or just part of it, depends on your institution’s specific fiscal-year expenditure pattern. The answer depends on which institution’s own fiscal-year expenditure timing you are working to, and the page above states the general rule.
It searches CASRAI’s indexed corpus of research-administration guidance and cites the passage behind each claim, so you can open the source and check it rather than take its word — and it says so when the corpus does not cover something instead of guessing. Two questions a day are free while you are signed out, no account and no card. Everything CASRAI publishes stays free to read.
Frequently asked questions
If we cross the $1,000,000 threshold mid-fiscal-year because of an unplanned award, does the Single Audit cover the whole fiscal year or just part of it?
The threshold test applies to total federal expenditures across the entire non-federal entity fiscal year, not a rolling or mid-year window. Once total expenditures for the fiscal year meet or exceed $1,000,000, the whole fiscal year’s Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards is in scope for that year’s audit, not just the months after the threshold was reached.
Do we need a Single Audit every year once we cross the threshold once?
The test is applied fresh each fiscal year against that year’s own expenditures. An entity that drops back below $1,000,000 in a later year is not automatically exempt going forward, and conversely a year below the threshold does not carry forward an exemption if expenditures rise again later.
Where can a pass-through entity actually see a subrecipient’s Single Audit results?
Through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, which publishes Single Audit reporting packages. Per 2 CFR 200.332, reviewing a subrecipient’s own audit findings there is one of the risk signals a pass-through entity is expected to factor into how closely it monitors that subrecipient.
Does a Maintenance-of-Effort requirement get tested in the same audit?
Yes. Where a program carries an MOE requirement, auditors test the baseline as part of the same Single Audit engagement, not a separate review.
References
- US Office of Management and Budget Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200 Subpart F; Federal Audit Clearinghouse data.
Where a programme carries an MOE requirement, auditors test the baseline as part of this same engagement.
Also known as
A-133 audit · 2 CFR 200 Subpart F audit · Federal Single Audit
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