STORM-RELATED SINGLE AUDIT EXTENSIONS
Under the Stafford Act, the following were declared major disaster areas: Puerto Rico, Alaska, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. Consistent with these declarations, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has announced on the Federal Audit Clearinghouse site that is has granted a six-month extension for all single audits that cover recipients in the affected areas and have due dates between Sept. 18, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2022.
The GAQC has confirmed with OMB staff that the extension is available to all recipients in these states and not just those located in certain areas of the states most significantly impacted. However, OMB encourages recipients in the less-affected areas to submit their reports as soon as possible.
On Oct.28, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) informed the AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) that the HHS Deputy Secretary of Grants has issued an internal memorandum to all HHS agencies extending the same six-month extension as provided by OMB for single audits discussed above to HHS for-profit entities that were in states with declared major disaster areas. The HHS extension applies to for-profit recipients in the aforementioned states that have due dates between Sept. 18, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2022.
HHS awarding agencies are expected to communicate this development with their recipients directly. It is also expected that HHS will encourage for-profit recipients in the less affected areas of these states to submit their audits as soon as possible.
This extension will also assist those for-profit entities in these affected states with audits related to the Provider Relief Fund program that were due as of Sept. 30, 2022. The extension for the HHS for-profit entities is only for those entities in the aforementioned states declared major disaster areas as a result of storm-related events.
UPDATED FEDERAL AUDIT CLEARINGHOUSE (FAC) DATA COLLECTION FORM (DCF)
The U.S. Census Bureau (Census) has updated the DCF for audits with fiscal periods ending in 2022 and can now accept these submissions on the FAC site.
The revised DCF for audits with fiscal periods ending in 2022 is now available and can be accessed along with the instructions for the form here.
OMB has noted that for any 2022 submissions with fiscal periods between Jan. 1, 2022 and Oct. 31, 2022, the portion of the requirement in 2 CFR section 200.512(l) (Uniform Guidance) that states that single audits are due to the FAC within 30 days after receipt of the auditor’s report(s) is waived since the new form was not available until late 2022. Instead, these audits will be considered on time if they are submitted within nine months after their fiscal period end date.
KEY CHANGES TO THE 2022 DCF
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number
This is a new number that is replacing the DUNS number as an entity identifier. The UEI is a 12-digit, alphanumeric value, that is assigned to entities upon registration in SAM.gov. Entities that receive federal funding must have a UEI to submit the DCF. Please note that the form continues to ask for the DUNS number information to be provided but the DUNS field is not required to be completed in the DCF.
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) program
Revisions were made to allow for the submission of CSLFRF program alternative compliance examination engagements performed for fiscal years ending in 2022. There is a new screening question during the DCF setup on the FAC. Entities that qualify and opt for the alternative compliance examination engagement then receive a subset of questions that is included in the DCF. The standard DCF is used but the IDES instructions explain how certain fields are to be completed or left blank when the alternative engagement is performed.
In addition, different auditee and auditor certifications are provided when the auditee indicates it is submitting one of these engagements.
Please note that U.S. Department of Treasury is directly accepting submissions of CSLFRF alternative compliance examination engagements for fiscal years ending in 2021 through a Treasury portal.