GAO Emphasizes the Need for Timely Reporting of Recovery Act Audits

Washington, March 18 – As the Office of Management and Budget continues its project to encourage timelier reporting by auditors conducting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act single audits, the Government Accountability Office is urging Congress to consider changes to the single audit process to allow for more timely reporting and the auditing of smaller Recovery Act programs that are high risk.

Under OMB Circular A-133, states must submit single audit reports to the federal government no later than nine months after the end of the grant recipient’s fiscal year, which is usually June 30. The OMB established a single audit pilot program in the fall of 2009 under which participating states would select two major programs for the period ending June 30, 2009, to test internal controls for various types of compliance requirements. The reports were due Dec. 31, 2009, three months earlier than the usual nine-month deadline.