A practical guide to Single Audit requirements for nonprofits receiving federal grants, when it applies, what it covers, and how to prepare.

If your nonprofit spends $1,000,000 or more in federal funds in a fiscal year (across all programs, including pass-through funding), you’re subject to Single Audit requirements under 2 CFR Part 200. The threshold was raised from $750,000 to $1,000,000 by the 2024 OMB Uniform Guidance revisions, effective for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024. Understanding what this means before you hit the threshold is essential.

TL;DR

What’s a Single Audit? An annual audit of federal-grant compliance plus your financial statements, conducted by an independent auditor under specified federal standards.
When does it apply? When you spend $1,000,000+ in federal funds in your fiscal year (raised from $750,000 by the 2024 OMB Uniform Guidance revisions; effective for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024). Check current rules at eCFR 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F.
Why does it matter? Required for compliance; affects eligibility for future federal funding; takes substantial preparation.
How do you prepare? Build strong financial systems and grant management before you hit the threshold.

What the Single Audit Covers

A Single Audit reviews:

Financial statements (the standard nonprofit audit).
Federal awards compliance (program by program above defined materiality).
Internal controls over federal awards.
Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA).

The output includes an opinion on financial statements, an opinion on major program compliance, findings (if any), and a Corrective Action Plan for findings.

Who Triggers a Single Audit

Under the 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Guidance (issued by OMB), any nonprofit, state, or local government that spends $1,000,000 or more in federal grants in a single fiscal year must undergo a Single Audit of its grant management. In practice that means any non-Federal entity (nonprofit, state, local government, tribe, university) that expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a fiscal year. This includes:

Direct federal grants.
Pass-through funding from state and local governments.
Federal funding flowed through other nonprofits.

Note: federal expenditures, not awards. A multi-year award counts each year only by what was spent that year.

How to Prepare Before the Threshold

If your organization is approaching $1,000,000 in federal expenditures:

Strengthen financial systems. Chart of accounts with grant-level tracking.
Document internal controls. Written policies on cash management, allowability, payroll, procurement, sub-recipient monitoring.
Train staff. On 2 CFR 200 cost principles, time and effort reporting, allowable costs.
Plan for the auditor. Engage an auditor with Single Audit experience well before fiscal year-end.
Budget for the cost. Single Audits cost more than standard audits, often $15,000–$50,000+ depending on complexity.

Common Single Audit Findings

Recurring findings include:

Time and effort reporting deficiencies.
Unallowable costs charged to federal awards.
Procurement compliance (especially under federal procurement standards).
Sub-recipient monitoring gaps.
Missing or weak written policies.

Each finding requires a Corrective Action Plan and can affect future federal eligibility.

How This Connects to Other Compliance

Single Audit is part of a broader federal compliance landscape that includes:

2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance) cost principles.
Program-specific compliance from each agency.
SAM.gov registration.
Performance reporting, see grant reporting 101.
Federal audit response and resolution.

How Grantboost Helps

Single Audit is fundamentally a finance and compliance issue, not a grant-writing one. Grantboost helps upstream: when discovery and drafting are automated, your team has more bandwidth for the financial and compliance infrastructure that Single Audit demands.

Try Grantboost free and build the capacity needed for federal compliance.

Single Audit Requirements for Nonprofits: What You Need to Know