How do CPA firms find nonprofits that may need a new auditor?

In short: The public record shows three things a firm can act on: which nonprofits file single audits and who signed them (Federal Audit Clearinghouse), which ones newly crossed the federal threshold, and which ones posted an audit RFP. Form 990 adds size and accounting fees (FAC data page).

Which public records show who audits a nonprofit?

The Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) names the auditor on every single audit it holds, and its data is free to use and in the public domain (FAC, about the data). Form 990 shows size and accounting fees but not the auditor's name.

The fields come from the FAC's current data dictionary. Search and download are separate: the FAC audit search filters by audit year, UEI or EIN, state and entity type, and the CSV downloads cover the current data from 2016.

• The FAC holds only nonprofits that filed. An entity that expends less than $1,000,000 in federal awards in its fiscal year is exempt from the federal audit requirements for that year (2 CFR 200.501(e)), so a small nonprofit has no filing to find.
• Form 990 Part XII asks whether the financial statements were audited by an independent accountant (line 2b) and whether a committee oversees the audit (line 2c). It does not ask for the auditor's name (Form 990).
• Form 990 Part IX line 11c reports accounting fees as one line, and Part I reports total revenue and total expenses (Form 990). The IRS posts the e-filed returns as XML downloads (IRS Form 990 series downloads).

To look up one organization, use the single audit lookup.

Source: FAC, about the data · FAC, current data dictionary · FAC search · FAC, download CSV data · 2 CFR 200.501 · IRS, Form 990 (2025) · IRS Form 990 series downloads · Last verified: 2026-11-15

How can you tell a nonprofit may be changing auditors?

You cannot tell from the public record alone. It shows four observable things, and each one leaves the organization's intent open. The figures below were read from this site's live pages on 2026-11-15, with the date each page gives for its data.

Treat each signal as a reason to look at one filing, not as a conclusion. The filing names the most recently observed auditor; it does not name a current engagement.

Source: FAC, about the data · FAC, current data dictionary · Last verified: 2026-11-15

How do you do this yourself for free?

Use the FAC's own search and downloads. The steps below are the whole method; the work is in steps 3 and 5.

1. Search the FAC by state, audit year and entity type to see which nonprofits filed (FAC audit search).
2. Download the CSV data for the years you need; the search form itself shows no export option (FAC CSV downloads). A free API key, which needs only a valid email address, is the alternative (FAC API).
3. Join the years: match each auditee_ein across audit years and compare auditor_ein and auditor_firm_name between consecutive years (data dictionary).
4. Filter by size with total_amount_expended, and keep the band you work in.
5. Open the filing for every organization you keep, and read the auditor named on it before you use it.

Nothing here needs special software, but the join, the clean-up of empty or inconsistent identifiers, and the filing-by-filing check are the bulk of the effort. This guide did not time it, so try one state first.

Source: FAC search · FAC, download CSV data · FAC API · FAC, current data dictionary · Last verified: 2026-11-15

Where do audit RFPs appear?

Nonprofits publish them on their own websites, and governments post solicitations on procurement portals such as the New York State Contract Reporter and, for Texas state contracts over $25,000, the Electronic State Business Daily. The guide where to find audit RFPs covers each channel type, and the RFP index lists the open ones it has found.

Source: New York State Contract Reporter · Texas Comptroller, state procurement notices (ESBD) · Last verified: 2026-11-15

Which records should not be used for outreach?

Use only a contact that the filing itself carries, shown as filed. The FAC data includes the auditee's contact name, title, email and phone and the auditee certifying official (FAC data dictionary); nothing else in this guide is a contact source.

• Do not guess or infer an address, and do not use a record that carries no contact.
• Do not treat an observed auditor difference, a first filing, a finding or an RFP as a statement that the nonprofit wants a new auditor; none of them says so.
• A filed contact can be out of date, because a filing records who was named when it was submitted.
• The product's own rule is on the contact policy on the product tour page: it shows contacts that public filings already carry and does not sell contact lists.
• Check the email and telephone rules that apply to your firm. This guide is not legal advice.

Source: FAC, current data dictionary · Last verified: 2026-11-15

Where AuditRadar fits, and where it does not

AuditRadar is a paid service built on the same public filings. It automates one step of the method above: it compares the auditor named on each nonprofit's filings year over year and ranks one state's nonprofits by what changed in the public record, with each row linked to its filing as described on the product tour.

It is not a contact list: it shows the contacts that filings carry, as filed. It does not say that a nonprofit wants a new auditor, because the filings record who audited and not why. It covers only organizations in the FAC data, so a nonprofit below the single audit threshold does not appear in the comparison. Each row links to the filing so that you can check it.

Plans and current prices are on the pricing page.

Source: FAC, current data dictionary · 2 CFR 200.501 · Last verified: 2026-11-15

Questions and answers

This is public-record information, not accounting or legal advice.