How to read a single audit report
Read it in this order: the summary of the auditor's results, then the schedule of findings and questioned costs, then the opinions, then the schedule of expenditures of federal awards. Those four pieces are required by 2 CFR 200.515 and answer most questions without reading the financial statements at all.
Last verified: 2026-09-20 · Every figure links its source.
What reports result from a single audit?
| Component | What it contains | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Financial statements and the SEFA | The statements plus the schedule of federal awards expended | 200.510 |
| Opinion on the financial statements | Whether the statements are fairly presented, and an in-relation-to opinion on the schedule | 200.515(a) |
| Internal control and compliance report | Testing scope and results over financial reporting and compliance | 200.515(b) |
| Compliance report for each major program | An opinion on compliance and a report on internal control over compliance | 200.515(c) |
| Schedule of findings and questioned costs | Summary of the auditor's results, financial statement findings, federal award findings | 200.515(d) |
| Summary schedule of prior audit findings | The status of last year's findings | 200.511(b) |
| Corrective action plan | Management's response to this year's findings | 200.511(c) |
Source: 2 CFR 200.515 · 2 CFR 200.510 · 2 CFR 200.511 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
What are the two main components, and where do you start?
The two halves are the financial statement audit and the federal compliance audit. Start with the summary of the auditor's results at the top of the schedule of findings: it states the type of opinion issued, whether any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies were identified, whether there was material noncompliance, which programs were major, the dollar threshold used to distinguish Type A from Type B programs, and whether the auditee qualified as low risk (2 CFR 200.515(d)). That single page tells you most of what you need.
Source: 2 CFR 200.515 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
How do you read a finding?
Every finding must carry the same elements, which makes them comparable across organizations: the federal program and Assistance Listing information, the criteria, the condition, the cause, the effect, questioned costs and how they were computed, how widespread the condition is, a cross-reference to a prior finding where applicable, recommendations, and the views of responsible officials (2 CFR 200.516(b)).
Read the cause, not the condition. The condition tells you what went wrong once; the cause tells you whether it will happen again.
Source: 2 CFR 200.516 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
What is in the notes?
The notes to the financial statements carry accounting policies, donor restrictions, commitments and subsequent events. The notes to the schedule of expenditures of federal awards are separate and must describe the significant accounting policies used to prepare the schedule and whether the auditee elected to use the de minimis indirect cost rate of up to 15 percent (2 CFR 200.510(b)(6)); loan balances outstanding at period end also appear there.
Source: 2 CFR 200.510 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Are single audit reports trustworthy?
They are prepared under Government Auditing Standards by an independent firm, submitted with certifications from both the auditee and the auditor (2 CFR 200.512(b)), and public. What they are not is a full review of everything: only the programs selected as major were compliance-tested (2 CFR 200.518), and materiality is applied program by program. For context, 16.2% of nonprofit single audits for audit year 2024 reported at least one finding (data as of 2026-09-20).
Source: 2 CFR 200.512 · 2 CFR 200.518 · Federal Audit Clearinghouse · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Questions and answers
How to read a single audit report quickly?
Start with the summary of the auditor's results in the schedule of findings and questioned costs, then read any findings, then the opinions, then the schedule of expenditures of federal awards.
What are the two main components of a single audit?
The financial statement audit and the compliance audit of major federal programs, delivered together in one reporting package.
How many reporting levels are in a single audit?
The package contains the financial statements and schedule, the auditor's reports, the schedule of findings and questioned costs, the summary schedule of prior audit findings and the corrective action plan.
What does a single audit report look like?
Financial statements and notes, the schedule of expenditures of federal awards with its own notes, several auditor's reports, and the findings schedules.
What does a single audit entail for the organization?
Preparing the schedule of expenditures of federal awards and the federal schedules, supporting compliance testing for each major program, and filing the reporting package on the federal deadline.
Are single audit reports trustworthy?
They are independent, standardised and public, but only major programs are compliance-tested and materiality is applied program by program.
What is in the notes section of a nonprofit audit report?
Accounting policies, donor restrictions, commitments and subsequent events; the schedule of expenditures of federal awards has separate notes covering its policies, the de minimis rate election and loan balances.
Want to read a real one? Look up a filed single audit.
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This is public-record information, not accounting or legal advice.