Who can audit a nonprofit?
An independent auditor, selected through your procurement rules. For a single audit the auditee must follow the federal procurement standards or the FAR when buying audit services (2 CFR 200.509), and the work is performed under Government Auditing Standards. In our data 1,770 firms appear as the auditor on three or more nonprofit single audits (data as of 2026-09-20).
Last verified: 2026-09-20 · Every figure links its source.
Who audits nonprofit organizations?
Independent CPA firms, and for some entities a state auditor or a federal audit organization. The federal rules set three constraints rather than a licence list:
| Constraint | What it means | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Procurement | Audit services are bought under the procurement standards in 2 CFR 200.317–200.327, or the FAR | 200.509 |
| A specific conflict bar | An auditor that prepared the indirect cost proposal or cost allocation plan may not perform the audit when indirect costs recovered in the prior year exceeded $1 million | 200.509 |
| Auditing standards | The audit is conducted under GAGAS, which carries the independence framework | 200.514(a) |
Source: 2 CFR 200.509 · 2 CFR 200.514 · GAO Government Auditing Standards · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Can a grantee perform the single audit for its subrecipient?
Read this one carefully, because it is often stated more strongly than the rule does. Section 200.509 does not contain a sentence barring a pass-through entity from auditing its own subrecipient. What makes the arrangement fail in practice is independence: the pass-through entity is the party whose monitoring and award terms are being tested, so an audit it performs of its own subrecipient is not an independent audit under GAGAS. Separately, a pass-through entity has its own monitoring duties, which it may discharge through agreed-upon procedures rather than an audit (2 CFR 200.332, 200.425).
Source: 2 CFR 200.509 · 2 CFR 200.332 · 2 CFR 200.425 · GAO Government Auditing Standards · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Can a government auditor perform a single audit?
Yes, where the entity is audited by a state auditor or another public audit organization, provided the work meets the same requirements. Federal auditors may also perform the work when it complies with the subpart (2 CFR 200.509). That is why many local governments and school districts are audited by a state audit office rather than by a private firm.
Source: 2 CFR 200.509 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Who is responsible for the annual audit at a nonprofit?
Management and the governing board. Management prepares the financial statements, the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, the summary schedule of prior audit findings and the corrective action plan (2 CFR 200.508, 200.511); the board or its audit committee selects the auditor and reviews the results. The auditor is responsible for the opinion, not for the records.
Source: 2 CFR 200.508 · 2 CFR 200.511 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Which firms actually audit nonprofits?
The Federal Audit Clearinghouse names the auditor on every filed single audit, so this is observable rather than a matter of marketing. In our copy of that data 1,770 firms appear as the auditor on three or more nonprofit single audits, and 2,029 appear on two or more since audit year 2023. Browse them by state on audit firms by state.
Source: Federal Audit Clearinghouse · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Questions and answers
Who can audit a nonprofit organization?
An independent auditor engaged under your procurement rules, working under Government Auditing Standards for a single audit. Some entities are audited by a state audit office instead.
Who performs audits of nonprofits in practice?
Independent CPA firms. The Federal Audit Clearinghouse names the auditor on every filed single audit, which is how our directory of firms is built.
Can a grantee perform the single audit for their subrecipient?
The rule does not contain an explicit bar, but the pass-through entity is not independent of the monitoring being tested, so it cannot provide the independent audit. Its own monitoring duties can be met with agreed-upon procedures instead.
Can a government auditor perform a single audit?
Yes, where a state auditor or other public audit organization performs work that meets the same requirements; federal auditors may also do so.
Do audit firms have to do single audit work to audit a nonprofit?
No. A nonprofit below the federal threshold can engage a firm for a financial statement audit alone. Above the threshold the firm must be able to perform the single audit under GAGAS.
Who is responsible for annual audit at a nonprofit?
Management prepares the statements and the federal schedules; the board or audit committee selects the auditor and reviews the result. The auditor owns only the opinion.
Who would do a procedures audit on a nonprofit organization?
An independent CPA, through an agreed-upon procedures engagement in which you specify the procedures and the CPA reports findings without an opinion.
Shortlisting firms? See who audits nonprofits in your state.
Questions this page answers
Other ways people ask the same things, and where the answer sits above.
- Who would do an procedural audit on an nonprofit organizations?
This is public-record information, not accounting or legal advice.