What Is a Nonprofit Audit?
A nonprofit audit is an independent CPA's examination of the organization's financial statements that ends in a written opinion on whether they are fairly presented. When the organization also spends federal awards above the threshold, the engagement expands into a single audit under 2 CFR part 200, subpart F.
Last verified: 2026-09-20 · Sources are linked on every fact below.
What is a nonprofit audit?
A nonprofit audit is an examination of the organization's financial statements by an independent CPA, ending in a written opinion on whether the statements are fairly presented. It is not an investigation of the staff and it is not a tax filing.
Source: 2 CFR part 200, subpart F · GAO Government Auditing Standards · Last verified: 2026-09-20
What types of audits do nonprofits get?
Nonprofits most often buy one of five things: a financial statement audit, a review, a compilation, a single audit, or a program-specific audit. An audit gives an opinion, a review gives limited assurance, and a compilation gives none. A single audit is required once federal awards expended reach the threshold, and a program-specific audit can replace it when federal money was spent under only one program.
Source: 2 CFR 200.501 · 2 CFR 200.507 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
| Engagement | What the CPA provides | Typical trigger | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial statement audit | An opinion on the financial statements | Funder, lender, state registration or board policy | AICPA standards |
| Review | Limited assurance, based on inquiry and analytical procedures | A smaller organization whose funder accepts a review | AICPA standards |
| Compilation | Statements presented in proper form, with no assurance | Internal or lender use where no assurance is required | AICPA standards |
| Single audit | An opinion on the statements plus compliance testing of major federal programs | Federal awards expended at or above the threshold | 2 CFR 200.501 |
| Program-specific audit | An audit of one federal program instead of the whole entity | Federal money spent under only one program, where the program permits it | 2 CFR 200.507 |
Assurance levels for audits, reviews and compilations follow AICPA professional standards; the federal rows link the rule. Last verified: 2026-09-20
How do you prepare for a nonprofit audit?
Close the year, reconcile every bank and investment account, and pull the grant agreements, payroll allocations, board minutes, fixed asset and debt schedules, documentation of donor restrictions, and the status of every prior-year finding. If the organization spent federal awards, prepare the schedule of expenditures of federal awards first, because the single audit is built on it.
Source: 2 CFR 200.508 · 2 CFR 200.510 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
- Trial balance and the general ledger for the full fiscal year
- Bank and investment statements with reconciliations for every month
- The grant and contract agreements behind every federal, state and foundation award
- The schedule of expenditures of federal awards, if the organization spent federal money
- Payroll records, including the basis for allocating salaries across programs
- Board and committee minutes for the year, signed
- Fixed asset, debt and lease schedules
- Documentation of donor restrictions and of any release from restriction
- The prior year's findings and the status of each corrective action
- The current accounting policies and the list of people who approve payments
Source: 2 CFR 200.508 · 2 CFR 200.510 · 2 CFR 200.511 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Does my nonprofit need an audit?
The federal test is a single number: federal awards expended in the fiscal year. Above the threshold a single audit is required; below it, whether you need an audit depends on state law, your funders, your lender and your own bylaws. The federal rule and the state picture are on nonprofit audit requirements.
Source: 2 CFR 200.501 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
How long does an audit take?
The work runs in three phases: planning, in which the auditor agrees the scope and requests documents; fieldwork, in which testing happens; and reporting, in which the draft statements and any findings are reviewed with management and the board. The calendar is driven by how quickly the year is closed and how complete the requested documents are. For a single audit the outer limit is the federal filing deadline: the earlier of 30 calendar days after receipt of the auditor's report or nine months after the end of the audit period.
Source: 2 CFR 200.512 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
How to choose an auditor for a not-for-profit organization
Compare peer review results, nonprofit and single audit experience, the people who will do the work, and the fee basis. The roles a nonprofit is buying are separated on nonprofit accounting services and CPA firms, and the firms observed on filed single audits are listed on audit firms by state.
Post an audit RFP
Writing the request is covered step by step on how to write a nonprofit audit RFP, with a sample you can copy. When it is public, post it at no cost so CPA firms that audit nonprofits see it.
How common is a nonprofit audit, and where to go next
Audits are routine at the top of the sector and rare at the bottom. For audit year 2024, 22,398 nonprofit single audits were filed, 3,631 of them (16.2%) reporting at least one finding, and 1,454 organizations filed for the first time. The median one covered $2,625,160 of federal awards across 4 programs.
Counted from organizations whose Federal Audit Clearinghouse entity type is non-profit. Source: Federal Audit Clearinghouse · 2 CFR 200.501 · Data as of 2026-09-20
Each step of the process now has its own page:
Every page under nonprofit audit
What are the audit procedures for nonprofit organizations?
What auditors test in a nonprofit audit and a single audit: risk assessment, internal control over compliance, the requirement types, and how findings arise.
What are nonprofit audited financial statements?
What nonprofit audited financial statements contain, when they are required, how to read the opinion, and how many nonprofits report having them on Form 990.
How to prepare for a nonprofit audit
A nonprofit audit preparation checklist: the documents the auditor requests, the timeline, the SEFA, board items and the mistakes that show up as findings.
What are the types of audits for nonprofits?
The engagements a nonprofit may need — financial statement audit, single audit, program-specific audit, review and compilation — and when each one applies.
Nonprofit Audit Requirements
Federal single audit rules, due dates and which states add their own nonprofit audit requirements, with links to the official sources.
What Does a Nonprofit Audit Cost?
Median and quartile accounting fees reported on Form 990, by state, revenue band and single audit status, with the count behind every figure.
Why Do Nonprofits Need an Audit?
Why nonprofits get audited: federal thresholds, state charity law, funder and lender requirements, board oversight, and what the filings show about findings.
Who Signs and Certifies a Single Audit?
Who signs the single audit reporting package and the data collection form, what the auditee official certifies, and what the board's role actually is.
Who Can Perform a Single Audit? Auditor Selection Rules
Who may audit a nonprofit and perform its single audit: procurement rules in 2 CFR 200.509, independence under GAGAS, and who audits nonprofits.
Where to Find a Nonprofit's Audited Financial Statements
Where nonprofit audited financial statements are public: the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, state registries, the organization, and what Form 990 shows.
What Nonprofits Pay for Audit and Accounting
Accounting fees reported by nonprofits on Form 990 - median, 25th and 75th percentile - and what drives a nonprofit audit fee up or down.
What Is a Form 990? The Nonprofit Return Explained
What IRS Form 990 is, who files it, what it discloses, why it is public, when it is due and how to find a nonprofit's 990.
Nonprofit audit readiness checklist
What it covers
- The documents your auditor will ask for, and why
- A full prep timeline, from planning to submission
- What a single audit needs beyond the financial statements
- What to do once the audit closes
A nonprofit audit preparation checklist: the documents the auditor requests, the timeline, the SEFA, board items and the mistakes that show up as findings.
Read the checklistNo account required. Free.
Featured glossary terms
22 terms defined, each with the federal rule behind it. Browse the full glossary.
Single audit
The organization-wide audit of an entity's financial statements and its compliance with federal program requirements, required by 2 CFR part 200, subpart F once federal awards expended reach the single audit threshold.
2 CFR part 200, subpart F · 2 CFR 200.501
Audit & assuranceRead Single audit
Uniform Guidance
The federal rules at 2 CFR part 200 for administrative requirements, cost principles and audit requirements for federal awards.
Regulations & guidanceRead Uniform Guidance
SEFA
The schedule of expenditures of federal awards, which lists each federal program the entity spent money on during the audit period and the amount expended.
Reporting & filingRead SEFA
Material weakness
A deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control severe enough that a material misstatement or material noncompliance might not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis. Auditors report it under 2 CFR 200.516 following AICPA AU-C section 265.
2 CFR 200.516 · GAO Government Auditing Standards
Findings & deficienciesRead Material weakness
Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC)
The federal repository that receives single audit reporting packages and publishes them, together with the data collection form, as public records.
Federal Audit Clearinghouse · 2 CFR 200.512
Reporting & filingRead Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC)
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A nonprofit audit step by step: engagement, planning, fieldwork, testing, findings, the management letter and the final report.
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What Does 'No Findings' on a Single Audit Mean?
What a single audit with no findings means, what the auditor still tested, and how common a clean single audit is among nonprofit filings.
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Where to go from here
For nonprofits
Free calculators, an RFP builder and every guide in one place to get audit-ready.
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AuditRadar compares public Single Audit filings, shows which accounts in your state changed, and links every supported row to the filing it came from.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a nonprofit audit?
A nonprofit audit is an examination of the organization's financial statements by an independent CPA, ending in a written opinion on whether the statements are fairly presented. It is not an investigation of the staff and it is not a tax filing.
What types of audits do nonprofits get?
Nonprofits most often buy one of five things: a financial statement audit, a review, a compilation, a single audit, or a program-specific audit. An audit gives an opinion, a review gives limited assurance, and a compilation gives none. A single audit is required once federal awards expended reach the threshold, and a program-specific audit can replace it when federal money was spent under only one program.
How do you prepare for a nonprofit audit?
Close the year, reconcile every bank and investment account, and pull the grant agreements, payroll allocations, board minutes, fixed asset and debt schedules, documentation of donor restrictions, and the status of every prior-year finding. If the organization spent federal awards, prepare the schedule of expenditures of federal awards first, because the single audit is built on it.
Does my nonprofit need an audit?
The federal test is a single number: federal awards expended in the fiscal year. Above the threshold a single audit is required; below it, whether you need an audit depends on state law, your funders, your lender and your own bylaws. The federal rule and the state picture are on nonprofit audit requirements.
How long does an audit take?
The work runs in three phases: planning, in which the auditor agrees the scope and requests documents; fieldwork, in which testing happens; and reporting, in which the draft statements and any findings are reviewed with management and the board. The calendar is driven by how quickly the year is closed and how complete the requested documents are. For a single audit the outer limit is the federal filing deadline: the earlier of 30 calendar days after receipt of the auditor's report or nine months after the end of the audit period.