A-133 Single Audit for Hospitals and Health Systems

Hospitals and healthcare systems receiving federal funding may need to comply with Circular A-133

Has your healthcare organization expended $500,000 or more in federal funding? Whether you are spending it for integrated services development, health information technology, or other programs, you should be aware that your organization is required to file a single audit according to Circular A-133 of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), many more healthcare organizations are going to need to perform Circular A-133 single audits. However, even if you are accustomed to filing single audits, you should be aware that the rules have changed. ARRA funds come with an unprecedented demand for accountability and transparency. And your organization will be required to report an unparalleled amount of data. 

Circular A-133 single audit experience

 If you are looking for assistance with these expanded responsibilities, the single audit team at Plante Moran can help. Accounting professionals on the team are accustomed to working with healthcare organizations and have extensive experience performing single audits in compliance with the requirements of OMB Circular A-133.

In fact, the Plante Moran single audit team ranks second in the nation for most single audits performed and a member of the single audit team is on the executive board of the AICPA Government Audit Quality Center.

It is advisable for you to begin working with the single audit team as soon as your grant money is awarded. They can help you look at your internal controls to ensure they are based on the COSO framework which is required for compliance. COSO provides guidelines to design, implement, and evaluate controls 

Extensive reporting requires planning

You can also rely on them to make sure you are collecting all of the information you need for reporting. Because of the experience of our single audit team, you can rely on it to validate your organization’s decisions, policies, and procedures concerning federal funds, including ARRA, minimizing the likelihood of unallowable activities.

It is important to plan for the impact your reporting can have on your image in the community. The OMB requires the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) to make single audit reports available to the general public for fiscal years ending September 30, 2009, and later. Why is this important to you? Research finds that grantors, both public and private, are looking at these kinds of reports to assess the effectiveness of healthcare organizations and could use the information to evaluate your requests for funding in the future.

It is clear that the ARRA funds have and will continue to bring opportunities to healthcare organizations over the next two years. Your organization can enjoy the benefits and depend on Plante Moran’s single audit team for help with A-133 compliance requirements.