As a result of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) coronavirus relief funding, numerous for-profit health care entities will need a single audit, a program-specific audit, or a financial audit under Government Auditing Standards (known as a GAGAS financial audit).
Many of these for-profit health care entities will need such an audit for the first time because these HHS audit requirements apply to entities with $750,000 or more in HHS awards. The Dec. 31, 2021, year end will be the first time the HHS audit requirement takes effect for many for-profit entities.
The largest source of this funding came from HHS's Provider Relief Fund (PRF). Auditors of for-profit entities that are subject to these requirements can benefit from the use of an AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) nonauthoritative practice aid, HHS Audit Requirements for For-Profit Entities With Awards From the Provider Relief Fund Program and Other HHS Programs, which provides:
- A discussion of the HHS audit requirements, with a focus on the GAGAS financial audit option.
- Audit scope considerations.
- A description of the complex nuances of the PRF program and how they affect the audit.
- Frequently asked questions, illustrative schedules, notes, and auditor reports.
- A primer on GAGAS.
- References to other GAQC and AICPA resources that might be useful.
Some auditors will be new to performing these types of engagements, and the GAQC advises that auditors who are new to this area focus strongly on the engagement acceptance process to ensure that their audit practice has the right experience, training, and resources to carry out the engagement.
If these resources are not available, the GAQC suggests that auditors consider not accepting the engagement or partnering with another firm that has the appropriate experience.
The GAQC also has issued:
- A practice aid related to the PRF program, Audit Scope Considerations for Provider Relief Fund General and Targeted Distributions in Parent-Subsidiary Relationships;
- A checklist tool, Tips for Auditors Taking on Single Audits; and
- A checklist tool, Tips for Organizations Subject to Single Audit Requirements.
More information is available in this GAQC alert, and additional resources on governmental auditing are available on the AICPA website.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Ken Tysiac at Kenneth.Tysiac@aicpa-cima.com.
