AICPA GAQC Releases New Provider Relief Fund Practice Aids and Single Audit Tools
The AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) recently released several Provider Relief Fund (PRF) practice aids and single audit tools for auditors and auditees new to single audits.
Due to the influx of funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to for-profit hospitals and other for-profit health care providers in response to the pandemic, HHS has extended audit requirements to these for-profit entities with $750,000 or more in HHS awards. The HHS for-profit audit requirements include options for either a single audit (or program-specific audit) or a financial audit under Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS financial audit). For many for-profit entities, the Dec. 31, 2021, year-end is the first time the HHS audit requirement becomes effective.
In response, the GAQC has issued a nonauthoritative practice aid, HHS Audit Requirements for For-Profit Entities with Awards for the Provider Relief Fund Program and Other HHS Programs. It is intended to assist auditors of for-profit entities subject to audit requirements related to awards from the PRF program and other HHS programs and their for-profit clients.
The practice aid 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 impact the audit.
- Frequently asked questions, illustrative schedules, notes and auditor reports.
- A primer on Government Auditing Standards.
- References to other GAQC and AICPA resources that may be useful.
The second nonauthoritative PRF practice aid, Audit Scope Considerations for Provider Relief Fund General and Targeted Distributions in Parent-Subsidiary Relationships, addresses audit scope considerations of PRF General and Targeted Distributions in parent-subsidiary relationships that are subject to HHS audit requirements.
Topics covered include:
- Background of the HHS audit requirements.
- HHS PRF portal reporting requirements and how they are relevant to audit scope considerations.
- A decision tree to illustrate how having separate audits within a consolidated entity might impact the scope of the audit (whether it be a single audit, program-specific audit or a GAGAS financial audit).
- What to do for scenarios not covered in the practice aid.
The GAQC also released two checklist tools, Tips for Auditors Taking on Single Audits and Tips for Organizations Subject to Single Audit Requirements.