Fiscal audit services
Tell us who is asking for the audit and when they need it. We will tell you which audit you need, what it covers and how to get ready.
500+
completed audits
AICPA
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16+
years in audit
Firm figures as of September 2026, from the Dimov Audit homepage.
A fiscal audit is a formal examination of an organization's financial records, internal controls, and reporting practices over a specific fiscal year. The goal is to verify accuracy, confirm compliance with applicable regulations, and identify areas where financial management can improve.
Nonprofits with federal grants, government agencies and private companies facing external review use one to give funders and boards independent validation.
What Is the Meaning of Fiscal Auditing
Auditors set the scope from the governing requirement and from the organization's risks. Over the relevant fiscal period they may examine budgets, transactions, fund balances, internal controls and compliance.
Auditors assess five areas:
Budget compliance. Comparing actual expenditures against approved budget allocations.
Revenue and expense tracking. Testing whether selected transactions are properly recorded and classified.
Fund balances. Confirming financial stability indicators and reserve levels.
Internal controls. Evaluating risk management processes and segregation of duties.
Regulatory compliance. Checking adherence to applicable laws and grant requirements.
The result is fiscal accountability: an independent record of how you spent the money. An internal audit team, an outside CPA firm or a government body can run the work, depending on your structure and your regulatory obligations.
Fiscal Audit vs Financial Audit: What Is the Difference
Fiscal audit is a broad label rather than a separate audit type defined by US auditing standards. What the work amounts to depends on what the funder or regulator requires. It may be a financial statement audit, an attestation engagement, a performance audit, a Single Audit or a program-specific audit.
In a financial statement audit, the auditor asks whether the statements are fairly presented under the applicable accounting framework. When somebody says fiscal audit, they mean one of those engagements applied to a fiscal period, with the emphasis on budget compliance and fund management.
Organizations receiving federal funding can face both. A Single Audit covers the financial statements and compliance for major federal programs.
Which audit your funder or regulator requires
Send us the requirement and we will name the audit. It is one of these:
A financial statement audit.
A lender, a board or a foreign parent wants audited numbers under US GAAP. We run this as a statutory audit where a statute or a parent company requires it.
A Single Audit.
Your organization expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in the year.
A program-specific audit.
You meet the federal threshold under one program only, research and development aside, and that program's terms do not require a financial statement audit. It covers that program only.
A Yellow Book audit.
A state or local government requires Government Auditing Standards, or a grant agreement does. See Yellow Book audits.
A nonprofit financial statement audit.
A state charity regulator, a funder or your bylaws require it, and no federal award threshold applies. See nonprofit audit services.
If the requirement names none of these, send us the clause and we will read it.
What we do in a fiscal audit
Our work depends on the audit you need, and can include six stages:
Planning and risk assessment.
We read the prior year reports, the grant agreements and the trial balance, then set the scope and the sample from what we find.
Controls walkthrough.
We follow a transaction through your own process to see who authorizes, who records and who reconciles.
Substantive testing.
We test selected transactions and balances. Where required, we confirm cash, receivables or debt directly with third parties.
Compliance testing.
On a Single Audit we test the requirements that could materially affect each major program in scope.
Reporting.
You receive the reports and schedules your funder or regulator requires. A Single Audit adds the audited statements, the schedule of expenditures of federal awards and any findings.
Findings and follow-up.
We explain each finding and the reporting steps that follow.
Who Needs a Fiscal Audit
The law, a funder or a board requires a fiscal audit in these cases:
Government entities.
The 24 CFO Act agencies have annual financial statement audits, and state and local governments have their own constitutional or statutory audit mandates. See our government audit services.
Nonprofit organizations.
A nonprofit that crosses the federal award threshold needs a Single Audit; otherwise its state charity regulator sets the requirement by revenue and fundraising registration. See our nonprofit audit services.
Publicly traded companies.
The SEC requires annual audits under PCAOB standards. See our SEC compliance services.
Organizations receiving government funding.
Contracts and grant agreements set audit conditions for Medicare and Medicaid providers, schools receiving federal financial aid, government contractors and HUD-funded housing organizations.
Voluntary audits.
Lenders, directors, donors, buyers and investors ask for audited information before a credit facility, a sale, a merger or an investment.
What a fiscal audit costs
We quote after reading your most recent financial statements and your federal award schedule, from four factors:
The standard that applies. A GAAS audit, a Yellow Book audit and a Single Audit are three different amounts of work.
The number of major federal programs in scope. We test compliance on each one.
Transaction volume, risk and materiality. We size the testing from them.
The condition of the records. If the books are not closed, we quote the catch-up separately and finish it before fieldwork.
A single-entity organization with closed books and no federal programs is at the light end. These are the factors, not a quote.
Does the Bureau of Fiscal Service Conduct Audits
No. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service, part of the US Department of the Treasury, manages the federal government's finances, including payments, collections and financial reporting. It maintains the financial data that auditors evaluate.
The Government Accountability Office, agency inspectors general and contracted independent firms audit the records it compiles. When somebody says a Bureau of Fiscal Service audit, they mean an audit of that data.
Types of Fiscal Audits
Three types, by who runs the audit and which standards apply:
Internal fiscal audit.
Your in-house audit team or finance department assesses internal controls, checks policy compliance and flags irregularities before the external auditors start.
External fiscal audit.
A licensed CPA firm performs the work independently of your organization, under the applicable framework, including GASB standards for state and local governments.
Government fiscal audit.
Public agencies and organizations receiving federal funding are audited under Government Auditing Standards, known as the Yellow Book, or under the Uniform Guidance. See our Yellow Book audit services.
How to Prepare for an Annual Fiscal Audit
Start early, so your team can find and fix issues before fieldwork starts:
Organize financial documents.
Collect bank statements and reconciliations, the general ledger and trial balances, payroll reports and tax filings, receipts and invoices, grant agreements, board minutes, and prior year audit reports and management letters.
Review internal controls.
Document how segregation of duties works, how expenditures are authorized, who monitors finances across departments, and what restricts access to financial systems.
Reconcile accounts.
Match internal records to external statements. Pay particular attention to bank reconciliations, receivable aging, payable verification, fixed asset schedules and restricted fund balances.
Address prior-year findings.
Document the steps taken to correct issues raised last time. Auditors ask about progress.
Conduct a pre-audit review.
Run a mock audit with internal staff or an external advisor to find gaps, missing documents or control weaknesses before the official audit begins.
Communicate with your auditor.
Define the timeline and milestones, identify points of contact on both sides, set up secure file sharing, and schedule the entrance conference.
How Long Does a Fiscal Audit Take
Timing depends on the size and complexity of the organization and on the federal programs it runs. A small organization may finish fieldwork in days; a larger one may need weeks. For a Single Audit, the reporting package is due within 30 calendar days after the auditee receives the auditor's reports or nine months after the audit period ends, whichever comes first.
What Happens If a Fiscal Audit Finds Problems
Auditors report control deficiencies, material noncompliance, questioned costs and other reportable matters. In a Single Audit the auditee prepares a corrective action plan for each federal award finding. The responsible federal agency or pass-through entity then decides whether questioned costs are allowed.
Why Fiscal Audits Matter
Organizations use a fiscal audit to support compliance, strengthen controls and provide independent financial assurance:
Regulatory compliance.
You show funders and regulators that you followed financial laws, grant requirements and industry rules.
Stakeholder trust.
Funders, investors and board members get independent validation.
Funding eligibility.
You meet the conditions in government grants, contracts and loan agreements.
Operational improvements.
The auditors point to inefficiencies, outdated procedures and areas at risk.
Financial stability.
You get documentation for planning and decisions.
Internal accountability.
Your staff follow proper procedures because somebody checks.
Get Help With Your Fiscal Audit
Tell us when the report is due, and we will plan back from that date, whether you need a statutory audit, a Yellow Book audit or a Single Audit.
Related services
- Statutory audits
- Yellow Book audits
- Governmental audit services
- Nonprofit audit services
- Financial statement audits
Treat the information here as general, not advice for your circumstances. Ask a CPA to look at your facts before you act on it.
Ask for a scope and a timeline
Send us your funding sources, your fiscal year end and the date somebody needs the report. We will come back with the audit type, a timetable and a fee.
Contact
Connect with Dimov Audit
Our dedicated team is ready to assist you on your path to financial success.
24 Mercer St, 2nd Floor, Suite 214
New York, NY 10013
United States
Reviewed by George Dimov, CPA. Dimov Audit performs financial statement, Yellow Book and Single Audits for governments, nonprofits and companies across all 50 states.