(GENERAL-24-57) Audit Submission Requirements for Institutions Under the Single Audit Act

This Electronic Announcement provides a reminder to institutions submitting audits under the provisions of the Single Audit Act on when they must submit their Single Audit Reports to the Department. This Electronic Announcement applies to all nonprofit and public institutions submitting audits performed in accordance with 2 C.F.R. 200 Subpart F.

The regulations at 34 C.F.R. 668.23(a)(4) incorporate the audit submission deadline established at 2 C.F.R. 200.512(a)(1), through reference to the Single Audit Act. Institutions under the Single Audit Act have an audit submission deadline of the earlier of 30 calendar days after receipt of the audit report, or nine months after the end of the audit period. For purposes of establishing the date of the institution’s receipt of the audit report to determine whether a submission under the Single Audit Act meets the past performance requirements at 34 C.F.R. 668.174(a)(3), the Department will use the auditor signature date. When there are separate auditor signature dates on the audited financial statements and the compliance audit, the relevant date is the later of those two dates.

The Department revised the submission deadline for proprietary and foreign institutions to the earlier of 30 calendar days after the date of the auditor’s reports or six months after the last day of the institution’s fiscal year to more closely reflect the audit submission requirement for institutions submitting audits under the Single Audit Act. In making that revision, the Department stated that it was doing so because it created equitable treatment across institution types. The revision to the submission requirements for proprietary institutions aligns with the already existing Single Audit submission requirements and enables the Department to have timelier financial and compliance information on institutions participating in the Title IV, HEA programs.

Any Single Audit Report submitted to the Department after June 30, 2024, will be evaluated for timely submission based on the 2 C.F.R. 200.512(a)(1) criteria that the audit report must be submitted by the earlier of 30 days after receipt of the audit report, or nine months after the end of the audit period.

For questions concerning the Electronic Submission of Annual Financial Statements and Compliance Audit requirement, please send an email to: fsaezaudit@ed.gov.