The Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996, OMB Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations and subsequent revisions, apply to non-Federal entities, including local governmental units, that expend $500,000 or more in Federal awards in a year.  A single audit is defined as an audit which includes both the entity’s financial statements and its Federal awards.  The audit procedures governed by the single audit process are performed by the City’s external auditors as a part of their annual audit of the City.

A single audit includes:

• Performing an audit of the entity’s financial statements in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and Government Auditing Standards.
• Obtaining an understanding of the entity’s internal controls over Federal programs sufficient to plan the audit to support a low assessed level of control risk for major programs.
• Determining whether the auditee has complied with laws, regulations and the provisions of contracts or grant agreements that may have a direct and material effect on each of its major programs.  There are 14 principal areas of compliance:

1. Activities Allowed or Unallowed
2. Allowable Costs/Cost Principles
3. Cash Management
4. Davis Bacon Act
5. Eligibility
6. Equipment and Real Property Management
7. Matching, Level of Effort, Earmarking
8. Period of Availability of Funds
9. Procurement, Suspension and Debarment
10. Program Income
11. Real Property Acquisition
12. Reporting
13. Subrecipient Monitoring
14. Special Tests and Provisions (as required by the awarding agency)

• Testing a sample of expenditure transactions charged to each major program for compliance with applicable laws, regulations and the provisions of contracts or grant agreements that may have a direct and material effect on a major program.

The single audit process does not limit the authority of Federal agencies to conduct or arrange for additional audits of an entity’s Federal awards.  However, any additional audits should be “planned and performed in such a way as to build upon work performed by other auditors.”

The City of Virginia Beach expended $130,229,793 in Federal awards during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2007.  There were no single audit findings.