The University is subject to audit with respect to sponsored projects at the federal, state, county, and other sponsoring agency level including the Single Audit (formerly A-133) which is required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance (UG) Subpart F. Sponsored project accounts are eligible for audit by external agencies or by the University’s Internal Audit department. There are various types of audits, including:

  • Single Audit (OMB A-133) – Annual organization-wide audit or examination of an entity that expends $750,000 or more of Federal assistance in the form of federal awards received including grants, cooperative agreements, and/or Subawards. The objective of the Single Audit is to provide assurance to the Federal Government as to the management and use of federal funds by recipients. The audit is conducted by an independent certified public accounting firm and encompasses both financial and compliance components.  The Single Audit must be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) within nine (9) months of the close of the fiscal year. The University’s Single Audit Reports for fiscal years ended June 30 are made available annually.
  • Contract or Project Audit – an evaluation of a project performance period conducted by an independent auditor or staff from a sponsoring agency that takes place at Pitt.
  • Desk Review – an evaluation of a program, project or invoice in which written documentation is submitted, reviewed and analyzed for accuracy and completeness at the reviewer’s site.
  • Federal Site Visit – an assessment of awardees’ capability, performance, and compliance against the applicable award elements.
  • Inspector General (OIG) Audit – An independent audit or investigation conducted on behalf of Congress by the OIG governing the agency making the award.
  • Internal Audit – An audit conducted by employees within an organization to analyze its business operations for compliance with policy and procedure as well as applicable laws and regulations in an effort to identify control weaknesses and assess risk.

Audit Support

Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) is responsible for coordinating external audits. SPA facilitates the gathering of information with campus liaisons at the School, Department, Institute or Center level. Auditors should be referred to SPA to coordinate the timely, accurate preparation, review, and approval of an audit report. The Principal Investigator and Research Administrator(s) are responsible for maintaining complete accurate records in accordance with the University record retention policy. These records include, but are not limited to, support of expenditures, progress reports, and sub-contracts. Records should be maintained beyond the limits of the record retention policy if extenuating circumstances exist.

Before an external sponsored program audit begins, the audit firm will be asked to communicate with SPA. The initial phase normally includes an opening audit conference with the firm’s audit team to discuss the scope, goals, and timing of the engagement.

Audit Disallowance & Findings

The performing department is at-risk for findings of disallowed costs on sponsored awards and must move any disallowed charges to a non-sponsored account. Audit findings are reported to the federal government and become public record; they are distributed to all federal agencies through the federal clearinghouse. Each department performing sponsored research must ensure that the expenditures reported are in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award, as well as OMB Uniform Administrative Requirements (Subpart D), OMB Uniform Cost Principals (Subpart E), and University policy and procedure.

Contact

Julie Crites, Audit Liaison Manager, is the primary point of contact for external and internal audits of the University of Pittsburgh sponsored programs.
Email: jcrites@cfo.pitt.edu
Phone: (412) 624-2209