Financial Audits of State and Local Governments utilize many of the same processes and procedures as assurance engagements of other organizations with a few major exceptions including (but not limited to) multiple opinion units, the prevalence of group audits and the importance of compliance with laws, regulations, contracts and grant award provisions. But, many governments are required to have engagements in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and may be required to have engagements requiring ‘single audits’ in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. Hear the entirety of the audit cycle for both the financial audit and single audit from two industry experts, based on CCH’s Knowledge-Based Audits™ of State and Local Governments with Single Audits.
Publication Date: April 2020
Topics Covered
- Financial Audits of States and Local Governments
- Determining the Reporting Entity
- GAAS Provisions Specific to Governments
- GAGAS
- Opinion Units versus Major Funds
- Group Audits and Governments
- Applying the KBA Methodology to Government Audits
- Preliminary Engagement Activities and Audit Planning
- Obtaining an Understanding of the Government and Its Environment
- Assessing the Risk of Material Misstatement
- Designing Audit Procedures in Response to Assessed Risks
- Extent of Audit Procedures and Sampling
- Using Analytical Procedures in Substantive Tests
- Audit Considerations at the Account Balance, Transaction Class, and Disclosure Level for Governments
- Performing General Audit Procedures
- Concluding the Audit
- Auditor's Reports
- Single Audits
- What are Single Audits in accordance with Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200 (Uniform Guidance)?
- Applying the KBA Methodology to a Compliance Audit such as the Single Audit
- Planning the Single Audit
- Internal Controls
- Compliance Testing
- Concluding and Reporting
Learning Objectives
- Differentiate between financial audits for states and local governments and other organizations
- Identify the provisions of GAAS specific to governments
- Identify the basics of Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS)
- Recognize and realize why multiple opinion units occur in many government audits
- Recognize how to utilize the KBA Methodology in a governmental audit
- Identify the basics of Single Audits in accordance with Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200
- Recognize and apply the KBA Methodology to a single audit
- Identify the importance, tools and techniques of compliance auditing
- Identify reporting for financial audits of governments and single audits
- Describe engagements where Single Audit Requirements are applicable
- Identify examples of a leverage ratio
- Describe parts of Uniform Guidance including the general provisions
- Identify the steps with respect to major program determination
- Identify responsibilities of an auditor with respect to compliance testing
Level
Basic
Instructional Method
Self-Study
NASBA Field of Study
Auditing (Governmental) (8 hours)
Program Prerequisites
None
Advance Preparation
None
Instructors
Eric S. Berman
Eric S. Berman, MSA, CPA, CGMA, has over 30 years of governmental accounting and auditing experience. Until he retires from the firm on April 30, 2025, he serves as a Government Advisory Services Partner with Eide Bailly LLP. Before Eide Bailly LLP, he was a quality control principal with a public accounting firm in California.
Eric is the author of the Governmental Library for preparers for CCH. The Government Library also offers in-depth, interpretive guidance. In addition to the Governmental GAAP Guide, users can access CCH’s Governmental GAAP Practice and Disclosures Manual and the Governmental GAAP Update Service.
Eric’s public-sector experience includes being a Deputy Comptroller for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2010, and the Chief Financial Officer of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust from 1994 to 1999. Eric is a licensed CPA in Massachusetts. He obtained an M.S. in Accountancy from Bentley University. Eric currently serves on the Association of Government Accountants (AGA)’s Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB). Eric is also a past National Treasurer of AGA, serving from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. He also recently co-chaired AGA’s leadership development committee and served on the finance and budget committee. Eric previously represented the AGA as the Vice Chairman of the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Council to the GASB. He also chaired the AGA’s Audit Committee and previously, the FMSB. He was also a previous chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA’s) Governmental Performance and Accountability Committee and is a former member of the AICPA’s State and Local Government Expert Panel. Eric was a member of the GASB’s task force reexamining the state and local governmental financial reporting model and has served on previous GASB task forces and working groups assisting in developing and implementing standards.
Eric is also a past member of the California Society of CPAs' Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee and is past chair of the same committee for the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. He was also the founder and treasurer of a not-for-profit performing arts organization in Pennsylvania. Eric is frequently called upon to consult and train state and local governments throughout the country on governmental accounting and auditing. Eric shuttles between Massachusetts and Washington, DC.
Eric is also a past member of the California Society of CPAs’ Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee and is past chair of the same committee for the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. He was also the founder and treasurer of a not-for-profit performing arts organization in Pennsylvania. Eric is frequently called upon to consult and train state and local governments throughout the country on governmental accounting and auditing.
Kurt Schlicker
Kurt Schlicker, CPA, works primarily with governments and nonprofits. His experience includes auditing state and local governments, special districts, nonprofit entities including higher education, healthcare and SBA loan program organizations, just to name a few. He has audited grants from almost every major U.S. Federal Agency. He is also a member of Eide Bailly's Single Audit Technical Issues Committee which assists the firm in staying compliant with federal grant auditing requirements as well as the firm’s Government COVID-19 Response Team, which monitors technical issues that relate to governmental and grant accounting surrounding COVID-19.