Free tool · Excel workbook · No email required
Find out where your organization stands before the auditor does. Eighty-five yes-or-no checkpoints across every compliance requirement in the single audit, each with the exact rule cited and the document that proves it — scored automatically so you know which areas are ready and which would draw a finding.
Single-Audit-Readiness-Check-FREE.xlsx v1.0
Download the readiness checkWho it’s for
The executive director, finance director or grants manager of a nonprofit, small local government, school district or tribal organization that receives federal money — directly or passed through a state agency — and wants to walk into the audit knowing what the auditor will find. If you spend less than $1,000,000 a year in federal awards you may not need a single audit at all, but nearly every checkpoint still applies the moment you touch a federal dollar.
What it covers
The workbook follows the structure auditors actually use — the twelve compliance requirements in the OMB Compliance Supplement — plus the things that happen before and after the audit itself.
| Area | What you’ll check |
|---|---|
| Before the audit | Whether you cross the threshold, who’s engaged, the SEFA, the Federal Audit Clearinghouse due date and who signs |
| Internal controls | Written procedures, award-level accounting, budget-to-actual reviews, separation of duties |
| A – Activities allowed | Award restrictions, prior approvals, scope changes |
| B – Allowable costs | Reasonable and allocable, time-and-effort records, leave, indirect costs and the 15% de minimis rate |
| C – Cash management | Drawdown timing, interest-bearing accounts, reimbursement support |
| E – Eligibility | Participant and subrecipient eligibility files and redeterminations |
| F – Equipment | The $10,000 threshold, property records, the two-year inventory, disposition |
| G – Matching | Cost share tracking, valuation, maintenance of effort |
| H – Period of performance | Obligation dates, pre-award costs, extensions, closeout |
| I – Procurement | Written procedures, conflict of interest, the $15,000 and $350,000 thresholds, SAM.gov checks, contract clauses |
| J – Program income | Identifying it, applying the right method, reporting it |
| L – Reporting | The report calendar, ledger tie-out, FFATA subaward reporting in SAM.gov |
| M – Subrecipient monitoring | Subrecipient vs. contractor, risk assessment, agreement contents, audit follow-up |
| N – Special tests | Program-specific tests from Part 4, Davis-Bacon, record retention |
| Findings follow-up | The summary schedule of prior findings, the corrective action plan, low-risk auditee status |
How to use it
- Open the Readiness Check tab and work down the checkpoints. For each one, pick Yes, Partial, No or N/A in the yellow Status column. Plan on about ninety minutes with your books open.
- Click any citation to open the exact paragraph on eCFR. Every row also says why the auditor cares and which document proves it.
- Read the Where You Stand tab. Each area scores itself: 85% and above is Ready, 60–84% is Work to do, under 60% is At risk.
- Build the audit file from the Document Pull-List tab — every piece of evidence the checkpoints ask for, in one list, with a Have it? column.
What the score means — and doesn’t
Ready does not mean the auditor will find nothing. It means that when the auditor asks for the procurement policy, the time-and-effort report or the subrecipient risk assessment, you can put your hand on it. Most findings are not about doing something wrong; they are about being unable to show that you did it right. A “No” today costs you an afternoon. The same “No” discovered by the auditor is a finding on a public report, a corrective action plan, and — on a repeat — the loss of low-risk auditee status.
Questioned costs cluster in two areas, Allowable Costs and Procurement. A “No” in either of those can cost money, not just a write-up, so weight them accordingly.
The rulebook is moving. OMB proposed a rewrite of 2 CFR 200 on May 29, 2026. The thresholds above don’t change under the proposal, but twelve of the checkpoints would — they’re marked in the workbook’s “2026 proposed rule” column. This version reflects the rule in force today; a new edition will be issued here when the revision is final.
When you need the fixes, not just the score
The readiness check tells you where you stand. The Findings Fix-It Pack — in progress now — is for what comes after: for each of the recurring finding types, the corrective action plan language auditors accept, the policy that closes the finding, the board resolution, and the evidence file to keep. It pairs with the free workbook row by row. To hear when it’s ready, email [email protected] with the word “Fix-It” and nothing else is required.
Who is behind this
Uniform Guidance Playbook is written by a practitioner who has spent fourteen years on the receiving end of federal funds — as a bookkeeper, program coordinator and department director inside a public agency that lives under 2 CFR 200 every day — and who got tired of watching small organizations get findings for paperwork they never knew they needed. Every checkpoint is drawn from the primary source and cited, so you never have to take our word for it.
This is a readiness check, not legal advice, audit advice or a substitute for your auditor or counsel. It reflects the federal rules only; your state, your pass-through entity and your award terms may add requirements, and where they differ the stricter rule applies. Sources: eCFR 2 CFR Part 200 (89 FR 30136); OMB 2025 Compliance Supplement, Part 3; FAR 2.101 as adjusted effective October 1, 2025 (90 FR 41871); OMB proposed rule 91 FR 32198 (May 29, 2026); GAO-24-106173.