Help! My Grant is Getting Audited by the Awarding Agancy! What Do I Do?

First, don’t panic. Your next step? Notify Finance. And remember, external audits are normal and are a critical component of financial reporting and organizational governance. They provide assurance to stakeholders that the financial and programmatic reports are reliable and accurate. This helps maintain transparency and trust in the organization's financial reporting systems and processes. External audits are often required by law for certain types of organizations and are generally seen as a means of ensuring accountability and preventing fraudulent financial reporting.

Key aspects of an external audit include:

• Compliance: External auditors assess whether the organization's financial statements and/or reports comply with relevant accounting standards, regulatory requirements, and sponsor requirements. They also ensure that the statements/reports present a true and fair view of the organization's financial position and performance.
• Audit Evidence: Auditors gather audit evidence through various methods, such as testing transactions, examining documents, performing analytical procedures, and conducting interviews with university personnel.
• Materiality: Auditors determine materiality thresholds, which are the amounts or items that could have a significant impact on the financial statements/reports. They focus their testing and evaluation on items that are considered material.
• Risk Assessment: External auditors assess the organization's internal controls and identify areas of risk that could affect the accuracy of the financial statements/reports. They design their audit procedures based on this risk assessment.
• Stakeholder Confidence: External audits enhance the confidence of stakeholders, including sponsors, investors, creditors, regulators, and the general public, in the organization's financial information.
• Audit Report: After the audit work is complete a report will be issued with an opinion from the external auditors regarding their review and conclusion.

If your department receives a notification from any External Agency regarding an audit/desk review for an award or project managed in your area, you must share that information with Finance before any further correspondence occurs with the Agency. Please forward the audit notification and any requests to financecustomercare@ohio.edu who will then work with the department to ensure all the proper information is provided within the appropriate timeframe. Questions? Contact financecustomercare@ohio.edu