Service / Audit Preparation
We get your books, schedules and documents ready for your independent auditor, and answer the auditor’s accounting questions, so your team isn’t rebuilding the year against a deadline. The audit itself is performed by your CPA firm.
What we prepare
We work from your auditor’s request list and close every item on it, then stay on call while fieldwork runs.
03 During Fieldwork
Your Audit File
ReadyAuditor Questions
AnsweredAdjusting Entries
PostedFinal Statements
Tied OutWho does what
An audit goes faster when the auditor spends the time testing, not waiting. Our part is the books and the file: reconciled accounts, schedules that tie to the statements, and answers to the auditor’s accounting questions. The auditor’s part is independent: the testing, the adjustments they propose, and the opinion. Your board or audit committee hires the auditor, and the opinion is theirs alone.
Not sure whether you need an audit, a review or a compilation? Start with audit vs review vs compilation. For the 90-day timeline and document list, use our nonprofit audit preparation checklist.
Audit support levels
Handled separately from monthly bookkeeping, because auditor requests and required schedules change from year to year.
Per audit year
$1,500 – $2,500 / yr
Books we kept all year, a standard request list, a few grants, and one round of follow-up questions from the auditor.
Per audit year
$3,000 – $5,000 / yr
Many grants or government funding, schedules built from scratch, a first audit with opening balances, or several rounds of questions and adjusting entries.
Quoted
Quoted
A federal Single Audit, or a year when the books were kept by someone else. We look at the year first, then quote in writing.
What it costs
We look at last year’s request list and this year’s grants, tell you the level in writing, and hold the price unless the auditor’s scope changes.
Audit support · per audit year
| Level | Fee |
|---|---|
| Light | $1,500 – $2,500 |
| Moderate | $3,000 – $5,000 |
| Federal Single Audit | Quoted |
| Books kept elsewhere for the year | Quoted |
What sets the level
| If your year has | Usually |
|---|---|
| Books kept by GivingArc all year | Light |
| A few grants, mostly private | Light |
| Many grants or government funding | Moderate |
| A first audit, opening balances tested | Moderate |
| $1M+ in federal awards spent | Quoted |
Audit support is added to your monthly bookkeeping, never instead of it, and it does not include the auditor’s own fee. If the books need cleanup before the audit can start, we quote that first.
When an audit is required
This is a summary, not legal advice. Your grant agreements can require an audit at any size.
California · federal · funders
California: a charity registered with the Attorney General needs audited financial statements in any year its gross revenue reaches $2,000,000, not counting government grants and contracts that require their own accounting (Government Code §12586(e)).
Federal: spending $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a fiscal year requires a Single Audit (2 CFR 200.501).
Funders: some foundation and government grants ask for your latest audited statements with the application.
FAQ
What we do, what your auditor does, and what it costs.
No. Your audit is performed by an independent CPA firm that your board or audit committee hires. We prepare the books, schedules and documents the auditor asks for, and answer the auditor’s accounting questions. Keeping the audit and the bookkeeping with different firms is what keeps the audit independent.
It is priced per audit year, separately from monthly bookkeeping. Light audit support is $1,500 – $2,500 per year, and moderate audit support is $3,000 – $5,000 per year. A federal Single Audit, or a year when the books were kept elsewhere, is quoted after we look at the year. We confirm the level in writing before fieldwork starts.
Light: books we kept all year, a standard request list from the auditor, a few grants, and one round of follow-up questions. Moderate: many grants or government funding, schedules built from scratch, a first audit where opening balances are tested, or several rounds of auditor questions and adjusting entries.
No. Monthly bookkeeping keeps your books reconciled and audit-ready all year. Audit support is handled separately, since the level of auditor requests and required schedules can vary from year to year.
California requires audited financial statements once a charity registered with the Attorney General has gross revenue of $2,000,000 or more in a fiscal year, not counting government grants and contracts that require their own accounting (Government Code section 12586(e)). A nonprofit that spends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a year needs a Single Audit (2 CFR 200.501). Some funders also ask for audited statements below those amounts.
Audit preparation works best on books kept right all year. See our nonprofit bookkeeping.
→ Schedule a Call Or see bookkeeping pricing →Prices Published
CPA Oversight
We Prepare · Your Auditor Audits
