[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 236 (Wednesday, December 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76581-76583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30986]
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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Information Collection; Request for Public Comments
AGENCY: Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and
Budget.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) invites
the general public and Federal agencies to comment on a revision of an
approved information collection, Form SF-SAC, that is used to report
audit results, audit findings, and questioned costs as required by the
Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) and 2 CFR
part 200, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit
[[Page 76582]]
Requirements for Federal Awards.'' A draft of the proposed Form SF-SAC
can be reviewed at the OMB Grants Management Internet home page at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/grants/grants_docs.html. The Form SF-SAC
instructions contain a detailed listing of the proposed changes to the
Form SF-SAC.
DATES: Submit comments on or before February 8, 2016. Late comments
will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Due to potential delays in OMB's receipt and processing of
mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service, we encourage respondents to
submit comments electronically to ensure timely receipt. We cannot
guarantee that mailed comments will be received before the comment
closing date.
Electronic mail comments may be submitted to: Gilbert Tran at
[email protected]. Please include ``2016 Form SF-SAC Comments''
in the subject line and the full body of your comments in the text of
the electronic message, not as an attachment. Please include your name,
title, organization, postal address, telephone number and email address
in the text of the message. Comments may also be submitted via
facsimile to 202-395-3952 (with ``2016 Form SF-SAC Comments'' as title
page).
Comments may be mailed to Gilbert Tran, Office of Federal Financial
Management, Office of Management and Budget, Room 6025, New Executive
Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.
In general, responses will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All comments will also be a matter of public
record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gilbert Tran, Office of Federal
Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget, (202) 395-3052.
The proposed revisions to the Information Collection Form, Form SF-SAC
can be obtained by contacting the Office of Federal Financial
Management as indicated above or by download from the OMB Grants
Management home page on at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This is a revision of a currently approved form with changes of
Form SF-SAC, OMB Control Number 0348-0057.
Non-Federal entities (states, local governments, Indian tribes,
institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations) that
expend a total amount of Federal awards equal to or in excess of
$750,000 in any fiscal year are required by the Single Audit Act
Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.C. 7501, et. seq.) (Act) and 2 CFR part 200,
``Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards,'' (Uniform Guidance) to have audits of
their Federal awards and file the resulting reporting packages and data
collection forms (Single Audit reports) with the Federal Audit
Clearinghouse (FAC). The data collection form (Form SF-SAC) is Appendix
X to 2 CFR part 200. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has
designated the U.S. Bureau of the Census as the FAC, which serves as
the government-wide repository of record for Single Audit reports. The
Uniform Guidance imposes new reporting requirements effective for non-
Federal entity fiscal years beginning on or after December 26, 2014.
The first year under the new requirements is the fiscal year ending on
or after December 26, 2015.
The Single Audit process is the primary method Federal agencies and
pass-through entities use to provide oversight for Federal awards and
reduce risk of non-compliance and improper payments. This includes
following up on audit findings and questioned costs. The proposed
changes make revisions to the Form SF-SAC that reflect Uniform Guidance
requirements; revise some existing data elements; and add data elements
that would make the reports easier for Federal agencies, pass-through
entities, and the public to use. The changes would also delete data
elements that are no longer needed.
In particular, the Uniform Guidance requires the FAC to make Single
Audit reports publically available on a Web site. This represents a
change as the FAC previously only made publically available the Form
SF-SAC data. The Uniform Guidance also requires non-Federal entities to
sign a statement that the reporting package does not include protected
personally identifiable information and that the FAC is authorized to
make the reporting package and the data collection form publicly
available on a Web site. An exception is provided in 2 CFR
200.512(b)(2) for Indian tribes and tribal organizations to opt not to
authorize the public display of their reporting packages on the FAC Web
site. The revised form reflects the Uniform Guidance's requirements.
For fiscal year starting on or after December 26, 2014, the FAC
also plans to allow Non-Federal entities who did not meet the threshold
requiring submission of a Single Audit report to voluntarily notify the
FAC that they did not meet the reporting threshold. This information
helps the Federal agencies in the review of applicants that fall below
the reporting requirements. The FAC plans to put this information on
their Web site.
In addition, we are planning a pilot project to combine the
reporting of this form and the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal
Awards into a singular form to streamline the Non-Federal entities
reporting process. This proposal will be included under a separate
notice.
II. Method of Collection
The information will be collected electronically through FAC's Web
based Internet Data Entry System available at https://harvester.census.gov/facweb.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0348-0057.
Title: Data Collection Form.
Form Number(s): SF-SAC.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: States, local governments, non-profit organizations
(Non-Federal entities) and their auditors.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 80,000 (40,000 from auditees and
40,000 from auditors).
Estimated Time per Response: 65 hours for each of the 400 large
respondents and 20 hours for each of the 79,600 small respondents.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,618,000.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Legal Authority: Title 31 U.S.C. Section 7501 et. seq. and 2 CFR
Part 200.
Needs and Uses: Reports from auditors to auditees and reports from
auditees to the Federal government are used by non-Federal entities,
pass-through entities and Federal agencies to ensure that Federal
awards are expended in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
The FAC (designated by the U.S. Bureau of the Census) uses the
information on the Form SF-SAC to ensure proper distribution of audit
reports to Federal agencies and identify non-Federal entities who have
not filed the required reports. The FAC also uses the information on
the Form SF-SAC to create a government-wide database, which contains
information on audit results. This database is publicly accessible on
the Internet at http://harvester.census.gov/fac/. It is used by Federal
agencies, pass-through entities, non-Federal entities, auditors, the
Government Accountability Office, OMB and the general public for
management of and information about Federal awards and the results of
audits.
[[Page 76583]]
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
In general, comments submitted in response to this notice will be
summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this
information collection; they also will become a matter of public
record.
Mark Reger,
Deputy Controller.
[FR Doc. 2015-30986 Filed 12-8-15; 8:45 am]
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