Frequently asked questions about performing audits, sending audit reports
to DHS, and receiving audit related information
Can I do my own audit? Can my accountant do the audit? Does the audit have to be done by a CPA?
An agency cannot do its own audit or have the person who helps it with its financial records do the audit. The audit has
to be performed by a certified public accountant who is independent of your agency.
When is the audit report due?
Audit reports are due to funding agencies by the earlier
of:
The date specified in the contract or grant agreement.
The federal government’s specified timeframe for reporting
significant issues if the auditee has ARRA funding.
The federal government’s due date for A-133 audits, if the auditee
is a local government that has an A-133 audit.
Six months from the end of the fiscal period for all other audits.
Your audit report needs to be on time in order for you to be in compliance with the audit requirement in your contract
with this department. The Department of Health Services no longer extends
the due date for audit reports involving funding that the auditee received
directly from the department.
What needs to be sent to DHS?
All auditees that received funding directly from the
Department of Health Services need to send a copy of the audit report to
DHS. We need to receive one complete audit reporting package (and only require one copy) in order for us to consider the agency
to have fulfilled the contract requirement of providing us with an audit report that meets our standards. For single audits, we require all items that are required elements of the federal
reporting packages as well as the management letter or other document
conveying audit comments and management's responses to any of the comments
issued that we deem significant. For all other audits, we expect the following items:
Opinion on the financial statements
Financial statements and notes thereto
Report(s) on internal controls and compliance and other report elements required by
the DHS Audit Guide in the State Single Audit Guidelines
Management letter or other document conveying audit comments
Management's responses to all of the auditor's recommendations for corrective action
including responses to any management letter comments we deem
significant
Including a note or business card showing who we should contact at the agency if we have questions is also very helpful.
How and where should I send the audit report?
To save on printing and mailing costs, we prefer audit reports be sent
to us electronically in a pdf document. All audit reports are to be sent
to DHSAuditors@Wisconsin.gov
by the auditor with cc to the auditee. The audit reports need to be in
electronically created pdf files that are text searchable, unlocked, and
unencrypted. To ensure that pdf files are unlocked and
text-searchable, do not scan a physical copy of the audit report and do
not change the default security settings in your pdf creator.
If you receive a message telling you that our system cannot accept
your message because it is too large, please contact us for help with
large file transfer.
If an electronic copy is not available, paper copies may be sent to:
Attention: DHS Auditors
Department of Health Services
P.O. Box 309
Madison, WI 53701-0309
Can I sign up for email alerts?
Occasionally we send email alerts to agencies and auditors about
audit-related news. For example, when we make draft updates to our
audit guide available for comment, we send an email notice to the contact
people as listed in the federal single audit clearinghouse. We now
have a listserv created for these notices. This is a one-way
listserv that does not allow members to respond to any of the messages
they receive from it. If you would like to be a part of the
listserv, please enter your email address and name (optional) and click on
the subscribe button below. Should you no longer wish to be a
member, an option to unsubscribe will be provided in each message you
receive from the listserv.
Email address:
(optional) Your name:
For additional questions, please email or call our audit staff:
