31 U.S.C. § 7501: Definitions

“Comptroller General” means the Comptroller General of the United States; “Director” means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; “Federal agency” has the same meaning as the term “agency” in section 551(1) of title 5 ; “Federal awards” means Federal financial assistance and Federal cost-reimbursement contracts that non-Federal entities receive directly from Federal awarding agencies or indirectly from pass-through entities; “Federal financial assistance” means assistance that non-Federal entities receive or administer in the form of grants, loans, loan guarantees, property, cooperative agreements, interest subsidies, insurance, food commodities, direct appropriations, or other assistance, but does not include amounts received as reimbursement for services rendered to individuals in accordance with guidance issued by the Director; “Federal program” means all Federal awards to a non-Federal entity assigned a single number in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance or encompassed in a group of numbers or other category as defined by the Director; “generally accepted government auditing standards” means the government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General; an external State or local government auditor who meets the independence standards included in generally accepted government auditing standards; or a public accountant who meets such independence standards; “Indian tribe” means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaskan Native village or regional or village corporation (as defined in, or established under, the Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act) that is recognized by the United States as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians; Effectiveness and efficiency of operations. 1 1 So in original. Reliability of financial reporting. 1 Compliance with applicable laws and regulations; “local government” means any unit of local government within a State, including a county, borough, municipality, city, town, township, parish, local public authority, special district, school district, intrastate district, council of governments, any other instrumentality of local government and, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Director, a group of local governments; “major program” means a Federal program identified in accordance with risk-based criteria prescribed by the Director under this chapter, subject to the limitations described under subsection (b); “non-Federal entity” means a State, local government, or nonprofit organization; is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operations of the organization; “pass-through entity” means a non-Federal entity that provides Federal awards to a subrecipient to carry out a Federal program; “program-specific audit” means an audit of one Federal program; “recipient” means a non-Federal entity that receives awards directly from a Federal agency to carry out a Federal program; “single audit” means an audit, as described under section 7502(d), of a non-Federal entity that includes the entity’s financial statements and Federal awards; “State” means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, any instrumentality thereof, any multi-State, regional, or interstate entity which has governmental functions, and any Indian tribe; and “subrecipient” means a non-Federal entity that receives Federal awards through another non-Federal entity to carry out a Federal program, but does not include an individual who receives financial assistance through such awards. the larger of $30,000,000 or 0.15 percent of the non-Federal entity’s total Federal expenditures, in the case of a non-Federal entity for which such total expenditures for all programs exceed $10,000,000,000; the larger of $3,000,000, or 0.30 percent of the non-Federal entity’s total Federal expenditures, in the case of a non-Federal entity for which such total expenditures for all programs exceed $100,000,000 but are less than or equal to $10,000,000,000; or the larger of $300,000, or 3 percent of such total Federal expenditures for all programs, in the case of a non-Federal entity for which such total expenditures for all programs equal or exceed $300,000 but are less than or equal to $100,000,000. When the total expenditures of a non-Federal entity’s major programs are less than 50 percent of the non-Federal entity’s total expenditures of all Federal awards (or such lower percentage as specified by the Director), the auditor shall select and test additional programs as major programs as necessary to achieve audit coverage of at least 50 percent of Federal expenditures by the non-Federal entity (or such lower percentage as specified by the Director), in accordance with guidance issued by the Director. Loan or loan guarantee programs, as specified by the Director, shall not be subject to the application of subsection (b). promote sound financial management, including effective internal controls, with respect to Federal awards administered by non-Federal entities; establish uniform requirements for audits of Federal awards administered by non-Federal entities; promote the efficient and effective use of audit resources; reduce burdens on State and local governments, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations; and ensure that Federal departments and agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, rely upon and use audit work done pursuant to chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code (as amended by this Act).” to improve the financial management of State and local governments with respect to Federal financial assistance programs; to establish uniform requirements for audits of Federal financial assistance provided to State and local governments; to promote the efficient and effective use of audit resources; and to ensure that Federal departments and agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, rely upon and use audit work done pursuant to chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code (as added by this Act).”