Avoiding Single Audit Equipment & Property-Management Findings

What the Single Audit tests on equipment

The Single Audit is the organization-wide audit required under 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart F. When it reaches equipment, auditors test compliance with the property standards in 2 CFR 200.313(d) and (e) — the same duties that define a professionally run fixed-asset program. In practice, that means testing four things: the property records, the control system that safeguards the equipment, the biennial physical inventory and reconciliation, and the disposition procedure, including computation of the federal share of any proceeds.

None of these are paperwork abstractions. Each one is testable against physical reality — which is exactly why organizations that treat them as policy documents rather than operational evidence get caught. For the full breakdown of what 200.313 requires, see our pillar guide on 2 CFR 200.313 equipment requirements.

The $1,000,000 threshold — up from $750,000 in 2024

A Single Audit is triggered when a non-federal entity expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a fiscal year. That threshold was raised from $750,000 by the April 2024 revisions to the Uniform Guidance, effective for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024. Entities at or above that level of federal expenditure are subject to the Subpart F audit — and to testing of the property standards that come with it.

The threshold change moved the line for who must be audited; it did not soften the underlying property-management duties. If your organization is near or above $1,000,000 in federal awards expended, the equipment standards in 200.313 apply to you, and they will be tested.

The four most common property findings

Across Single Audits, the equipment findings cluster into a short, predictable list. Almost all of them trace back to missing evidence rather than a misread rule:

1. Incomplete property records. Records missing the Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN), the federal share percentage, the serial number, or the location and condition of the item.
2. No physical inventory — or no reconciliation in time. The physical inventory was never performed, or it was performed but never reconciled to the property records within the required two-year window.
3. A control system on paper only. A safeguarding and control system that exists in policy documents but is not actually operating on the floor.
4. Improper disposition. Equipment sold, traded, or retired without following the disposition procedure and without computing the federal share of the proceeds.

Why organizations fail on execution, not policy

The common thread is that these are execution failures, not comprehension failures. Organizations know the rule. They can cite 200.313(d)(3). What they lack is the floor-level evidence — a physical inventory that was actually walked and verified, a documented reconciliation back to the register, exception handling for items found and not found, and a disposition trail with the federal share computed. Policy binders do not produce that evidence; a physical inventory does.

This is why a policy can be perfect and the audit still surface a finding. The auditor is not testing whether you understand the standard — they are testing whether the equipment on your books matches the equipment on your floor, and whether you can prove you checked. Our fixed-asset verification checklist and guide to reconciling fixed assets lay out the floor-to-book process that produces exactly that proof.

How an independent physical inventory prevents findings

A professionally executed, independent physical inventory and reconciliation closes each of the four gaps directly. A floor-to-book and book-to-floor pass surfaces the missing, relocated, and disposed items that make records incomplete. Reconciling the count to the register within the two-year window satisfies the biennial requirement with a documented trail. Walking the floor demonstrates the control system actually operates. And handling exceptions and disposals in the same pass produces the disposition record — federal share included.

The recurring finding here is the ghost asset — an item still on the register that no longer physically exists — which a verified count is designed to expose; see ghost asset detection. CPCON delivers this work through fixed-asset inventory and count & tagging services.

Where CPCON fits — and the honest boundary

CPCON provides the evidence: the independent physical inventory, the register reconciliation, and the asset tagging that a Single Audit tests. We produce the walked, verified, reconciled record — with a documented exception and disposition trail — that supports your compliance and stands up to Subpart F testing.

The honest boundary: CPCON is not your Single Auditor. We do not audit, certify, or issue compliance opinions, and we do not provide legal advice. This article is general information, not legal advice — always confirm requirements against your specific award terms and cognizant federal agency. What we provide is the physical evidence base that makes a clean audit achievable.