Overview
The Financial Audit Manual (FAM) is a joint effort between GAO and the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE). The FAM presents a methodology for performing financial statement audits of federal entities in accordance with professional standards.
The FAM is a three-volume publication. Volume 1 is the audit methodology, Volume 2 is detailed implementation guidance, and Volume 3 is the Federal Financial Reporting Checklist.
How to Access the FAM
You may download the full volumes in PDF format or the individual sections in Word documents that can be used with your own data. The versions below supersede previously issued versions and can be used immediately to audit federal entity financial statements.
Volume 1 Audit Methodology (June 2022, updated May 2023)
Download specific sections of volume 1 in Word [ZIP].
Volume 2 Detailed Implementation Guidance (June 2022, updated May 2023)
Download specific sections of volume 2 in Word [ZIP].
Volume 3 Checklist (September 2021, Updated June 2022)
View the full volume in PDF format, or download in Word:
- Section 2010 - Federal Financial Reporting Checklist [ZIP]
Excel Templates
Download templates of the Specific Control Evaluation, Line Item Risk Analysis, Further Evaluation of Audit Risk, and Summary of Uncorrected Misstatements in Excel: [ZIP]
Revisions
Volumes 1 and 2 of the FAM were updated to clarify guidance and incorporate changes in auditing financial statements of federal entities since the last revisions of FAM Volume 1 (June 2022) and FAM Volume 2 (June 2022). The revisions were primarily based on changes in (1) professional auditing standards of the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Statement on Auditing Standards No. 142) and (2) audit guidance in the Office of Management and Budget’s Bulletin No. 22-01, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements, issued on August 26, 2022.
Volume 3 of the FAM has been updated since September 2021 to incorporate accounting standards issued by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board through June 2022 that are effective for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and Office of Management and Budget Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements, guidance issued on June 3, 2022.
Users should also consider any subsequently issued standards and guidance.
For the superseded versions, see FAM archives [ZIP]
GAO Contacts
For technical or practice questions regarding the Financial Audit Manual, please e-mail FAM@gao.gov or contact Dawn B. Simpson at (202) 512-3406 or SimpsonDB@gao.gov.