Financial Audit Manual: Volume 2, June 2026

GAO-26-107706 Published: Jun 29, 2026. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 2026.

Fast Facts

The Financial Audit Manual (FAM) presents a methodology for performing financial statement audits of federal entities in accordance with professional standards. It is a tool for enhancing accountability over taxpayer-provided resources.

This June 2026 revision replaces Financial Audit Manual, Volume 2 (June 2024 version) and contains detailed implementation guidance.

The FAM’s other volumes are:

Volume 1: the audit methodology

Volume 3: the Federal Financial Reporting Checklist

You can download all volumes of the FAM in Word and certain Excel templates, and see prior versions of the manual on the main FAM page.

Highlights

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) maintain the Financial Audit Manual (FAM).

For more information, please visit the main FAM page, or contact Dawn B. Simpson at SimpsonDB@gao.gov.

Full Report

(382 pages)

GAO Contacts

Dawn B. Simpson

Director

Financial Management and Assurance

simpsondb@gao.gov

Media Inquiries

Sarah Kaczmarek

Managing Director

Office of Public Affairs

media@gao.gov

Public Inquiries

Topics

Auditing and Financial Management

AuditorsFinancial managementFinancial audit manualFinancial statementsGovernment auditing standardsAudit evidenceAccounting standardsCompliance oversightInspectors generalQuality control