Financial Audit Manual: Volume 3, July 2026

GAO-26-108632 Published: Jul 30, 2026. Publicly Released: Jul 30, 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 July 2026 revision replaces Financial Audit Manual, Volume 3 (August 2025 version) and contains the Federal Financial Reporting Checklist.

The FAM’s other volumes are:

Volume 1: the audit methodology

Volume 2: detailed implementation guidance

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.

Financial Audit Manual: Volume 3 logo with curved purple and white stripes and faint blue stars.

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

(350 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

Financial statementsFinancial reportingFinancial audit manualAccounting standardsBudgetary resourcesContract performanceLegal liabilityFinancing sourcesFinancial managementAuditors