TLDR
The Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) is the document your Single Audit is built on. It lists every federal award expended during the fiscal year, identified by CFDA/ALN number, pass-through entity, and amount. Preparing it cleanly means maintaining grant coding in the general ledger year-round, capturing pass-through information at award acceptance, and reconciling totals to the financial statements before fieldwork. Most SEFA rework happens when organizations try to reconstruct this data after year-end.
The SEFA is the document that determines how much of your Single Audit is testing versus procedural. A clean SEFA narrows the audit’s scope and reduces findings; a messy one expands scope, raises cost, and produces findings you could have avoided.
TL;DR
- SEFA lists every federal award expended during the fiscal year with CFDA/ALN.
- Pass-through awards appear under the prime federal agency, not the pass-through entity.
- Totals must reconcile to the audited financial statements.
- Grant coding in the general ledger throughout the year is the single largest predictor of clean SEFA.
- Incomplete SEFA is among the five most common findings GAO has identified.
Step-by-step
- Compile the federal award inventory from grant agreements and subaward notifications.
- Identify pass-through relationships and capture pass-through entity UEIs.
- Extract expenditures from the general ledger by grant.
- Format the SEFA by federal agency and CFDA/ALN.
- Disclose subrecipient pass-through amounts.
- Address federal loan and loan guarantee programs separately.
- Reconcile SEFA totals to the Statement of Activities.
- Deliver to auditor at least 30 days before fieldwork.
Why Pass-Through Classification Matters
A state agency administering a federal program (say, CDBG through a state HFA, or Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act dollars through a state workforce board) is passing federal dollars. Your SEFA must identify the award as federal — under the prime federal agency (HUD for CDBG, DOL for WIOA) — and disclose the pass-through entity.
Organizations that list these awards only under the state agency fail the classification test. Auditors catch this every year. The fix is capturing pass-through status at award acceptance, not trying to reconstruct it during SEFA prep.
Grant Coding in the General Ledger
The largest variable in SEFA preparation time is whether the general ledger carries grant-level coding. QuickBooks Classes, Sage Intacct Dimensions, or restricted fund tracking in a purpose-built system all produce usable data. General function coding (Program, Management, Fundraising) does not — that coding is for the Statement of Functional Expenses, not for grant attribution.
Organizations with grant coding can generate SEFA data with a single export. Organizations without it rebuild it annually from bank records, invoices, and staff allocation schedules.
Reconciliation to the Statement of Activities
Total federal expenditures per SEFA must reconcile to federal revenue recognized on the Statement of Activities, adjusted for timing differences. Common reconciling items: unearned federal revenue (receipts not yet expended), prior-year receivables collected and expended in the current year, and in-kind federal contributions (rare but notable).
Document every reconciling item. Auditors review this reconciliation during fieldwork and will ask for support on any item not clearly documented.
Subrecipient Disclosure
If your organization passes federal dollars to subrecipients, the SEFA must disclose the total passed through per federal program. This is a separate line per CFDA/ALN, not a footnote. Subrecipient monitoring documentation is a separate requirement — the disclosure is only the dollar amount.
Loan and Loan Guarantee Programs
Federal loan programs have specialized SEFA treatment under 2 CFR 200.502. Outstanding loan balances, not just current-year receipts, may be reportable. This applies to PPP loans, SBA programs, USDA rural development loans, and similar. Organizations with any federal loan activity should consult 2 CFR 200.502 and their auditor before finalizing the SEFA.
What GrantPipe Does Here
GrantPipe maintains the grant inventory and expenditure detail needed for the SEFA continuously, with pass-through entity and CFDA/ALN captured at award acceptance rather than reconstructed at year-end. Start a trial.
Free resource
Get the Grant Reporting Calendar Template
A calendar system for tracking every grant deadline — applications, interim reports, final reports, financials, and renewals — so your development team never misses one. Delivered by email.
Source: GAO April 2024 analysis (GAO-24-106173)
Source: OMB 2 CFR 200.501
Source: GAO April 2024 analysis (GAO-24-106173)
- SEFA
- Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. Required supplementary schedule for organizations undergoing a Single Audit under 2 CFR 200 Subpart F. Lists every federal award expended during the fiscal year.
DEFINITION
- CFDA/ALN
- The unique identifier assigned to each federal program. ALN (Assistance Listing Number) is the current term; CFDA is the legacy term. Format: XX.XXX (e.g., 10.561 for the USDA SNAP program).
DEFINITION
- Pass-through entity
- An entity that receives a federal award and passes part or all of it to a subrecipient. Common pass-through entities include state agencies administering federal programs and larger nonprofits that regrant to smaller ones.
DEFINITION
- Major program
- A federal program selected for detailed testing during the Single Audit based on dollar threshold and risk assessment under 2 CFR 200.518. Major program determination drives audit scope.
DEFINITION
Q&A
How long does SEFA preparation take?
For a well-maintained ledger with grant coding, SEFA assembly takes 8 to 16 hours. Organizations reconstructing grant detail from function-level coding can spend 40+ hours. The quality of grant coding throughout the year is the primary driver of SEFA preparation time.
Q&A
Who prepares the SEFA — auditee or auditor?
The auditee prepares the SEFA. The auditor reviews it, tests the federal awards selected as major programs, and issues an opinion on whether the SEFA is fairly stated in all material respects. Auditors cannot prepare the SEFA because that would compromise independence.
Q&A
What are the most common SEFA errors?
The three most common errors are pass-through awards reported under the pass-through entity instead of the prime federal agency, CFDA/ALN numbers that do not match the grant agreement or have been updated, and expenditure totals that do not reconcile to the financial statements. GAO has identified incomplete SEFA as a material weakness classification risk.
Q&A
Does every grant have a CFDA/ALN?
Every federal award has an ALN. Pass-through subawards inherit the prime federal program's ALN. Foundation and private grants do not have ALNs and do not appear on the SEFA. When a grant agreement does not show the ALN, contact the awarding agency or look up the program in SAM.gov Assistance Listings.
Frequently asked