In the late 1970's, the federal government developed the "single audit concept" that eventually became law for state and local governments with the enactment of the Single Audit Law of 1984. Prior to the law, each agency of the federal government had its own programs audited in order to determine compliance with the related laws and provisions of individual grant agreements. Many federal agencies had their own audit guidelines which resulted in confusing and conflicting audit approaches. The concept of the single audit was developed to eliminate this confusion by establishing one set of audit requirements for all agencies and consequently promote audit efficiency. Subsequently, the State of New Jersey also embraced the concept of the single audit.

What is a single audit? A single audit is an entity wide audit which has two main components: an audit of the entity's basic financial statements, and an audit of the entity's major federal and state award programs. The auditor is required to test for compliance with the provisions of the laws, regulations, contracts and grants applicable to each of the entity's major federal and state award programs, as well as considering the internal control over such compliance that could have a direct and material effect on a major federal or state award program.

In July 1996, legislation was passed amending the Single Audit Law. This amendment made several important changes including increasing the audit threshold and implementing a "risk-based audit approach." The professionals at Bowman & Company LLP have maintained their technical expertise throughout the implementation of these changes by participating in the Annual Governmental Accounting and Auditing Conference conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and through a firm sponsored continuing education program lead by a recognized national authority on the Law.