[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 101 (Thursday, May 24, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24011-24012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11108]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

7 CFR Part 1773

RIN 0572-AC33


Policy on Audits of RUS Borrowers and Grantees

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule with request for comment; correction; delay of 
effective date; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is correcting a final rule 
with request for comment that appeared in the Federal Register on May 
7, 2018, and is extending the comment period and delaying the effective 
date. The document amended regulations regarding its Policy on Audits 
to incorporate 2011 revisions to the Generally Accepted Government 
Auditing Standards (GAGAS) issued by the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO), the clarified audit standards issued by the American 
Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in 2011, and Uniform 
Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements 
for Federal Awards, Subpart F, Audit Requirements, issued by the Office 
of Management and Budget on December 26, 2013, and adopted by USDA on 
December 26, 2014. The document also expanded and clarified the 
regulations to: Include grant recipients, amend peer review 
requirements, amend reporting requirements, expand the options for the 
electronic filing of audits, and clarify a number of existing audit 
requirements, and amended the title to reflect this change.

DATES: 
    Effective Dates: The correction is effective May 24, 2018. The 
effective date for the final rule published in the Federal Register on 
Monday, May 7, 2018 (83 FR 19905), is delayed from July 6, 2018, to 
July 23, 2018.
    Applicability Date: The final rule published in the Federal 
Register on Monday, May 7, 2018 (83 FR 19905), is applicable for 
financial audits for

[[Page 24012]]

periods ending on or after December 15, 2018.
    Comment Date: The comment due date for the final rule published in 
the Federal Register on Monday, May 7, 2018 (83 FR 19905), is extended. 
Comments must be received by RUS on or before June 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow instructions for submitting comments. The 
Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) number is RUS-17-Agency-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send your comments 
addressed to Thomas P. Dickson, Acting Director, Program Development 
and Regulatory Analysis, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 1522, Room 5164-S, 
Washington, DC 20250-1522.
    Additional information about Rural Development and its programs is 
available on the internet at https://www.rd.usda.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Chris Colberg, Acting Chief, 
Technical Accounting and Auditing Staff, Program Accounting Services 
Division, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, STOP 1523, Washington, DC 20250-1523. 
Telephone: (202) 720-1905.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In FR Doc. 2018-09501, appearing on page 
19906 in the Federal Register of Monday, May 7, 2018, the following 
correction is made:

Background [Corrected]

    On page 19906, in the third column, the Uniform Resource Locator 
(URL) ``https://www.rd.usda.gov/publications/regulations-guidlines/rural-utilities-service-audit'' is corrected to read ``https://www.rd.usda.gov/publications/regulations-guidelines/bulletins/program-accounting''.

    Dated: May 18, 2018.
Kenneth L. Johnson,
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-11108 Filed 5-23-18; 8:45 am]
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