What it is
An independent school is a nonprofit with tuition as its main revenue. The audit follows the school year: tuition billed by term, deposits and prepaid tuition, aid granted as a discount, student receivables, and the cutoff when the fiscal year ends mid-term.
The program covers tuition and aid, auxiliary enterprises, student accounts, annual fund and campaign pledges, endowment and board-designated funds, tax-exempt bond covenants, faculty payroll and retirement plans, student activity funds and federal grants. Steps carry an assertion, sample-size note, W/P reference and sign-off. A public school district is governmental and needs a GASB and Government Auditing Standards program instead.
When to use it
- Planning the audit of a private day or boarding school, preschool or similar nonprofit.
- When the school has tax-exempt bonds, endowed funds or federal grants.
- To document how you test tuition cutoff and aid.
What’s inside
- Tuition, financial aid, deposits and student balances
- Contributions, net assets and endowment
- Debt, facilities, payroll, retirement plans and grants
- Tie-outs and general procedures
Standard cited
This template follows AU-C 330 / ASC 958. It is written in our own words, except for phrases the standard requires the document to contain, with [bracketed placeholders] for client details, amounts in USD and dates as MM/DD/YYYY. Check it against the current standard and your firm’s methodology before use. See AU-C 330 explained.
Questions
How is financial aid reported?
Tuition discounts and scholarships funded by the school reduce tuition revenue, so revenue is reported net of aid. Aid funded by a donor-restricted gift is a different case; evaluate the source. Test aid awards to the aid committee’s approvals and the student’s billing.
How do you test tuition cutoff when the year ends mid-term?
Tuition for a term is earned over the term, so the portion billed for the period after year end is deferred. Recompute deferred tuition from term dates and enrollment, and agree withdrawals and refunds after year end.
What changes for a charter or public school?
Whether a charter school follows GASB or FASB standards depends on whether it is a governmental entity under its state’s law. Governmental schools follow GASB standards and usually Government Auditing Standards, with fund-based statements and often a Single Audit. This program does not cover that.
Related templates
- Audit Program: Nonprofit Organization
- Audit Program: Accounts Receivable and Revenue
- Audit Program: Debt and Equity
- Audit Program: Payroll
Last updated 11/05/2026. All free templates.