Short answer. Whoever is asking for your financial statements decides. A lender's covenant, a denomination's book of order or discipline, an accreditor such as ECFA, a grantor, or your own bylaws will name the level, and it is usually tied to the size of your budget or your loan. If no one outside the church is asking, start with a compilation: it puts your statements into proper form with notes and costs the least. Move to a review or an audit when someone requires it, or when the board wants an independent opinion before a building campaign, a loan, or a leadership change.
The AICPA defines three levels of service a CPA can provide on financial statements. They differ in how much the CPA does, what the report says, and what each asks of your treasurer.
In a compilation, the CPA takes your trial balance and prepares financial statements in the form generally accepted accounting principles require, including the notes. The CPA does not verify anything. The report says so: no assurance is expressed. The AICPA's own words are that the accountant assists "in the presentation of financial statements... without undertaking to obtain or provide any assurance." It is the fastest and least expensive of the three, and it is the right first step for a church that has never had CPA prepared statements.
In a review, the CPA asks questions of management and analyzes the numbers for anything that looks wrong, then reports limited assurance: nothing came to the CPA's attention that would require a material change. The AICPA describes the objective as obtaining "limited assurance, primarily by performing analytical procedures and inquiries." A review does not test transactions, does not contact your bank, and does not evaluate internal controls.
In an audit, the CPA tests transactions, confirms cash and debt directly with your banks, traces designated gifts to donor intent, evaluates internal controls, and expresses an opinion that the statements are fairly presented in all material respects. The auditor's objective under generally accepted auditing standards is "reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error." It is the only level that produces an opinion, and the only one a large lender, a denomination above its budget threshold, or ECFA for a larger ministry will accept.
Your lender. Church lenders scale the requirement to the loan. One national church lender publishes its tiers: audited statements above $5 million, and reviewed, compiled, or internally prepared statements often accepted at lower loan sizes. Another says internal reports are "generally insufficient for loans above $500,000." Most lenders do not publish a rule; the covenant in your loan agreement is the rule. Read it, and send it to your CPA before you engage.
Your denomination. The rules differ, and the word "audit" does not always mean a CPA audit. The United Methodist Book of Discipline requires "an annual audit of the financial statements of the local church," and the denomination's own guidance says a CPA "is not always required" depending on the size of the church. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Order requires "a full financial review of all financial books and records... every year by a public accountant or committee of members versed in accounting procedures." The Episcopal Church's canons require that all parish accounts "be audited annually by an independent Certified Public Accountant... or such audit committee as shall be authorized" by the diocese, with reports due by September 1. Southern Baptist churches have no convention wide rule; one state convention suggests a yearly audit above $1 million in receipts. Our companion article lists what each body requires, with citations.
ECFA. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability sets the level by total income in its application materials: a CPA audit above $3 million, a review permitted below $3 million, and a compilation permitted below $2 million, each with disclosure notes.
A grantor or the government. Foundations often require audited statements above a revenue level they set in the grant agreement. A church that expends $1 million or more in federal awards in a year must have a single audit under 2 CFR 200.501. State charitable registration laws set audit and review thresholds too, but churches are exempt from registration in Georgia and in most states.
Your bylaws or your board. Some bylaws require an annual audit regardless of size. Some boards want one before a capital campaign, a loan application, or a leadership transition, or after a first year of operations, because an opinion from an independent CPA is the clearest way to show members and donors that what was given was handled well.
Start with a compilation. It gets your statements into GAAP form, with the notes a lender or denomination will eventually expect, and it makes a later review or audit far less painful because the chart of accounts, the fund structure, and the prior year balances are already right. When a requirement arrives, you will be moving up one level from a good base instead of starting from a cash basis ledger.
Credex Assurance performs audits, reviews, and compilations for churches, faith based organizations, and other nonprofits, and nothing else. Send us the covenant, the denominational requirement, or the grant language and we will confirm the level in writing, then quote a fixed fee. Schedule a call.
AICPA AR-C section 80 (compilation), AR-C section 90 (review), AU-C section 200 (audit objectives), aicpa-cima.com. ECFA church application, ecfa.org/PDF/Offline-Apply-Church.pdf. United Methodist Book of Discipline ¶258.4(d) and GCFA Local Church Audit Guide FAQ, gcfa.org. PC(USA) Book of Order G-3.0113, pcusa.org. Episcopal Church Canon I.7.1, Manual of Business Methods in Church Affairs (2023), episcopalchurch.org. Griffin Church Loans underwriting guidelines, church-loan.com. ChurchLend loan requirements, churchlend.com. Arkansas Baptist State Convention, "When should a church do an audit?", absc.org. 2 CFR 200.501, ecfr.gov. Georgia Secretary of State charities guide and O.C.G.A. 43-17-9, sos.ga.gov.