HOA Audit vs Review vs Compilation: Which One Your State Requires, and What It Costs

Q: Does my HOA have to get an audit?

It depends on your state and on your own declaration and bylaws, and the answer is often no. Of 12 states read at the state's own site on September 30, 2026: Washington and Hawaii require an audit of most associations; Florida and Nevada require a compilation, a review or an audit depending on revenue or budget size; Minnesota requires a review and never an audit; Colorado requires one only if owners of a third of the units ask and the association has revenues or expenditures of at least 250,000 dollars; California requires a review once gross income passes 75,000 dollars; and Virginia, Connecticut and Illinois name no engagement level at all. Your governing documents can require more than the statute does.

Q: Can owners vote to skip the annual audit?

In some states, and the vote required differs sharply. Hawaii lets an association of fewer than 20 units waive the annual audit and the unannounced cash verification by a majority of unit owners at a meeting. Minnesota's review is waived if owners of at least 30 percent of the votes vote to waive it within 60 days after the fiscal year ends. Washington's chapter 64.38 audit is waived by 67 percent of the votes cast at a quorate meeting, while under the newer WUCIOA the waiver takes a majority of all non-declarant votes and is only available below the 100,000 dollar assessment tier. Florida allows a step down one level by owner vote, but not for two fiscal years in a row. Nevada's section contains no waiver.

Q: Who is allowed to perform an HOA review or audit?

Usually a licensed CPA, and the statute sometimes says which one. California requires a licensee of the California Board of Accountancy. Minnesota requires a licensed, independent certified public accountant, defines independence by reference to the tests promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and requires the review to follow the standards for accounting and review services. Nevada and Washington both require an independent certified public accountant. Colorado is the exception among the states we read: its alternative review may be performed by an independent and qualified person selected by the board who has at least a basic understanding of the principles of accounting, which does not require a CPA license.

Q: What is a preparation engagement, and is it the same as a compilation?

No. A preparation engagement, governed by AR-C section 70, is the only one of the four that produces no accountant's report. The accountant drafts the financial statements and every page carries a legend saying no assurance is provided. A compilation, under AR-C section 80, produces a written report that names the accountant and states that no opinion, conclusion or assurance is expressed. If your lender, your insurer or your state statute asks for a compilation, a preparation engagement does not satisfy it, and the difference is one line in the engagement letter.

Last verified: September 30, 2026 · See updates

Someone has told your board it needs an audit. It may not. An audit, a review and a compilation are three different jobs at three different prices, and the 12 states below disagree about which one an association has to buy. This page gives you the difference, your state’s rule with the statute behind it, every fee figure we could source, and the questions that make three quotes comparable.

What this page does: it names the engagement each state’s statute requires, read at the state’s own site on the date shown, and gives you a written checklist that makes competing quotes line up.

What it does not do: it does not say what your association should pay, recommend a firm, or read your declaration for you. CommonKeel is not an accounting firm, and no accountant or software vendor pays us anything for this page.

The four jobs a CPA can do with your financial statements

One question separates them: how much does the accountant check before signing? The less checking, the lower the fee, and the less the report is able to say.

The four engagement levels. Standard designations confirmed at the AICPA’s own site on September 30, 2026.
Engagement	What the accountant does	What you hold at the end	Must be independent	Standard
Audit	Gathers and tests evidence: confirms balances, samples transactions, examines the documents behind them	An opinion on whether the statements are fairly presented	Yes	Statements on Auditing Standards. The reporting section is AU-C section 700
Review	Analytical procedures and questions to management. Your records are not tested	A conclusion in negative form: nothing came to the accountant’s attention that needs changing	Yes	SSARS, AR-C section 90
Compilation	Puts the numbers you supply into financial statement format. Verifies nothing	A written report stating that no opinion, conclusion or assurance is expressed	No, but a lack of independence has to be disclosed in the report	SSARS, AR-C section 80
Preparation	The same drafting work, with no report at the end	Financial statements whose every page carries a legend saying no assurance is provided	No	SSARS, AR-C section 70

There is a fifth option that boards rarely hear about. In an agreed-upon procedures engagement, under AT-C section 215, the board specifies the tests and the accountant reports the findings with no opinion and no conclusion. Trace 30 dues receipts to deposits, confirm the reserve account balance, agree a sample of vendor payments to approved invoices: that is the shape of it. It suits a suspected problem or a treasurer handover. It does not satisfy a statute or a governing document that calls for an audit, a review or a compilation, and the accountant still has to be independent.

Where these descriptions come from. The AICPA writes these standards and does not publish their full text free of charge; the download pages ask for a member login. We confirmed each section number and title at the AICPA’s own site on September 30, 2026, at its preparation, compilation and review standards page and its SSARS No. 25 page. The wording in the table is our summary of how the standards divide the work, not a quotation from them. If the exact language in an engagement letter affects a board decision, ask the accountant to show you the paragraph.

Which one does your state require?

Twelve states, each read at the state’s own legislative or agency site on September 30, 2026. Five patterns appear, and they are far apart.

An audit for nearly every association: Washington and Hawaii.
A ladder keyed to money: Florida by revenue, Nevada by budget. A small association buys a cash report or a compilation; a large one buys an audit.
One level named, no threshold: Minnesota requires a review of every association and never an audit.
An audit only if owners ask, and only above a size: Colorado.
No engagement level at all: Virginia and Connecticut name none, and Illinois requires an accounting of common expenses, which is not an accountant’s engagement.

Statutory audit, review and compilation requirements in 12 states. Each entry read at the source shown, September 30, 2026.
State	What the statute requires	Trigger	Can it be waived?	Citation
California	A review of the financial statement, prepared under generally accepted accounting principles by a licensee of the California Board of Accountancy. The copy goes to members within 120 days of fiscal year end	Gross income to the association exceeds $75,000 in the fiscal year	No waiver in the section. It opens “Unless the governing documents impose more stringent standards”	Cal. Civ. Code 5305
Colorado	No level mandated. An audit under generally accepted auditing standards happens at the board’s discretion or on owner request. A review is allowed as an alternative and may be done by a non-CPA the board selects	For an owner-forced audit, owners of at least one-third of the units must request it and the association must have annual revenues or expenditures of at least $250,000	Nothing to waive	C.R.S. 38-33.3-303(4)(b)(I)
Connecticut	None. Financial statements and tax returns for the past three years must be kept. The resale certificate must say whether the last accountant’s report in five years was a compilation, a review or an audit, which tells you the statute treats all three as optional	Not applicable	Not applicable	Conn. Gen. Stat. 47-260, 47-270(a)(16)
Florida, condominiums	A cash receipts and expenditures report, a compilation, a review or an audit, by revenue band	Total annual revenues: under $150,000 cash report; $150,000 to under $300,000 compiled; $300,000 to under $500,000 reviewed; $500,000 or more audited	Yes. A majority of all voting interests can step down a level, before the fiscal year ends, for that year only, and not in consecutive fiscal years. The board can step up without any vote	Fla. Stat. 718.111(13)
Florida, HOAs	The same four levels, plus an audit for any association with at least 1,000 parcels whatever its revenue	The same revenue bands, and 1,000 parcels forces an audit	Yes, by a majority of the voting interests present at a properly called meeting, not in consecutive fiscal years. Separately, 20% of parcel owners can petition to raise the level, and a majority of the total voting interests approves it	Fla. Stat. 720.303(7)
Hawaii, condominiums	An annual audit of the association financial accounts by a public accountant, and at least one annual unannounced verification of the cash balance	Every association. No dollar or unit threshold	Only below 20 units, and then both the audit and the cash verification may be waived at an association meeting by a majority of the unit owners	HRS 514B-150
Illinois, condominiums	No audit. The board must annually supply all unit owners an itemized accounting of the common expenses for the preceding year	Not applicable. The word “audit” does not appear in the section	Not applicable	765 ILCS 605/18(a)(7)
Illinois, other common interest communities	Either an itemized accounting or a consolidated annual independent audit report, at the board’s choice	Not applicable. The audit is an alternative, not a mandate	Not applicable	765 ILCS 160/1-45(b)
Minnesota	A review of the association’s financial statements by a licensed, independent CPA, under the standards for accounting and review services. No statutory audit at any size	Every association subject to the Act. No threshold	Yes, and the bar is low: owners other than the declarant holding at least 30% of the votes can waive it within 60 days after fiscal year end, one year at a time	Minn. Stat. 515B.3-121(a)
Nevada	A review or an audit by an independent CPA, keyed to the annual budget	Budget $45,000 to under $75,000: a review in the year before a reserve study. $75,000 to under $150,000: a review every year. $150,000 or more: an audit every year	No waiver in the section. The other direction exists: 15% of voting members can force an audit by written request within 180 days before fiscal year end, except at the $150,000 tier	NRS 116.31144
Virginia	None, in either the Property Owners’ Association Act or the Condominium Act. Financial books and records must be kept “in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices”	Not applicable	Not applicable	Va. Code 55.1-1945(A)
Washington, communities under WUCIOA	An annual audit by a CPA, at every size	Annual assessments of $100,000 or more: audit, not waivable. Below that: the audit is still required	Only below the threshold, waived annually by non-declarant owners holding a majority of all the votes	RCW 64.90.530
Washington, condominiums not yet under WUCIOA	An annual audit by a CPA	50 or more units: not waivable. Fewer than 50: waivable	Below 50 units, by 60% of non-declarant votes, annually	RCW 64.34.372, effective until January 1, 2028
Washington, HOAs under chapter 64.38	An annual audit by an independent CPA above the threshold. Below it, only an annual financial statement with no engagement level named	Annual assessments of $50,000 or more	Yes, by 67% of the votes cast at a quorate meeting, each year	RCW 64.38.045, effective until January 1, 2028

Five things to read alongside that table

Your governing documents can require more than the statute, and often do. California’s section starts by yielding to stricter governing documents. Minnesota’s opens “Subject to any additional or greater requirements set forth in the declaration or bylaws.” Read the declaration before you conclude your state lets you off.
The table covers 12 states. The other 38 were not read for this page. A state’s absence here is not evidence that it requires nothing. The place to check is your state’s own code site; our 49-state comparison table lists the official source for each state.
Washington associations have a deadline. Before January 1, 2028, chapter 64.90 reaches only communities created on or after July 1, 2018, plus any that amended their declaration to elect in. On that date the older condominiums and HOAs come under RCW 64.90.530, which means an annual CPA audit and a harder waiver than chapter 64.38’s 67% of votes cast. A Washington HOA collecting under $50,000 a year in assessments has no audit duty today and will have one then.
Connecticut gains an owner remedy on October 1, 2026. Public Act 26-31, approved May 27, 2026, lets owners holding at least 20% of the votes petition the Superior Court to order a third-party audit. It is not automatic. The group has to certify a good faith belief in grounds for an audit. It has to attach a signed opinion from an independent CPA who specializes in fraud or financial forensics, saying there appears to be evidence of fraud or misuse of funds. It has to attach a certified copy of the vote allocation from the recorded declaration. And no audit can have been completed in the preceding 12 months. The petitioning owners pay for it. The act’s section 1 is enacted as new law and we found no codified section number for it yet, so we cite the public act.
Where each entry was read. California at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, Florida at flsenate.gov, Nevada at leg.state.nv.us, Hawaii at data.capitol.hawaii.gov, Illinois at ilga.gov, Minnesota at revisor.mn.gov, Virginia at law.lis.virginia.gov, Washington at app.leg.wa.gov, Connecticut at cga.ct.gov. Colorado is the one exception. The General Assembly publishes title 38 as a single very large PDF, and we could not read it as far as article 33.3. So the Colorado entry was read at the Division of Real Estate, the state agency that runs Colorado’s HOA Information Office. It quotes the provision and cites it. That is a state source, not the legislature’s own text, and we say so.

What does an audit, a review or a compilation cost?

There is no authoritative answer, and the absence is the finding. We looked for one and found no government survey, no national dataset, and no Community Associations Institute or Foundation for Community Association Research benchmark of association audit fees. Anyone who quotes you a national average is not reading it from a regulator or a professional body.

Every figure we could source, and what each one is

$750 to $950 for a review, including the federal tax return. Published fee range on the services page of Michigan Community CPA, a Michigan firm that works on condominium and homeowner associations. It says a compilation is “somewhat lower” and gives no figure. It publishes no audit price. Read September 30, 2026. This is one seller’s advertised price in one state, not an average. It is the most useful item we found for a different reason. The fee has the tax return inside it, and that is the most common way two quotes stop being comparable.
$4,500 to $7,500 for “most” HOA audits, starting near $4,500 and sometimes over $10,000. Stated in a December 13, 2023 article on the site of JS Morlu LLC, a Virginia CPA firm. Read September 30, 2026. This is a firm’s general description in a marketing article, not its fee schedule. The page also carries its own warning: “This article is 3 years old, and the information may no longer be accurate.”
The only government documents we found that put a number on a small-entity audit do not cover associations. They price audits of Florida community development districts and of New Mexico local public bodies. Those are units of local government, audited under government auditing standards, so their figures do not transfer to a private association and we do not carry them here.

Legislatures that mandate audits decline to cost them

This is the clearest evidence that no reliable figure exists. Florida has repeatedly changed its reporting thresholds without ever attaching a number to them.

A 2017 Florida Senate Judiciary analysis of CS/SB 294 said only that the bill “may cause a negative impact” on associations under 50 units if one is required to hire an accountant, with no figure attached.
A January 13, 2026 Florida House analysis of HB 465 recorded the fiscal impact as indeterminate and noted that a formal analysis had been requested from the state agency eight days earlier.

We also read Utah, Washington and Louisiana bill documents on association audit thresholds and the Colorado Division of Real Estate’s 2024 HOA annual report. None of them contains a cost estimate for an audit, a review or a compilation.

Two reasons the number is hard to find, and one you can do something about. First, even an audited association’s own statements usually fold the fee into a combined “legal and accounting” line, so the audit cost cannot be separated out. Second, the scope varies so much that an average would mislead. A first-year engagement with unreconciled bank accounts is a different job from a fifth-year engagement on clean books. The number that applies to your association is the one in three written quotes for the same defined scope. That is the next section.

Get three quotes you can compare side by side

Send every firm the same written request. Most of these items go in the engagement letter anyway. Each of the three levels has its own engagement letter section in the standards: AR-C section 80 for a compilation, AR-C section 90 for a review, AU-C section 210 for an audit. Between them they cover the objectives, who is responsible for what, the engagement’s limits, the reporting framework, and the form the report will take. The caveat above applies here too: we confirmed those section designations at the AICPA’s site and not their paragraph text. Asking up front costs the firm nothing, and it gives you quotes that line up.

Quote all three levels separately: audit, review and compilation, on the same fiscal year. You cannot judge the trade-off without all three prices. Several boards discover the review costs a third of the audit and their statute only asks for a review.
State which level your statute and your governing documents require, and ask the firm to confirm the quoted engagement satisfies both. Cite the section from the table above.
Say whether the fee includes preparing the financial statements, or assumes the board or the manager hands over finished statements. This is the largest hidden difference between two quotes. It also touches independence. If nobody on your side can take responsibility for statements the accountant drafts, the accountant may not be independent. Independence is required for both a review and an audit.
Say whether the federal return is included (Form 1120-H or Form 1120), and any state return. One published fee we found bundles the return in; another firm prices a standalone 1120-H separately. Two quotes that differ here are not the same product.
Ask who prepares the reserve schedules and the supplementary information on future major repairs and replacements. If your state prescribes the content of the statements by regulation, name the rule in your request. Florida does, in Rule 61B-22.006, “Financial Reporting Requirements,” adopted by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes under Fla. Stat. 718.111(13).
Fixed fee or hourly with an estimate, and if hourly, what specifically triggers an overrun. Ask them to list it: unreconciled bank accounts, missing invoice support, a prior year that was never audited, a first-year engagement, a developer transition period.
Confirm the firm is licensed in your state. Some statutes require it by name: California requires a licensee of the California Board of Accountancy, and Florida’s rule requires a CPA licensed by the Florida Board of Accountancy.
Ask how many community associations the firm serves and whether it uses fund accounting, keeping operating and reserve activity separate. Minnesota’s statute requires that separation for its review; your statements are harder to read without it whatever your state says.
Ask for the timetable against your own deadlines. Several states set them. California distributes the review within 120 days of fiscal year end. Hawaii requires the audit to be available to owners 30 days before the annual meeting. Minnesota requires delivery within 180 days. Florida requires it within 21 days of completion, and no later than 180 days after fiscal year end.
Ask whether presenting the results to the board or the annual meeting is included. A report nobody explains to the board is a filing, not a control.
Ask what the firm needs from you, in a list, with dates. The single cheapest way to cut the fee is to hand over reconciled books, a complete general ledger and the supporting documents on day one.
Ask for the prior-year fee for a comparable association and whether the quote is held for a second year. A one-year price with an unstated renewal is not a budget number.

Two files on this site make item 11 easier. The HOA chart of accounts gives you a numbered account structure with operating and reserve funds separated and a self-calculating trial balance, which is the form an accountant will ask for. The annual budget workbook carries the fee once you have it, so the board can see what the engagement does to next year’s dues before it votes.

What this page could not establish

Stated plainly, so you know where the edges are.

The full text of the accounting standards. The AICPA does not publish AR-C sections 70, 80 and 90, AU-C section 700 or AT-C section 215 free of charge. We confirmed the section numbers and titles at the AICPA’s own site and summarized the framework in our own words. No sentence on this page is presented as a quotation from a standard.
Any market price. See the section above. We report three sourced figures and label each one for what it is. We publish no average, because no source we found supports one.
The other 38 states. Twelve were read for this page.
Colorado’s statutory text at the legislature. Read at the Division of Real Estate instead, as noted above.
Whether Virginia’s Common Interest Community Board imposes anything by regulation. Two Virginia sections delegate the form of the annual report to Board regulation. We read the statutes, not the regulations, so treat Virginia’s “none” as a statement about the statute.
An upcoming change to the preparation standard. The AICPA amended AR-C section 70 in 2025 to exclude statements prepared as part of a consulting engagement, effective for periods ending on or after December 15, 2026. It does not change anything a board does this year.

What to do next

Find your state in the table and read the section it cites. If your state names a level, that is your floor; if it names none, your declaration decides. Then send the same written request to three firms licensed in your state and put the answers side by side. Is a treasurer handing over this year? The treasurer transition checklist covers what the incoming officer should hold before the engagement starts. On a handover, an agreed-upon procedures engagement costs less than an audit and answers a narrower question.

Common questions

What is the difference between an HOA audit, a review, and a compilation?

How much the accountant checks. In an audit the accountant gathers and tests evidence and ends with an opinion on whether the statements are fairly presented. In a review the accountant applies analytical procedures and asks questions, then ends with a conclusion in negative form: nothing came to the accountant’s attention that needs changing. In a compilation the accountant puts your numbers into financial statement format, verifies nothing, and issues a report stating that it expresses no opinion, no conclusion and no assurance. Different standards govern each one.

Does my HOA have to get an audit?

It depends on your state and on your own declaration, and the answer is often no. Of the 12 states above, Washington and Hawaii require an audit of most associations. Florida and Nevada set a ladder by revenue or budget. Minnesota requires a review and never an audit. California requires a review once gross income passes $75,000. Colorado requires one only on an owner request above $250,000 in revenues or expenditures. Virginia, Connecticut and Illinois name no engagement level at all.

How much does an HOA audit cost?

No authoritative figure exists. We found no government survey, no national dataset and no industry benchmark of association audit fees. What exists is advertised prices from individual firms and general remarks in trade articles, and neither is an average. Florida legislatures raising the reporting requirement have called the fiscal impact indeterminate. The number that applies to your association is the one in three written quotes for the same defined scope.

Can owners vote to skip the annual audit?

In some states, and the vote needed differs sharply. Hawaii lets an association under 20 units waive both the audit and the unannounced cash check by a majority of owners at a meeting. Minnesota’s review is waived by owners of 30% of the votes within 60 days of fiscal year end. Washington’s chapter 64.38 audit takes 67% of the votes cast; under the newer WUCIOA the waiver takes a majority of all non-declarant votes and is unavailable above $100,000 in assessments. Florida allows a step down one level, but not for two years running. Nevada’s section has no waiver.

Who is allowed to perform an HOA review or audit?

Usually a licensed CPA, and some statutes say which one. California requires a licensee of the California Board of Accountancy. Minnesota requires a licensed, independent CPA and defines independence by reference to the AICPA’s tests. Nevada and Washington both require an independent certified public accountant. Colorado is the exception among the states we read. Its alternative review may be done by an independent and qualified person the board selects, who needs at least a basic understanding of the principles of accounting. No CPA license is required.

What is a preparation engagement, and is it the same as a compilation?

No. A preparation engagement, AR-C section 70, is the only one of the four that produces no accountant’s report. The accountant drafts the statements and every page carries a legend saying no assurance is provided. A compilation, AR-C section 80, produces a written report that names the accountant and states that no opinion, conclusion or assurance is expressed. If a lender, an insurer or a statute asks for a compilation, a preparation engagement does not satisfy it, and the difference is one line in the engagement letter.

Text on this page is licensed CC BY 4.0. Suggested citation: CommonKeel, "HOA Audit vs Review vs Compilation: Which One Your State Requires, and What It Costs", https://commonkeel.com/finances/hoa-audit-review-compilation/, verified September 30, 2026. Based on state statutes and agency guidance, published standard-setter pages and published fee statements read on the dates shown. Not hands-on testing of any accounting service, and not legal, tax or accounting advice.