As we have previously discussed, the Small Business Administration announced it will be conducting an audit of the 8(a) Program. The SBA’s focus on this audit might have increased due to efforts by Senator Joni Ernst, who recently issued a letter to the SBA asking for an investigation into the 8(a) Program. As part of this audit, the SBA has begun requesting extensive information from 8(a) entities. The same document request has been sent to 8(a) companies that are owned by individuals and to 8(a) companies owned by Alaska Native Corporations, Tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations.

The SBA has set a deadline of January 5, 2026, to provide the requested information. The requested information covers the last three full fiscal years and includes financial records, payroll details, contract information, and employee lists.

The specific items requested include:

1. 1. General Ledger for the last three full fiscal years (CSV Files Only)
   2. Trial Balance as of the last day for each of the last three fiscal year-ends (CSV Files Only)
   3. IRS Form 4506 covering the last three full fiscal years (PDF Files Only)
   4. Bank Statements as of the last day for each of the last three fiscal year-ends (PDF Files Only)
   5. Bank Reconciliations as of the last day for each of the last three fiscal year-ends (PDF Files Only)
   6. Payroll Register and Reconciliation (including any distributions to any owner) monthly for the last three full fiscal years (PDF Files Only)
   7. List of All Employees, broken out by contracts those employees are servicing, for the last three full fiscal years (PDF Files Only)
   8. List of all Vendors (as well as all joint ventures) for the last three full fiscal years (PDF Files Only)
   9. Copy of all 8(a) Contracts on which the firm is currently working for the last three full fiscal years (PDF Files Only)
   10. Subcontracting Agreements related to the contracts in item 9 (for the last three full fiscal years) (PDF Files Only)
   11. Financial Statements which include, at a minimum, the year-end Balance Sheet, YTD P&L, Cash Flow Statement, and the Statement of Equity for each of the last three fiscal years (CSV Files Only)
   12. Financial Statement Reconciliation to the year-end Trial Balance for the last three fiscal years (CSV Files Only), and
   13. For each of the last three full fiscal years, a Sub-Ledger Schedule tying to the year-end trial balance accounts for: all Accounts Receivable accounts, all Accounts Payable accounts and all P&L accounts (CSV Files Only)

The SBA document request states that (i) if any of this information was already provided in an 8(a) company’s routine annual reporting, the 8(a) company does not need to submit it again; and (ii) all data must be uploaded to the SBA’s official portal at https://certifications.sba.gov. However, for data that the SBA requests be provided in a monthly increment, the SBA asked that  8(a) companies to resubmit it in the requested monthly increment, even if the information was previously submitted on an annualized basis.

The SBA has indicated that 8(a) companies that fail to respond may be removed from the 8(a) Program and/or subject to further investigation or other remedial actions.

This article summarizes aspects of the law and opinions that are solely those of the authors. This article does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice regarding ‎your situation, you should contact an attorney.