The Federal Election Commission has launched an audit into President Barack Obama’s record-breaking 2008 campaign.

Individuals familiar with the campaign told Roll Call Friday that the FEC has been investigating the financial records of Obama’s previous campaign. The scope of the probe, which began approximately two

years ago, is unknown. Presidential audits typically take years to complete and can cost millions of dollars.

The newly formed 2012 Obama campaign did not deny there was an audit, but a spokeswoman called it a “review.”

“The FEC is conducting a routine review — as is true with the McCain Campaign, the Romney Campaign and many others — to determine if they have any questions with the information reported,” said Katie Hogan, deputy press secretary for the campaign. “Given that there was an historic number of contributors and contributions — nearly four million and over nine million respectively — this takes time.”

The FEC was not required to audit the president’s campaign because Obama chose not to accept $84 million in federal funds following the Democratic National Convention in 2008. However, the agency was obligated to launch a similar investigation into Republican nominee Sen. John McCain’s (Ariz.) 2008 White House bid after he opted to receive government funds.