Mary Jane Burke. Marin County Superintendent of Schools. Business Services
Department. Business Bulletin 13-17. Annual Audit, Fiscal Year 2012-2013.
Mary Jane Burke Marin County Superintendent of Schools Business Services Department Business Bulletin 13-17
Annual Audit, Fiscal Year 2012-2013
March 21, 2013
Pursuant to Education Code Section 41020, we are reminding districts of the necessity to engage an independent auditor to provide the annual audit of their financial records and accounts. In the event the governing board of the district has not engaged an auditor by April 1, 2013, the county superintendent of schools will provide for the audit. The cost of the audit is chargeable to each district from district funds. A contract to perform the audit of a school district that has a disapproved budget or has receive a negative certification on any budget or interim financial report during the current fiscal year or either of the two preceding fiscal years, or for which the county superintendent of schools has otherwise determined that a lack of going concerns exists, is not valid unless approved by the county superintendent of schools and the governing board. The district must contract with a certified public accountant or a public accountant licensed by the California Board of Accountancy from a directory of certified public accounts and public accountants deemed by the State Controller as qualified to conduct audits of school districts, which is published by the Controller not later than December 31 of each year. This directory can be obtained from: http://cpads.sco.ca.gov/CPAList.aspx. As soon as the district has selected an auditor, the parties must enter into a contractual agreement. We recommend that the district note the following terms in the contract. •
Education Code Section 14505 requires district to withhold 10% of the audit fees until the State Controller’s Office notifies the dis trict that the audit report has been accepted.
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Education Code Section 14505 requires the district to withhold 50% of the audit fee for any subsequent year in a multi-year contract if any prior year’s audit report was not certified as conforming to the reporting provisions of the State Controller’s Audit Guide.
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Multi-year contracts are null and void if a firm or individual is declared ineligible to perform audits pursuant to Education Code Section 41020.5.
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All working papers are to be available for review by the State Controller’s Office upon written notification from the State Controller pursuant to Education Code Section 14504.
Mary Jane Burke Marin County Superintendent of Schools Business Services Department Business Bulletin 13-17
Annual Audit, Fiscal Year 2012-2013
March 21, 2013
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Education Code Section 41020 requires the auditor to file the audit report directly with the Marin County Office of Education, California Department of Education, and the State Controller’s Office on or before December 16, 2013.
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Education Code Section 41020.2 requires the district to request an extension if the auditor will not be able to meet the December 16, 2013 deadline. The Marin County Office of Education requests that districts submit the extension request in writing no later than December 2, 2013.
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Education Code Section 41020(f)(2) stipulates that except as provided in Education Code 41320.1 Section (d), it is unlawful for a public accounting firm to provide audit services to a local education agency if the lead audit partner, or coordinating audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit, has performed audit services for that local educational agency in each of the six previous fiscal years. The Educational Audits Appeal Panel may waive this requirement if the panel finds that no otherwise eligible auditor is available to perform the audit.
Please complete the attached Independent Auditor Selection Form and return to Penny Stevenson’s attention, MCOE Business Services, on or before April 1, 2013. If you have any questions, please call Kate Lane at (415) 499-5822.
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR SELECTION FORM ANNUAL AUDIT, FISCAL YEAR 2012-2013
SCHOOL DISTRICT In accordance with Education Code Section 41020, school districts must notify the County Superintendent of Schools of their selection for an independent audit firm. In the event the Governing Board of a school district has not selected an audit firm By April 1, 2013, the Marin County Office of Education will arrange for a firm to provide audit services. Please complete the following:
Audit Firm: Address: City and Zip Code: Phone: 2012-2013 Audit Fee: 2013-2014 Audit Fee*: 2014-2015 Audit Fee*: *If a multiple-year contract Entered in the Minutes on:
Date of Board Meeting
Clerk of the Governing Board or Authorized Signature
Submit the Independent Auditor Selection Form by April 1, 2013 to: Marin County Office of Education Attention: Penny Stevenson
