Florida Senate - 2009                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1368
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 808418                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/16/2009           .                                
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       The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       (Dean) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (371202) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 567 - 603
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 14. Section 218.39, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    7  read:
    8         218.39 Annual financial audit reports.—
    9         (1) If, by the first day in any fiscal year, a local
   10  governmental entity, district school board, charter school, or
   11  charter technical career center has not been notified that a
   12  financial audit for that fiscal year will be performed by the
   13  Auditor General, each of the following entities shall have an
   14  annual financial audit of its accounts and records completed
   15  within 9 12 months after the end of its fiscal year by an
   16  independent certified public accountant retained by it and paid
   17  from its public funds:
   18         (a) Each county.
   19         (b) Any municipality with revenues or the total of
   20  expenditures and expenses in excess of $250,000.
   21         (c) Any special district with revenues or the total of
   22  expenditures and expenses in excess of $100,000.
   23         (d) Each district school board.
   24         (e) Each charter school established under s. 1002.33.
   25         (f) Each charter technical center established under s.
   26  1002.34.
   27         (g) Each municipality with revenues or the total of
   28  expenditures and expenses between $100,000 and $250,000 that has
   29  not been subject to a financial audit pursuant to this
   30  subsection for the 2 preceding fiscal years.
   31         (h) Each special district with revenues or the total of
   32  expenditures and expenses between $50,000 and $100,000 that has
   33  not been subject to a financial audit pursuant to this
   34  subsection for the 2 preceding fiscal years.
   35         (2) The county audit report shall be a single document that
   36  includes a financial audit of the county as a whole and, for
   37  each county agency other than a board of county commissioners,
   38  an audit of its financial accounts and records, including
   39  reports on compliance and internal control, management letters,
   40  and financial statements as required by rules adopted by the
   41  Auditor General. In addition to such requirements, if a board of
   42  county commissioners elects to have a separate audit of its
   43  financial accounts and records in the manner required by rules
   44  adopted by the Auditor General for other county agencies, such
   45  separate audit shall be included in the county audit report.
   46         (3)(a) A dependent special district may make provision for
   47  an annual financial audit by being included within the audit of
   48  another local governmental entity upon which it is dependent. An
   49  independent special district may not make provision for an
   50  annual financial audit by being included within the audit of
   51  another local governmental entity.
   52         (b) A special district that is a component unit, as defined
   53  by generally accepted accounting principles, of a local
   54  governmental entity shall provide the local governmental entity,
   55  within a reasonable time period as established by the local
   56  governmental entity, with financial information necessary to
   57  comply with this section. The failure of a component unit to
   58  provide this financial information must be noted in the annual
   59  financial audit report of the local governmental entity.
   60         (4) A management letter shall be prepared and included as a
   61  part of each financial audit report.
   62         (5) At the conclusion of the audit, the auditor shall
   63  discuss with the chair of the governing body of the each local
   64  governmental entity or the chair’s designee, or with the elected
   65  official of each county agency or with the elected official’s
   66  designee, or with the chair of the district school board or the
   67  chair’s designee, or with the chair of the board of the charter
   68  school or the chair’s designee, or with the chair of the board
   69  of the charter technical career center or the chair’s designee,
   70  as appropriate, all of the auditor’s comments that will be
   71  included in the audit report. If the officer is not available to
   72  discuss the auditor’s comments, their discussion is presumed
   73  when the comments are delivered in writing to his or her office.
   74  The auditor shall notify each member of the governing body of a
   75  local governmental entity, district school board, or charter
   76  school, or charter technical career center for which
   77  deteriorating financial conditions exist that may cause a
   78  condition described in s. 218.503(1) to occur if actions are not
   79  taken to address such conditions.
   80         (6) The officer’s written statement of explanation or
   81  rebuttal concerning the auditor’s findings, including corrective
   82  action to be taken, must be filed with the governing body of the
   83  local governmental entity, district school board, charter
   84  school, or charter technical career center within 30 days after
   85  the delivery of the auditor’s findings.
   86         (7)All audits conducted pursuant to this section must be
   87  conducted in accordance with the rules of the Auditor General
   88  adopted pursuant to s. 11.45. Upon completion of the audit
   89  required by this section, the auditor shall prepare an audit
   90  report in accordance with the rules of the Auditor General. The
   91  audit report shall be filed with the Auditor General within 45
   92  days after delivery of the audit report to the governing body of
   93  the audited entity, but no later than 9 months after the end of
   94  the audited entity’s fiscal year. The audit report must include
   95  a written statement describing corrective actions to be taken in
   96  response to each of the auditor’s recommendations included in
   97  the audit report.
   98         (8) The Auditor General shall notify the Legislative
   99  Auditing Committee of any audit report prepared pursuant to this
  100  section which indicates that an audited entity has failed to
  101  take full corrective action in response to a recommendation that
  102  was included in the two preceding financial audit reports, in
  103  which case the committee may direct the governing body of the
  104  audited entity to provide a written statement to the committee
  105  explaining why full corrective action has not been taken or, if
  106  the governing body intends to take full corrective action,
  107  describing the corrective action to be taken and when it will be
  108  taken. If the committee determines that the written statement is
  109  not sufficient, it may require the chair of the governing body
  110  of the local governmental entity or the chair’s designee, the
  111  elected official of each county agency or the elected official’s
  112  designee, the chair of the district school board or the chair’s
  113  designee, the chair of the board of the charter school or the
  114  chair’s designee, or the chair of the board of the charter
  115  technical career center or the chair’s designee, as appropriate,
  116  to appear before the committee. If the committee determines that
  117  an audited entity has failed to take full corrective action for
  118  which there is no justifiable reason for not taking such action,
  119  or has failed to comply with committee requests made pursuant to
  120  this section, the committee may proceed in accordance with s.
  121  11.40(5)(a).
  122         (9)(7) The predecessor auditor of a district school board
  123  shall provide the Auditor General access to the prior year’s
  124  working papers in accordance with the Statements on Auditing
  125  Standards, including documentation of planning, internal
  126  control, audit results, and other matters of continuing
  127  accounting and auditing significance, such as the working paper
  128  analysis of balance sheet accounts and those relating to
  129  contingencies.
  130         (8) All audits conducted in accordance with this section
  131  must be conducted in accordance with the rules of the Auditor
  132  General promulgated pursuant to s. 11.45. All audit reports and
  133  the officer’s written statement of explanation or rebuttal must
  134  be submitted to the Auditor General within 45 days after
  135  delivery of the audit report to the entity’s governing body, but
  136  no later than 12 months after the end of the fiscal year.
  137         (10)(9) Each charter school and charter technical career
  138  center must file a copy of its audit report with the sponsoring
  139  entity; the local district school board, if not the sponsoring
  140  entity; the Auditor General; and with the Department of
  141  Education.
  142         (11)(10) This section does not apply to housing authorities
  143  created under chapter 421.
  144         (12)(11) Notwithstanding the provisions of any local law,
  145  the provisions of this section shall govern.
  146  
  147  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  148         And the title is amended as follows:
  149         Delete lines 700 - 702
  150  and insert:
  151         budget; amending s. 218.39, F.S.; revising the
  152         timeframe for completing a local governmental entity’s
  153         annual financial audit; requiring that an auditor
  154         prepare an audit report; requiring that such report be
  155         filed with the Auditor General within a specified
  156         time; requiring that the Auditor General notify the
  157         Legislative Auditing Committee of any audit report
  158         indicating that an audited entity has failed to take
  159         corrective action; requiring that the chair of a local
  160         governmental entity appear before the committee under
  161         certain circumstances; amending s. 373.536, F.S.;
  162         requiring water management district