(a) If a mortgage broker is a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development loan correspondent, such broker shall also submit to the department the audit that is required for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The department may require the mortgage broker to have made an audit of the books and affairs of the licensed or registered business and submit to the department an audited financial statement if the department finds that such an audit is necessary to determine whether the mortgage broker is complying with the provisions of this article and the rules and regulations adopted in furtherance of this article.

(b) Each mortgage lender licensed or registered under this article shall at least once each year have made an audit of the books and affairs of the licensed or registered business and submit to the department at renewal an audited financial statement, except that a mortgage lender licensed or registered under this article which is a subsidiary shall comply with this provision by annually providing a consolidated audited financial statement of its parent company and a financial statement, which may be unaudited, of the licensee or registrant which is prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A lender who utilizes a bond in lieu of an audit need not supply such audit, unless specially required by the department. An audit shall be less than 15 months old to be acceptable. The department may by regulation establish additional minimum standards for audits and reports under this Code section.