43.073 Annual audit of school district entity by Auditor or private accountant -- Expenses -- Review of private audit by Auditor. (1) The Auditor of Public Accounts shall be responsible for an annual audit of the funds contained in each school district cooperative, school district consortium, school district corporation, and any other entity formed by school districts in an agreement made pursuant to KRS 65.210 to 65.300, with the cost of the audit to be borne by the audited entity. (2) A school district cooperative, school district consortium, school district corporation, or other entity formed by school districts in an agreement made pursuant to KRS 65.210 to 65.300 may employ a certified public accountant to audit the books, accounts, and papers of the cooperative, consortium, corporation, or other entity in lieu of the audit required by subsection (1) of this section, if the Auditor of Public Accounts declines in writing to assume responsibility for performing the audit or fails to respond in writing within thirty (30) days of receiving the cooperative's, consortium's, corporation's, or other entity's written notice of its intent to employ a certified public accountant to conduct the audit. The cooperative, consortium, corporation, or other entity shall not enter into any contract with a certified public accountant for an audit unless the Auditor of Public Accounts has declined in writing to assume responsibility for performing the audit or has failed to respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of a written request for an audit. (3) (a) Any contract with a certified public accountant entered into as a result of the Auditor of Public Accounts either declining to assume responsibility of performing the audit or failing to respond within thirty (30) days of receipt of a written request for an audit shall specify the following: 1. 2. 3. That the certified public accountant shall forward a copy of the audit report and management letters to the Auditor of Public Accounts for review; That the Auditor of Public Accounts shall have the right to review the certified public accountant's work papers before and after the release of the audit; and That after review of the certified public accountant's work papers, if discrepancies are found, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall notify the audited entity of the discrepancies. If the certified public accountant does not correct these discrepancies prior to the release of the audit, the Auditor of Public Accounts may conduct its own audit to verify the findings of the certified public accountant's report. (b) If an audit verifying the findings of the certified public accountant's report is conducted by the Auditor of Public Accounts, the total audit expense incurred by the audited entity shall be an allowable expenditure and shall be paid by the audited entity to the Auditor of Public Accounts. If the audit conducted by the Auditor of Public Accounts discloses discrepancies in the audit by the certified public accountant, the findings of the Auditor of Public Accounts shall be deemed official for all purposes. Effective: July 14, 2000 History: Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 491, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000.