(b) On or after July first, two thousand five, all school districts, except the city school district of the city of New York, shall utilize a competitive request for proposal process when contracting for such annual audit. In addition, on or after July first, two thousand five, and applicable to all school districts, no audit engagement shall be for a term longer than five consecutive years; provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision shall preclude a district, in its discretion, from permitting an independent certified public accountant or an independent public accountant engaged under an existing contract for such services to (i) submit a proposal for such services in response to a request for competitive proposals, or (ii) be awarded a contract to provide such services under a request for proposal process. School district procurement policies and procedures adopted pursuant to section one hundred four-b of the general municipal law shall be amended, if necessary, to be consistent with this requirement.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph one of paragraph (b) of subdivision four of section thirty-five of the general municipal law, each school district shall (i) prepare a corrective action plan in response to any findings contained in the annual external audit report or management letter, or any final audit report issued by the state comptroller, within ninety days of receipt of such report or letter, and (ii) to the extent practicable, begin implementation of such corrective action plan no later than the end of the next fiscal year. 3-a. In addition to the annual audit required by subdivision three of this section, each school district and board of cooperative educational services within the state shall be subject to audits of the state conducted by the comptroller as set forth in section thirty-three of the general municipal law. 3-b. Each school district shall in a timely fashion post on its website, if any, the annual external audit report and the corrective action plan prepared in response to any findings contained in the annual external audit report or management letter, or any final audit report issued by the state comptroller. 4. The school authorities of each school district may employ or contract for the preparation of payrolls, accounts and records by persons, firms or corporations using electronic computer systems.