2802 - Independent audits and audit reports of authorities.
§ 2802. Independent audits and audit reports of authorities. 1. State authorities. Every state authority or commission heretofore or hereafter continued or created by this chapter or any other chapter of the laws of the state of New York shall submit to the governor, chairman and ranking minority member of the senate finance committee, chairman and ranking minority member of the assembly ways and means committee, each chair and ranking member of the senate and assembly committees on corporations, authorities and commissions, the state comptroller, and the authorities budget office, together with the report described in section twenty-eight hundred of this title, a copy of the annual independent audit report, performed by a certified public accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as defined in subdivision eleven of section two of the state finance law, and management letter and any other external examination of the books and accounts of such authority other than copies of the reports of any examinations made by the state comptroller. 2. Local authorities. For the local authority fiscal year ending on or after December thirty-first, two thousand seven and annually thereafter, every local authority heretofore or hereafter continued or created by this chapter or any other chapter of the laws of the state of New York shall submit to the chief executive officer, the chief fiscal officer, the chairperson of the legislative body of the local government or local governments and the authorities budget office, together with the report described in section twenty-eight hundred of this title, a copy of the annual independent audit report, performed by a certified public accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as defined in subdivision eleven of section two of the state finance law, and management letter and any other external examination of the books and accounts of such authority other than copies of the reports of any examinations made by the state comptroller. 3. Each certified independent public accounting firm that performs for any state or local authority any audit required by this chapter shall timely report to the audit committee of such authority: (a) all critical accounting policies and practices to be used; (b) all alternative treatments of financial information within generally accepted accounting principles that have been discussed with management officials of such authority, ramifications of the use of such alternative disclosures and treatments, and the treatment preferred by the certified independent public accounting firm; and (c) other material written communications between the certified independent public accounting firm and the management of such authority, such as the management letter along with management's response or plan of corrective action, material corrections identified or schedule of unadjusted differences, where applicable. 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the certified independent public accounting firm providing such authority's annual independent audit will be prohibited in providing audit services to the respective authority if the lead (or coordinating) audit partner (having primary responsibility for the audit), or the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit, has performed audit services for that issuer in each of the five previous fiscal years of such authority. 5. The certified independent public accounting firm performing such authority's audit shall be prohibited from performing any non-audit services to such authority contemporaneously with the audit, unless receiving previous written approval by the audit committee including: (a) bookkeeping or other services related to the accounting records or financial statements of such authority; (b) financial information systems design and implementation; (c) appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinions, or contribution-in-kind reports; (d) actuarialservices; (e) internal audit outsourcing services; (f) management functions or human services; (g) broker or dealer, investment advisor, or investment banking services; and (h) legal services and expert services unrelated to the audit. 6. It shall be prohibited for any certified independent public accounting firm to perform for such authority any audit service if the chief executive officer, comptroller, chief financial officer, chief accounting officer, or any other person serving in an equivalent position for such authority, was employed by that certified independent public accounting firm and participated in any capacity in the audit of such authority during the one year period preceding the date of the initiation of the audit. 7. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a public authority may exempt information from disclosure or report, if the counsel of such authority deems that such information is covered by subdivision two of section eighty-seven of the public officers law.