The audit law (Louisiana Revised Statute (R.S.) 24:513 and 24:514) establishes the due dates of local auditee reports:


The Legislative Auditor believes that timeliness is a vital component of good financial reporting. Local auditees do not exist in a vacuum; their annual financial reports are of interest not only to regulatory agencies, but to taxpayers as well. Financial information loses its value as time passes.

A local auditee should take these steps to ensure that its annual financial report is submitted to LLA by the statutory due date:

  • The local auditee should keep its books and records in good shape throughout the year
  • If its statutorily required report is an audit, review/attestation or compilation report, the local auditee should hire a CPA firm from LLA’s approved list no later than sixty days after its fiscal year end; and resolve the CPA’s questions and requests for information in as timely a manner as possible.
  • If its statutorily required report is sworn financial statements, the local auditee should call LLA’s Local Government Services section if they have not received an email or letter notification from LLA by sixty days after its fiscal year end. The email will include a link to the financial statement forms on LLA's website; the letter will include a copy of the blank financial statement forms.

During the 2007 Legislative Session, language was added to House Bill 1 (the General Appropriations Act) and House Bill 2 (the Capital Outlay Act) that prohibited the payment of funds authorized in these acts to any recipient that had failed to comply with the audit law; and had not obtained an extension from LLA.

In response to the language in House Bill 1 and 2, in 2007 LLA began publishing on its website a list of local auditees that had failed to comply with the audit law, mostly comprised of local auditees that have not submitted their reports by the statutory due date.

This noncompliance list is reviewed by the Louisiana Department of Treasury and other state agencies before paying state funds to local auditees. R.S. 39:72.1 prohibits the payment of Louisiana state government funds to any local auditee whose name appears on the noncompliance list.

A local auditee’s name will be removed from the noncompliance list when LLA receives their report, or when LLA approves an extension request for the local auditee.

An audit, review/attestation, or compilation report that is submitted past the statutory due date must include a finding for the noncompliance with R.S. 24:513, except when an emergency extension request has been approved.

Questions:
Back to results