2006 New York Code - 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 and the state
  comptroller, within thirty days after receipt thereof by such authority,
  a copy of the annual independent audit report, performed by a  certified
  public  accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted government
  auditing  standards,  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   to   the  entity  established  pursuant  to  section
  twenty-seven of the chapter of the laws of two thousand five which added
  this subdivision, within thirty  days  after  receipt  thereof  by  such
  authority, a copy of the annual independent audit report, performed by a
  certified  public  accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted
  government auditing standards,  and  management  letter  and  any  other
  external  examination  of the books and accounts of such authority other
  than  copies  of  the  reports  of  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)   actuarial
  services;  (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.