§ 4-9-150 — Audits of county records; designation of auditors; public inspection of report.

South Carolina § 4-9-150

• Jurisdiction: South Carolina
• Title 4: COUNTIES
• Ch. 9: COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Text

The council shall provide for an independent annual audit of all financial records and transactions of the county and any agency funded in whole by county funds and may provide for more frequent audits as it considers necessary. Special audits may be provided for any agency receiving county funds as the county governing body considers necessary. The audits must be made by a certified public accountant or public accountant or firm of these accountants who have no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the county government or any of its officers. The council may, without requiring competitive bids, designate the accountant or firm annually or for a period not exceeding three years. The designation for any particular fiscal year must be made no later than thirty days after the beginning of the fiscal year. The report of the audit must be made available for public inspection. A copy of the report of the audit must be submitted to the State Treasurer no later than January first each year following the close of the books of the previous fiscal year. Upon a showing of proper cause, as determined by the State Treasurer, the State Treasurer shall grant a county an extension of ninety days. To be considered, a request for extension must be signed by the chair of the council before the deadline for filing. If the report is not filed with the State Treasurer by January first, or within the time extended for filing the report, funds distributed by the State Treasurer to the county in the current fiscal year must be withheld pending receipt of a copy of the report.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 14-3712; 1975 (59) 692; 1977 Act No. 96; 1988 Act No. 365, Part II, SECTION 3, eff July 1, 1988; 2002 Act No. 356, SECTION 1, Pt XI.P, eff July 1, 2002; 2005 Act No. 164, SECTION 36, eff June 10, 2005; 2023 Act No. 71 (S.31), SECTION 3, eff June 7, 2023. Effect of Amendment The 1988 amendment made grammatical changes, and added the last sentence, relating to a copy of the report of audit being submitted to the Comptroller General. The 2002 amendment added the second undesignated paragraph relating to failure to file the report on time. The 2005 amendment, in the first undesignated paragraph, at the end of the fourth sentence substituted "three years" for "one year". 2023 Act No. 71, SECTION 3, In the first undesignated paragraph, in the seventh sentence, substituted "State Treasurer" for "Comptroller General", and added the eighth and ninth sentences, and in the second undesignated paragraph, substituted "filed with the State Treasurer by January first" for "timely filed" and "State Treasurer" for "Comptroller General".