§ 49-13-127 — Audits

(a) (1) The comptroller of the treasury is authorized to audit any books and records, including internal school activity and cafeteria funds, of any charter school created under this chapter and by virtue of the statutes of this state when the audit is deemed necessary or appropriate by the comptroller of the treasury. The comptroller of the treasury shall have the full cooperation of officials of the charter school in the performance of the audit or audits. (2) (A) The comptroller of the treasury is authorized to audit all financial transactions of a CMO for any charter school created under this chapter and by virtue of the statutes of this state when the audit is deemed necessary or appropriate by the comptroller of the treasury. The comptroller of the treasury may appoint a certified public accountant or direct the department of audit to prepare the audit. The cost of the audit shall be paid by the CMO. The comptroller of the treasury shall have the full cooperation of officials of the CMO in the performance of the audit or audits. (B) All CMOs operating a charter school in this state shall file an annual financial report with the comptroller of the treasury detailing transactions between the CMO and any charter school operated by the CMO in this state. The report shall be: (i) For the fiscal year ending June 30; (ii) Filed in a form prescribed by the comptroller of the treasury; and (iii) Filed by the CMO with the comptroller of the treasury no later than August 31 of each year. (b) (1) The governing body of the charter school shall cause an annual audit to be made of the accounts and records, including internal school activity and cafeteria funds, of their school. The audits may be prepared by certified public accountants or by the department of audit. (2) The audit shall be completed as soon as practical after June 30 of each year and a copy of the audit shall be furnished to the local board of education, the commissioner of education and the comptroller of the treasury. (3) A CMO may comply with subdivision (b)(1) by submitting one (1) audit for all the charter schools operated in Tennessee by the CMO; provided, that such audit includes all information required under this section for each school. (c) The comptroller of the treasury, through the department of audit, shall be responsible for ensuring that the audits are prepared in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and determining if the audits meet minimum audit standards and regulations, which shall be prescribed by the comptroller of the treasury. No audit may be accepted as meeting the requirements of this section until the audit has been approved by the comptroller of the treasury. In the event the governing body fails or refuses to have the audit prepared, then the comptroller of the treasury may appoint a certified public accountant or direct the department of audit to prepare the audit. The cost of the audit shall be paid by the governing body.

Legislative History

Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 768, s 1, eff. 4/19/2018. Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 351, s 5, eff. 7/1/2013. Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 326, s 12, eff. 7/1/2013. Acts 2002, ch. 850, §28; 2011 , ch. 410, § 4 (ii).