Century Code states in §54-10-14 that "The state auditor shall audit the following political subdivisions once every two years except as provided in this section or otherwise by law."
Libraries are listed as one of the political subdivisions. What does this mean for you? Every two years, you will need to have an audit either completed by the state auditor or through one of the alternatives laid out in century code. When the state auditor completes the audit, you will be charged a fair value of the audit and services rendered.
The state auditor may require the correction of irregularities, objectionable accounting procedures, or illegal actions disclosed by the audit report or workpapers. Failure to make the corrections must result in audits being resumed by the state auditor until the corrections are made.
In lieu of conducting an audit every two years, the auditor may require annual reports if the subdivision has less than $2,000,000 in annual receipts.
The report must contain all financial information required by the state auditor. The state auditor may make any additional examination or audit deemed necessary. When a report is not filed, the state auditor may charge an amount equal to the fair value of the examination or audit and other services rendered. The necessary forms and information are found at the State Auditor's website.
The state auditor can charge a fee not to exceed $90/hour for reviewing the annual report.
A political subdivision, at the option of its governing body, may be audited by a certified public accountant or a licensed public accountant. The public accountant shall comply with generally accepted government auditing standards for audits of political subdivisions. The report must be in the form and content required by the state auditor. The state auditor shall review the report to determine if required form and content is present and whether the audit meets accepted government auditing standards. The state auditor may periodically review the public accountant's work papers to determine if the audit meets accepted government auditing standards. If the report is in the required form with the required content and meets government auditing standards, the state auditor shall accept the report. The state auditor may charge a fee of up to $90/hour, not to exceed $750 per review, for the related costs of reviewing the report and work papers.
The political subdivision cannot pay a public accountant for an audit until the audit is accepted by the state auditor. Progress payments can be made with 20% retained until the audit is accepted.
Many of these resources and programs are funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.