Audits of trust accounts
70 Audits of trust accounts
Every agent who holds a current triennial certificate during the whole or any part of a year shall cause his trust accounts for that year, or part of a year, as the case may be, to be audited by an auditor duly qualified or approved under this Part.
The auditor shall conduct the audit in accordance with accepted auditing practice, including selective testing when the auditor considers it appropriate and in accordance with such other requirements as are determined by the Commissioner.
The auditor shall within 3 months after the end of each year —
deliver to the Commissioner a report of the result of the audit, verified by a statutory declaration of the auditor, in an approved form; and
deliver a copy of the report so verified to the agent.
The agent shall retain the copy of the report and produce it on demand pursuant to section 80(3).
The Commissioner may, in circumstances he or she considers appropriate, extend the time limit for lodging reports.
The auditor shall deliver an interim report to the Commissioner if at any time he discovers any irregularity in the trust accounts of the agent or discovers any other matter in respect of those accounts which the auditor considers should be reported to the Commissioner and he shall verify the interim report by statutory declaration and deliver a copy of the report so verified to the agent.
The Commissioner may require the auditor to furnish further information or carry out a further audit at any time, and the auditor shall comply with that requirement, and the cost of so doing shall be paid by the agent if the Commissioner so directs but otherwise shall be paid by the Commissioner from moneys standing to the credit of the Fidelity Account.
Apart from the annual audit and any interim audit provided for in this section, where, for any reason, the triennial certificate of an agent ceases to have effect under this Act, there shall, within the period of 3 months thereafter, be a termination audit of the agent’s trust account, and the termination audit shall be arranged and conducted in accordance with such provisions of this Part in respect of the annual audit as are capable of being applied to the termination audit, and the auditor shall within 2 months after the end of that 3 months period deliver to the Commissioner a report of such termination audit.
[Section 70 amended: No. 29 of 1982 s. 12; No. 59 of 1995 s. 42; No. 77 of 2006 Sch. 1 cl. 147(2); No. 58 of 2010 s. 99 and 134.]
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