(a) Each escrow depository, at its own expense, shall submit to the commissioner within ninety days after the close of its fiscal year its annual financial statements accompanied by a report of an independent certified public accountant who has prepared or examined those statements. For good cause, the commissioner may grant a licensee an extension of an additional thirty days to file the reports required by this section.
Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
Escrow: means any transaction affecting the title to real property, including leaseholds, proprietary leaseholds, and condominiums, in which a person not a party to the transaction and neither having nor acquiring any interest in the title receives from one party to the transaction, holds until the happening of an event or performance of a condition and then delivers to another party to the transaction, any money or other consideration or any instrument affecting the title to that real property, all in accordance with the terms of the agreement between the parties to the transaction. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 449-1
Escrow depository: means the corporation which, in an escrow, and for compensation, receives, holds, and delivers the money, other consideration, or instrument affecting title to real property. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 449-1
Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
(b) The audited financial statements shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and the examination by the independent certified public accountant shall be performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The financial statements and the independent certified public accountant’s report shall include but not be limited to the following:
(1) An unqualified opinion on the fair presentation of the financial statements taken as a whole. To the extent that this is not possible, then a detailed footnote explaining the reason why an unqualified opinion could not be given shall suffice;(2) A direct verification of escrow funds and escrow liabilities. If less than a one hundred per cent verification is performed, there shall be a separate letter from the independent certified public accountant indicating: the number of accounts verified; the percentage of the verification; the basis for determining the sample size; the method used in selecting the sample items to verify; a description of the sampling technique used; the discrepancies noted; and how the discrepancies were resolved;(3) Footnotes to the audited financial statement showing the escrow funds and escrow liabilities and, to the extent that these amounts differ, a reconciliation of the amounts; and(4) A statement as to whether the escrow depository is in compliance with this chapter. If the independent certified public accountant reports any incident involving noncompliance, the statement shall address whether the noncompliance may have a material adverse impact on the ongoing operations of the company.(c) Except with the written approval of the commissioner, an escrow depository shall not be deemed in compliance with this section if the independent certified public accountant expresses a qualified or adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion. A request for approval shall be filed by the escrow depository concurrently with the filing of the audited financial statements and the independent certified public accountant’s report. The request shall be in letter form and shall contain the arguments as to why the audited financial statements and the independent certified public accountant’s report should be considered acceptable. Failure to comply with this section shall be grounds for the suspension or revocation of the escrow depository’s license in accordance with § 449-17. Failure to comply with this section shall authorize the commissioner to order an independent audit at the expense of the escrow depository.(d) Failure to furnish any report or information as and when required under this section shall be grounds for the commissioner to impose an administrative penalty of $200 per day for each day that the audit is overdue. In addition, if the report or information is not filed within thirty days of the required deadline, the commissioner may prohibit the escrow depository from accepting new business until the report or information is filed.
