Montana Code 5-13-304. Powers and duties
5-13-304. Powers and duties. The legislative auditor shall:
Terms Used In Montana Code 5-13-304
- 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.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
(1)(a) perform an annual audit of the statewide annual financial report prepared by the department of administration in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
(b)continue to conduct a biennial single audit until June 30, 2025. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the legislative auditor shall perform an annual audit of federal financial assistance provided to the state that meets the requirements established by the federal government.
(c)conduct, or have conducted, compliance audits or audits of the financial affairs and transactions of all state agencies at an interval determined by the legislative auditor, taking into consideration the agency’s operations, risk, the complexity of its fiscal structure, and the nature and extent of previous audit findings;
(2)conduct an audit to meet the standards and accomplish the objectives required in 5-13-308 whenever the legislative auditor determines it necessary and shall advise the members of the legislative audit committee;
(3)make a complete written report of each audit. A copy of each report must be furnished to the department of administration, the state agency that was audited, each member of the committee, and the legislative services division.
(4)report immediately in writing to the attorney general and the governor any apparent violation of penal statutes disclosed by the audit of a state agency and furnish the attorney general with all information available relative to the violation;
(5)report immediately in writing to the governor any instances of misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance by a state officer or employee disclosed by the audit of a state agency;
(6)report immediately to the commissioner of political practices any instances of apparent violations of the state code of ethics provided for in Title 2, chapter 2, part 1;
(7)report immediately to the surety upon the bond of an official or employee when an audit discloses a shortage in the accounts of the official or employee. Failure to notify the surety does not release the surety from any obligation under the bond.
(8)have the authority to audit records of organizations and individuals receiving grants from or on behalf of the state to determine that the grants are administered in accordance with the grant terms and conditions. Whenever a state agency enters into an agreement to grant resources under its control to others, the agency shall obtain the written consent of the grantee to the audit provided for in this subsection.