I. Any town, or school district, or village district or precinct, at the annual meeting or at a special meeting, or the selectmen of any town, or the governing body of any city, or the school board of any school district, or the commissioners of any village district or precinct, may hire a certified public accountant or a public accountant licensed by the state under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 309-A:8 to conduct such an audit within one year after the close of the municipality’s fiscal year in accordance with audit guidelines and applicable statutes.
II. Every audit made by independent public accountants licensed under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 309-A:8, except examinations for special limited purposes, shall cover the accounts and records of all officials responsible for the receipt, custody, and disbursement of public funds. The audit reports shall include a summary of findings and recommendations regarding compliance with applicable statutory provisions of law, and the adequacy of accounting and business procedures pursued by the unit of government examined. Management letters, so-called, shall be included as part of the official audit findings and recommendations. Contracts executed between local units of government and counties and independent public accountants shall stipulate that all accounts and funds of the governmental unit are to be audited and a report of audit prepared in accordance with this section. A written or printed report of every completed audit shall be made to the proper local officials including a summary of the findings and recommendations of the auditors and a copy of such summary shall be published in the next annual report following the fiscal year in which the audit was completed.