Oregon Revised Statutes
There is established the Division of Audits to be maintained under the supervision and control of the Secretary of State and operated as one of the divisions of the secretary’s office. The Secretary of State shall assign or appoint a director of the division and such other assistants, accountants, auditors and clerks, upon such terms and for such compensatio…
The Division of Audits shall have the function and duty of carrying out the provisions of ORS 297.070, 297.210, 297.230, 297.405 to 297.555, 297.990 and this section. All moneys received under authority of the sections listed in subsection (1) of this section and moneys appropriated for use by the Secretary of State in carrying out the provisions of those s…
The audits, reviews or investigations authorized to be made by the Secretary of State may be assigned to the Division of Audits as a part of its functions and duties. The Secretary of State may adopt rules, standards and criteria relating to audits conducted by the Division of Audits as the Secretary of State deems necessary or advisable.
The costs and expenses of conducting audits authorized by ORS 297.030 shall be paid from whatever funds are appropriated by law for use in carrying out the provisions of the respective laws relating thereto. The costs and expenses shall be charged and billed to such funds or activities in the same manner as are costs and expenses charged and billed for audit…
The Division of Audits of the office of the Secretary of State shall supply the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and the Legislative Fiscal Officer with a copy of each audit report made by or for the Division of Audits. The Division of Audits shall cause a periodic peer review to be completed as required by the standards of the United States Government Acc…
Information furnished to the Secretary of State by the Department of Revenue and made confidential by ORS 314.835 shall be used by the Secretary of State and the officers and employees of the Secretary of State solely for the purposes of performing the functions of the office of Auditor of Public Accounts as required by section 2, Article VI of the Oregon Co…
It is the policy of this state that state government services be delivered with the highest level of desired effectiveness at the lowest possible cost. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee may provide oversight of the conduct of performance audits and program evaluations, that are outside the authority of the Secretary of State under section 2, Article VI …
Performance audits of all state departments, boards, commissions, institutions and state-aided institutions and agencies conducted by the Division of Audits shall be based on standards for audit services established by nationally recognized entities including, but not limited to, the United States Government Accountability Office. The Secretary of State may…
The Secretary of State shall, on a fiscal year basis, prepare an annual audit plan for performance audits, as defined in ORS 297.070, of state departments, boards, commissions, institutions and state-aided institutions and agencies. The audit plan must be based on a risk assessment methodology. The Secretary of State shall seek, in the audit plan, to priorit…
In the Governor’s budget required under ORS 291.202, the Governor shall identify any new or enhanced funding or savings included in the budget as a result of implementation of audit findings or recommendations. Each biennium, the Governor shall prepare a report to accompany the Governor’s budget on the status of implementation of action plans by state agenc…
In the agency request budget submitted by the Secretary of State under ORS 291.208, the Secretary of State shall specify the amounts estimated to be expended in the biennium during which the agency request budget is prepared for categories of audit and related services, including fiscal audits, performance audits, information technology audits, the Governmen…
As used in this section and ORS 297.120: “Public official” means any person who is serving a state agency as an officer, employee, member, agent or otherwise, regardless of whether the person is compensated for the person’s services. “State agency” means any state department, division, bureau or other agency or body headed by an elected or appointed state …
When a state agency sustains a loss of $100 or more of public funds or property under circumstances involving a public official who is entrusted with the custody of the funds or property or who is charged with the duty to account for the funds or property, the agency shall, within 30 days after discovery of the loss, report the loss in writing to the Divisio…
The Secretary of State, as State Auditor, shall have the accounts and financial affairs of state departments, boards, commissions, institutions and state-aided institutions and agencies of the state reviewed or audited as the Secretary of State considers advisable or necessary. The Secretary of State, as State Auditor, may conduct performance audits of scho…
The Division of Audits shall estimate in advance the expenses that it will incur during the biennium in carrying out the provisions of ORS 297.030, 297.120 and 297.210, and shall charge officers, departments, boards and commissions of state government and other public bodies for their share of such expenses for periods within the biennium and in sufficient a…
An agency of the executive department that completes a risk assessment or internal audit under ORS 184.360, or that prepares an independent audit under ORS 352.124 or 353.160, shall file the completed risk assessment or internal audit with the Division of Audits of the Office of the Secretary of State. Nothing in this section affects the constitutional duti…
The records related to any funds collected pursuant to ORS 757.054, through natural gas tariffs or through public purpose charges pursuant to ORS 757.612 and paid to a nongovernmental entity as described in ORS 757.746 shall be subject to audit by the Secretary of State. MUNICIPAL AUDIT LAW
As used in ORS 297.020, 297.230, 297.405 to 297.740 and 297.990: “Accountants” means all accountants whose names are included in the roster prepared and maintained by the Oregon Board of Accountancy as required by ORS 297.670. “Accounts” means all books, papers, files, letters and records of any nature or in any form used in conducting the affairs of the m…
The Secretary of State shall require that periodic reports of financial condition and financial operations be prepared and submitted to the Secretary of State by municipal corporations in such form and at such times as the Secretary of State considers necessary. The periodic reports may be required of all municipal corporations.
Except as provided in ORS 297.435, the accounts and fiscal affairs of every municipal corporation shall be audited and reviewed at least once each fiscal year. The audits and reviews shall be made by accountants pursuant to contracts entered into by the governing body, or managing or executive officer, and accountants, or by the Secretary of State pursuant t…
Subject to ORS 297.445, ORS 297.425 does not apply to any municipal corporation, except a county or a school district, if, with respect to any one fiscal year, the municipal corporation meets all the conditions in either subsection (2) or (3) of this section. Total expenditures did not exceed $250,000 for the year; The municipal corporation has submitted f…
ORS 297.435 does not apply to a municipal corporation for any fiscal year if a petition requesting an audit, signed by residents of the municipal corporation who are subject to taxes, fees, assessments or other charges levied by the municipal corporation, is filed with the Secretary of State within six months of the end of the fiscal year for which the audit…
The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Oregon Board of Accountancy, and in consultation with the Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants, shall prescribe the minimum standards for conducting audits of municipal corporations, preparing the resulting audit reports and expressing opinions upon the financial condition and results of operation for…
In performing an audit and review required under ORS 297.425, the accountant under contract with the municipal corporation or the Secretary of State, whoever performs the audit and review, shall determine if the municipal corporation has, or has not, followed generally accepted accounting principles in reporting its financial condition and operations, establ…
For each fiscal year under audit, the Secretary of State shall prepare and maintain a summary report that includes, at a minimum: A list of the municipal corporations that were required to file audit reports with the secretary for the fiscal year as required by ORS 297.405 to 297.555; A list of the municipal corporations that filed audit reports with the s…
Whenever any municipal corporation has made a request to the Secretary of State, pursuant to ORS 297.425, for the audit of its accounts and fiscal affairs, the municipal corporation may cancel that request by ordinance or resolution adopted and furnished to the Secretary of State at least 90 days prior to the end of a fiscal year.
At the time an audit report, prepared by an accountant, is filed with the Secretary of State, as required by ORS 297.465, the municipal corporation shall pay to the Secretary of State a filing fee. The filing fee shall be determined by the total expenditures made by the municipal corporation during the fiscal year audited. The filing fee to be paid shall be…
Any extraordinary work required to be performed by the Secretary of State in connection with any of the audits or the reports thereon filed pursuant to ORS 297.465 shall be compensated by an additional payment to be agreed upon by the Secretary of State and the municipal corporation for which the audit is made or to be made.
The Secretary of State shall, by rule, specify categories and types of spending that constitute expenditures for purposes of ORS 297.435 and 297.485. Note: 297.503 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 297 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for fur…
The Secretary of State, subject to ORS chapter 183, may adopt, amend and repeal rules necessary to carry out the provisions of ORS 297.020, 297.230, 297.405 to 297.555 and 297.990.
The audits of counties required under ORS 297.425 shall include justice courts, their officers and employees, district attorneys and their employees, sheriffs, constables and all other officers and officials elected by the residents of a county or appointed by an official elected by the residents of a county and transacting public business.
The annual audit required to be made of the accounts and fiscal affairs of a county shall include a cost audit, in accordance with rules of the Secretary of State, of the cost account for county road work.
When a city, by charter, establishes a board or commission that is elected by the people to operate a water utility or an electric utility of the city, the city and the water utility or the electric utility are separate municipal corporations for the purposes of ORS 297.405 to 297.555 and 297.990. Note: 297.527 was added to and made a part of 297.405 to 297…
The Secretary of State may subpoena witnesses, require the production of accounts and do all things necessary to assure that the accounts and fiscal affairs of a municipal corporation are subject to a complete audit. If an accountant is denied access to any of the accounts or other information pertaining to the fiscal affairs of a municipal corporation, the …
All moneys received by the Secretary of State under ORS 297.210, 297.230, 297.425 and 297.445 shall be immediately turned over to the State Treasurer, who shall deposit the moneys in the General Fund to the credit of an account to be known as the Division of Audits Account. The moneys received under subsection (1) of this section and deposited in the Divisi…
All filing fees received by the Secretary of State under ORS 297.405 to 297.555 shall be immediately turned over to the State Treasurer who shall deposit the moneys in the Division of Audits Account created under ORS 297.535.
ORS 297.405 to 297.555 and 297.990 may be cited as the Municipal Audit Law.
ROSTER OF AUTHORIZED ACCOUNTANTS
The Oregon Board of Accountancy shall prepare and maintain a roster of accountants authorized to conduct the municipal audits required by ORS 297.425.
The Oregon Board of Accountancy shall adopt by rule: Procedures and qualifications for admitting applicants to the roster of authorized accountants referred to in ORS 297.670; Procedures for reviewing the qualifications of accountants admitted to the roster for continuance on the roster; Fees payable upon application for admission to the roster; and Proc…
The Oregon Board of Accountancy, for cause, may remove from the roster the name of any person appearing thereon and may provide for the reinstatement thereof. The board shall remove from the roster the name of any person appearing thereon if the person ceases to possess the qualifications described in ORS 297.680. If after such removal the board determines …
Every auditor or accountant whose name is included on the roster of authorized accountants referred to in ORS 297.670 shall pay to the Oregon Board of Accountancy biennially a fee for continuance thereon. The fee shall be in an amount determined by the board by rule.
The fees collected by the Oregon Board of Accountancy under ORS 297.670 to 297.740 shall be turned over to the State Treasurer who shall deposit the moneys in the General Fund to be credited to the Oregon Board of Accountancy for its use in carrying out the provisions of ORS 297.405 to 297.555 and 297.670 to 297.740.
The Oregon Board of Accountancy may adopt rules necessary to exercise its powers and duties provided in ORS 297.405 to 297.555 and 297.670 to 297.740.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT WASTE HOTLINES
A local government body or local service district may establish a telephone line that is available to public employees and members of the public for the purpose of reporting waste, inefficiency or abuse by the local government body or local service district, employees of the local government body or local service district, or contractors of the local governm…
If a local government body or local service district chooses to establish a local government waste hotline under ORS 297.760, the local government body or local service district shall establish written policies and procedures for logging all reports of waste, inefficiency or abuse received through the hotline or received through any other method. Except as …
PENALTIES
In addition to all other penalties, any county court, board of county commissioners or managing or executive officers of any municipal corporation, who violate any of the provisions of ORS 297.405 to 297.555 or fail to have the audits and examinations required by those sections made, upon such violation or failure shall forfeit to the county or other municip…