{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-43.050","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 43.050","heading":"General functions of Auditor.","body":"(1) The Auditor constitutes an agency independent of the administrative departments\nenumerated in KRS 12.020, it being the policy of the General Assembly to provide\nfor the independent auditing of the accounts, financial transactions, and\nperformance of all sp ending agencies of the state through a disinterested auditor,\nwho is entirely independent of the state administration whose affairs he is called\nupon to audit.\n(2) The Auditor may:\n(a) Audit annually, and at such other times as may be deemed expedient, the\naccounts of all state agencies, all private and semiprivate agencies receiving\nstate aid or having responsibility for the handling of any state funds, the\naccounts, records, and transactions of the budget units, and the general\naccounts of the state;\n(b) Make a complete audit and verification of all moneys handled for the account\nof the state government by local officials charged with the collection of fees\nor other money for or on behalf of the state, when an audit is demanded in\nwriting by the Legislative Research Commission, the secretary of the Finance\nand Administration Cabinet, or the Governor, and may make an audit when it\nis not so demanded;\n(c) Examine periodically the performance, management, conduct, and condition\nof all asylums, prisons, institu tions for the intellectually disabled, and\neleemosynary institutions; public works owned, operated, or partly owned by\nthe state, or in the conduct or management of which the state has any financial\ninterest or legal power; and state agencies. The examinat ions shall give\nspecial attention to the faithful and economical application of any money\nappropriated by the state to the institution, public works, or state agency\nexamined, or of any money in which the state has an interest;\n(d) Examine annually the management and condition of the offices of the Finance\nand Administration Cabinet, the State Treasurer, and the chief state school\nofficer, to determine whether the laws regulating their duties are being fully\ncomplied with, and all money received by them for  the state fully accounted\nfor;\n(e) Examine, at least biennially, the Finance and Administration Cabinet's\ncompliance with this section and KRS 48.111 and 56.800 to 56.823. Within\nsixty (60) days of the completion of each examination, the Auditor shall\nreport his findings and recommendations to the Capital Projects and Bond\nOversight Committee;\n(f) Audit periodically all state revenue collections, and, if he finds that\ncollections are not being satisfactorily made, report that fact to the authority\nwhose duty it is to make the collections;\n(g) Make special audits and investigations when required by the Governor;\n(h) Investigate the means of accounting for, controlling, and insuring the safe\ncustody of all property of the state, and verify the existence and c ondition of\nsuch property charged to, or held in the custody of any state agency;\n(i) Audit the statements of financial condition and operations of the state\ngovernment, and certify in writing the results of the audit and examination\nwith the comments he deems necessary for the information of the General\nAssembly;\n(j) Report immediately in writing to the Governor, the Legislative Research\nCommission, and the secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet,\nany unauthorized, illegal, irregular, or unsafe handling or expenditure of state\nfunds, or other improper practice of financial admin istration, or evidence that\nany such handling, expenditure, or practice is contemplated, and any\nobstruction of the Auditor or his agents during the conduct of any audit or\ninvestigation of a state agency; and\n(k) Assist the Legislative Research Commission  at hearings and investigations\nconducted by it and cooperate with the Legislative Research Commission in\nthe preparation of its reports to the General Assembly.\n(3) The Auditor may investigate and examine into the conduct of all state and county\nofficers who are authorized to receive, collect, or disburse any money for the state,\nor who manage or control any property belonging to the state or in which the state\nis interested, or who make estimates or records that are used as a basis by any state\nagency in the disbursement of public funds.\n(4) The Auditor may conduct a special audit or examination of a city government or\nany of its agencies or departments.\n(5) The Auditor may receive appropriations from the general fund for audits of the\nstatewide systems of  personnel and payroll, cash and investments, revenue\ncollection, and the state accounting system. Except where otherwise provided, any\nexpenses incurred by the Auditor for any other audit, examination, investigation, or\nreview, including a required audit of federal funds, shall be charged to the entity\nthat is the subject of the audit, examination, investigation, or review. The Auditor\nshall maintain a record of all time expenses for each audit, examination,\ninvestigation, or review.\n(6) The Auditor may provide consulting services, in accordance with auditing standards\ngenerally accepted in the United States and government auditing standards, to state\nor local government entities and associations of such entities, including special\npurpose governmental enti ties, and may charge a mutually agreed upon rate for\nthose services, including:\n(a) Providing training and technical presentations;\n(b) Developing audit guides applicable to those entities;\n(c) Developing question and answer documents to promote understand ing of\ntechnical issues or standards; and\n(d) Collaborating with other professional organizations to advance auditing of\ngovernment entities and programs.\n(7) The Auditor shall not be responsible for the keeping of any accounts of the state,\nexcept accounts relating to his own operations. The Auditor shall not be responsible\nfor the collection of any money due the state, or for the handling or custody of any\nstate funds or property except in the process of counting and verifying the amounts\nof the funds or property in the course of the audits provided for in this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 43"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56944","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:03Z","sha256":"74b52ac6f9c6189c1cd4118d3db5b72357aaae1520d0d4da44baab3f351bc8ed","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-43.040","next":"us-ky/krs-43.060"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}