{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-43.070","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 43.070","heading":"Audit of accounts of county officers and special purpose governmental","body":"entities -- Agreed-upon procedures engagement for county clerks and sheriffs -\n- Audit expenses.\n(1) (a) To determine whether any unauthorized, illegal, irregular, or unsaf e handling\nor expenditure of revenue or other improper practice of financial\nadministration has occurred and to assure that all proper items have been duly\ncharged, taxed, and reported, the Auditor shall audit annually:\n1. The funds contained in each county's budget;\n2. The books, accounts, and papers of all county clerks and sheriffs, which\nincludes receipts paid to county clerks from the collection of:\na. Motor vehicle and motorboat registration fees, motor vehicle and\nmotorboat licenses, and other receip ts due the clerk pertaining to\nmotor vehicles and motorboats as provided in KRS Chapters 186,\n186A, and 235;\nb. The motor vehicle usage tax as provided in KRS 138.460; and\nc. The ad valorem tax on motor vehicles and motorboats as provided\nin KRS 134.800.\nCounty clerks shall transmit a copy of the portion of the audit relating to the\nreceipts set out in subparagraph 2.a. to c. of this paragraph to the Department\nof Revenue and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.\n(b) The Auditor shall not conduct an audit pursuant to this subsection if the fiscal\ncourt or the elected official notifies the Auditor that a certified public\naccountant has been employed to audit the books, accounts, and papers of the\ncounty or the fee office, in accordance with KRS 64.810.\n(c) 1. If any county clerk or sheriff meets the criteria established in this\nsubsection and any additional criteria established in administrative\nregulations promulgated by the Auditor, that county clerk's or sheriff's\naudit required by this section may, in the discretion of the Auditor, be\nconducted by an agreed -upon procedures engagement performed by the\nAuditor. If, in the discretion of the Auditor, an agreed -upon procedures\nengagement in progress will not provide suffic ient oversight of the\ncounty clerk's or sheriff's office, the Auditor may at any time convert the\nengagement to an audit performed under paragraph (a)2. of this\nsubsection. A county clerk or sheriff shall not be eligible for the agreed -\nupon procedures enga gement as allowed in this paragraph for the first\naudit period after election if the county clerk or sheriff is serving in\noffice for the first time, or is assuming the office after experiencing a\nbreak in sequential service in that position.\n2. The Audito r and the county clerk or sheriff shall establish specific\nprocedures for any agreed -upon procedures engagement. If the Auditor\nand the county clerk or sheriff cannot agree to the specific procedures\nfor an agreed -upon procedures engagement, the audit of t he county\nclerk's or sheriff's office shall be conducted under paragraph (a)2. of this\nsubsection for that year subject to the audit.\n3. At a minimum, the county clerk or sheriff shall meet the following\ncriteria in order to be eligible to have the county clerk's or sheriff's\nannual audit in any particular year conducted using agreed -upon\nprocedures:\na. The county clerk or sheriff applies to the Auditor to have an\nagreed-upon procedures engagement for the year subject to the\naudit on a form provided by the Auditor and by the application\ndeadline established by the Auditor;\nb. The county clerk's or sheriff's office did not have any reported\naudit comment or finding in its most recent audit report;\nc. The county clerk or sheriff and the Auditor agree to specif ic\nprocedures for the agreed-upon procedures engagement; and\nd. Any additional criteria that may be determined by the Auditor.\n4. The publication requirements related to an agreed -upon procedures\nengagement shall be the same as those required for audits of  the county\nclerks and sheriffs performed under paragraph (a)2. of this subsection,\nexcept that the Auditor may provide a summary of the agreed -upon\nprocedures engagement report, and publication of the summary shall\nsatisfy the statutory requirements to pu blish the audit report, opinion\nletter, and transmittal letter.\n5. The billing and expense provisions of subsection (3) of this section shall\napply to any agreed -upon procedures engagement performed under this\nsection.\n6. The Auditor may promulgate adminis trative regulations that set forth\nadditional criteria to qualify for agreed -upon procedures engagements,\nthe application procedures, and the standards, procedures, guidelines,\nand reporting requirements for agreed -upon procedures engagements\nunder this section.\n7. In exercising discretion regarding whether a county clerk or sheriff who\notherwise meets the minimum requirements may have an agreed -upon\nprocedures engagement in lieu of an audit for any particular year subject\nto an engagement, and in exercisin g discretion regarding the proposed\nprocedures for the agreed -upon procedures engagement for any\nparticular year subject to an audit, the Auditor may consider factors\nincluding but not limited to past audit comments or agreed -upon\nprocedures engagement fin dings, assessment of risks, complaints,\nfinancial statements, the number of consecutive agreed -upon procedures\nengagements performed of the county clerk or sheriff, and other factors\nrelevant to oversight of the county clerk's or sheriff's office.\n(2) The Auditor may audit:\n(a) The books, accounts and papers of all county judges/executive, county\nattorneys, coroners and constables; and\n(b) The books, accounts, papers, and performance of all special purpose\ngovernmental entities as defined in KRS 65A.010. Th e expense of any audit\nor examination performed pursuant to this paragraph shall be borne by the\nentity audited or examined.\n(3) (a) The county shall bear one -half (1/2) of the actual expense of the audit\nconducted pursuant to subsection (1)(a)1. of this s ection and shall bear the\ntotal actual expense of the audit conducted pursuant to subsections (1)(a)2.\nand (2)(a) of this section. No county shall be required to bear the expense for\nmore than one (1) audit of the same fund or office annually pursuant to\nsubsection (1)(a)1. or 2. of this section, except as provided in KRS 64.810(4).\n(b) The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet shall bear the cost of the portion of the\naudit of receipts from motor vehicles and motorboats required in subsection\n(1)(a)2. of this se ction, regardless of whether the Auditor prepared the audit\nrequired under this section or the county made other arrangements for the\naudit under subsection (1)(b) of this section and KRS 64.810.\n(4) Within a reasonable time after the completion and distri bution of the audit reports\nauthorized by subsection (1) of this section, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall\nbill the county for the expenses incurred pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.\nA copy of this bill shall be forwarded to the secretary of the Finance and\nAdministration Cabinet. Should the fiscal court within sixty (60) days following\nreceipt of said bill determine the charge to be excessive or otherwise improper it\nshall submit its objection to the secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet\nand to the State Treasurer for resolution of the controversy in accordance with\nsubsection (5) of this section. If the amount billed has not been paid within sixty\n(60) days from date of billing, and no objection has been filed, the Auditor shall\nnotify the secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet and the secretary of\nrevenue who shall cause said amount to be deducted from the next payment or\nreturn of moneys provided by KRS 47.110 by the state to the county or counties.\nDeductions shall continue until the total amount due the Auditor's office has been\npaid. All moneys received pursuant to this section shall be credited to the trust and\nagency account of the Auditor of Public Accounts. When an objection to the bill\nhas been filed with the secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet and the\nState Treasurer in accordance with subsection (5) of this section the amount found\nto be equitable and just shall become payable immediately upon the entry of the\nfinal decision.\n(5) Any controversy over the amount of the bill for the actual expenses incurred shall\nbe submitted by the fiscal court to the secretary of the Finance and Administration\nCabinet and the State Treasurer for a decision as to the proper amount. In the event\nthat these two (2) arbitrators fail to agree, then the controversy shall be submitted to\nthe Attorney General, whose decision shall be final.","path":["KRS Chapter 43"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=58176","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:03Z","sha256":"5a343139bf2f7eb1ab832935bf56657a8574116bdfa13c2e7c188473f941c0b0","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-43.060","next":"us-ky/krs-43.071"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}