{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3909","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-3909","heading":"Audits - Audit Committee - Audit procedures and reports","body":"A. In addition to such other audits as may be required of or\n\ndesired by the various boards of regents responsible for the\n\ninstitutions of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, each\n\nboard shall annually obtain the services of an independent\n\naccounting firm or individual holding a permit to practice public\n\naccounting in this state to perform a complete financial audit for\n\nthe preceding fiscal year of each institution for which the board is\n\nresponsible. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall\n\nlikewise annually obtain the services of an independent accounting\n\nfirm or individual holding a permit to practice public accounting in\n\nthis state to perform a complete financial audit of all the offices,\n\noperations, and accounts of the State Regents which are not subject\n\nto the control of other boards of regents. The audits shall be\n\nfiled in accordance with the requirements set forth for financial\n\nstatement audits in Section 212A of Title 74 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes.\n\nB. Each board of regents shall appoint a standing Audit\n\nCommittee of the board consisting of not fewer than three (3) board\n\nmembers. The Audit Committee shall be responsible for establishing\n\nthe qualifications of any accounting firm or individual seeking to\n\nbe hired to perform an audit for the board and shall recommend to\n\nthe board the firms or individuals whom the board shall invite to\n\nsubmit competitive bids. The full board shall select the auditor\n\nfrom among the competitive bidders. Audit committees shall not\n\nrecommend any firm or individual unwilling to meet the following\n\nspecifications. The specifications shall be among the terms and\n\nconditions of any contract awarded:\n\n1. All revolving fund accounts, special accounts, special\n\nagency accounts, auxiliary enterprise accounts, and technical area\n\nschool district accounts, if any, shall be included within the scope\n\nof the audit;\n\n2. Where operations of constituent agencies or technical area\n\nschool districts are relevant to the complete financial audit of the\n\ninstitution, records of those enterprises shall be included within\n\nthe scope of the audit;\n\n3. To the extent required by subsection (d) of Section 4306 of\n\nthis title, records of college- or university-related foundations\n\nshall be included within the scope of the audit;\n\n4. At the conclusion of the audit, the auditor shall meet with\n\nthe president of the institution and the Audit Committee to review\n\nthe audit report to be issued, the management letter or other\n\ncomments or suggestions to be issued, and any other findings; and\n\n5. Findings of material weaknesses, qualifications of the\n\nauditor's report other than those deriving from inadequate plant\n\nrecords, and of defalcations, or a report of lack of such findings,\n\nshall be communicated in writing to the board, the State Auditor and\n\nInspector, the Legislative Service Bureau, and the Oklahoma State\n\nRegents for Higher Education with or in advance of the filing of the\n\naudit report required by Section 452.10 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes; and such written communications shall include any\n\nresponses or other comments which the president or the Audit\n\nCommittee wishes to have included.\n\nC. The State Auditor and Inspector whenever he or she deems it\n\nappropriate, or upon receiving a written request to do so by the\n\nGovernor, Attorney General, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the\n\nSpeaker of the House of Representatives, the governing board of an\n\ninstitution of higher education, the Oklahoma State Regents for\n\nHigher Education or the president of an institution of higher\n\neducation, shall conduct a special audit of any institution of\n\nhigher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher\n\nEducation. The special audit shall include, but not necessarily be\n\nlimited to, a compliance audit as defined in subsection C of Section\n\n213 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The State Auditor and\ngents for\n\nHigher Education or the president of an institution of higher\n\neducation, shall conduct a special audit of any institution of\n\nhigher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher\n\nEducation. The special audit shall include, but not necessarily be\n\nlimited to, a compliance audit as defined in subsection C of Section\n\n213 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The State Auditor and\n\nInspector shall have the power to take custody of any records\n\nnecessary to the performance of the audit but shall minimize actual\n\nphysical removal of or denial of access to such records. At the\n\nconclusion of the audit, the State Auditor and Inspector shall meet\n\nwith the president of the institution and the Audit Committee of the\n\nboard which governs the component audited to review the audit report\n\nto be issued. The report, when issued, shall include any responses\n\nto the audit which the president or the Audit Committee wishes to\n\nhave included and shall be presented to the full board, the\n\nLegislative Service Bureau, and the Oklahoma State Regents for\n\nHigher Education with or in advance of the filing required by\n\nSection 452.10 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The cost of\n\nsuch audit shall be borne by the audited entity and may be defrayed\n\nin whole or in part by any federal funds available for that purpose.\n\nD. Each board of regents shall require the employment of a\n\nsufficient number of internal auditors to meet the board's fiduciary\n\nresponsibilities. Internal audits shall be conducted in accordance\n\nwith the provisions of Sections 228 and 229 of Title 74 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes. The internal auditors shall submit a report\n\ndirectly and simultaneously to the audit committee of the board and\n\nthe president of the institution; all members of the board of\n\nregents governing the institution, however, shall receive all\n\ninternal audit reports and the board of regents shall, at least\n\nannually, review and prescribe the plan of work to be performed by\n\nthe internal auditors.\n\nE. Any person who alters or destroys records needed for the\n\nperformance of an audit or causes or directs a subordinate to do\n\nsuch acts shall be guilty of a Class D1 felony offense punishable by\n\nimprisonment as provided for in subsections B through F of Section\n\n20N of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or by a fine of not more\n\nthan Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), or by both such fine and\n\nimprisonment. Such person shall also be subject to immediate\n\nremoval from office or employment.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"5cd102df08e38ac5a5b369d704e889c7d5a0fb6f2088dea9555d7e1f0dc6472e","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3908","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-3910"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}