36 U.S.C. § 220543 — Records, audits, and reports

submitted 8 years ago by Pub. L. 115-126 to r/title-36-PATRIOTIC-AND-NATIONAL-OBSERVANCES-CEREMONIES-AND-ORGANIZATIONS · 856 words · no verdicts yet

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The Center must keep accurate financial records. Its finances must be independently audited every year to check internal controls and prevent misuse of funds, with a report and a corrective-action plan for any problems, all posted online along with its tax filings and board minutes (minus anyone's personal details). The Center must send Congress a yearly report covering its strategic plan, finances, complaint statistics, retaliation complaints, and training activities.

(a) The Center must keep accurate, complete financial records. (b) Audits and transparency. (1) At least once a year, an independent auditor must audit the Center's finances under standard accounting rules, to check its internal controls and prevent waste, fraud, or misuse of money from the corporation or governing bodies. The audit happens wherever the Center keeps its financial records. Within 180 days after the audit, the auditor issues a report. The Center must then write a corrective-action plan responding to any recommendations, naming who's responsible for each fix, describing the fix, giving a target completion date, and — if the Center disagrees with a recommendation or thinks no fix is needed — explaining why. (2) The Center must give the auditor full access to the records, documents, staff, and financial statements needed for the audit. (3) The Center must post online, without anyone's personal information: each audit report, its IRS Form 990, and the minutes of its board's quarterly meetings. (4) For this subsection, the Center counts as a private entity. (c) The Center must send Congress an annual report including: its strategic plan for carrying out sections 220541 and 220542; how well it followed that plan last year; a fair statement of its assets, debts, and surplus or deficit, and how those changed; details on misconduct complaints — how many came in, how many are pending, how many were closed, and how many went to law enforcement; details on retaliation complaints by its own staff or contractors, including how many and their outcomes; its education and training activities that year; and a general description of its activities. (d) Definitions: an "audit report" is a report from an independent auditor giving an opinion on whether the Center's financial records are accurate and properly kept, assessing its internal controls, and assessing whether it complied with subsection (b). An "independent auditor" is an independent certified or state-licensed public accountant who meets standard accounting requirements.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)Records.—

The Center shall keep correct and complete records of account.

(b)Audits and Transparency.—

(1)Annual audit.—

(A)In general.—

Not less frequently than annually, the financial statements of the Center for the preceding fiscal year shall be audited by an independent auditor in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles—

(i)

to ensure the adequacy of the internal controls of the Center; and

(ii)

to prevent waste, fraud, or misuse of funds transferred to the Center by the corporation or the national governing bodies.

(B)Location.—

An audit under subparagraph (A) shall be conducted at the location at which the financial statements of the Center normally are kept.

(C)Report.—

Not later than 180 days after the date on which an audit under subparagraph (A) is completed, the independent auditor shall issue an audit report.

(D)Corrective action plan.—

(i)In general.—

On completion of the audit report under subparagraph (C) for a fiscal year, the Center shall prepare, in a separate document, a corrective action plan that responds to any corrective action recommended by the independent auditor.

(ii)Matters to be included.—

A corrective action plan under clause (i) shall include the following for each such corrective action:

(I)

The name of the person responsible for the corrective action.

(II)

A description of the planned corrective action.

(III)

The anticipated completion date of the corrective action.

(IV)

In the case of a recommended corrective action based on a finding in the audit report with which the Center disagrees, or for which the Center determines that corrective action is not required, an explanation and a specific reason for noncompliance with the recommendation.

(2)Access to records and personnel.—

With respect to an audit under paragraph (1), the Center shall provide the independent auditor access to all records, documents, and personnel and financial statements of the Center necessary to carry out the audit.

(3)Public availability.—

(A)In general.—

The Center shall make available to the public on an easily accessible internet website of the Center—

(i)

each audit report under paragraph (1)(C);

(ii)

the Internal Revenue Service Form 990 of the Center for each year, filed under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and

(iii)

the minutes of the quarterly meetings of the board of directors of the Center.

(B)Personally identifiable information.—

An audit report or the minutes made available under subparagraph (A) shall not include the personally identifiable information of any individual.

(4)Rule of construction.—

For purposes of this subsection, the Center shall be considered a private entity.

(c)Report.—

The Center shall submit an annual report to Congress, including—

(1)

a strategic plan with respect to the manner in which the Center shall fulfill its duties under sections 220541 and 220542;

(2)

a detailed description of the efforts made by the Center to comply with such strategic plan during the preceding year;

(3)

any financial statement necessary to present fairly the assets, liabilities, and surplus or deficit of the Center for the preceding year;

(4)

an analysis of the changes in the amounts of such assets, liabilities, and surplus or deficit during the preceding year;

(5)

a detailed description of Center activities, including—

(A)

the number and nature of misconduct complaints referred to the Center;

(B)

the total number and type of pending misconduct complaints under investigation by the Center;

(C)

the number of misconduct complaints for which an investigation was terminated or otherwise closed by the Center; and

(D)

the number of such misconduct complaints reported to law enforcement agencies by the Center for further investigation;

(6)

a detailed description of any complaint of retaliation made during the preceding year by an officer or employee of the Center or a contractor or subcontractor of the Center that includes—

(A)

the number of such complaints; and

(B)

the outcome of each such complaint;

(7)

information relating to the educational activities and trainings conducted by the office of education and outreach of the Center during the preceding year, including the number of educational activities and trainings developed and provided; and

(8)

a description of the activities of the Center.

(d)Definitions.—

In this section—

(1)

“audit report” means a report by an independent auditor that includes—

(A)

an opinion or a disclaimer of opinion that presents the assessment of the independent auditor with respect to the financial records of the Center, including whether such records are accurate and have been maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(B)

an assessment of the internal controls used by the Center that describes the scope of testing of the internal controls and the results of such testing; and

(C)

a compliance assessment that includes an opinion or a disclaimer of opinion as to whether the Center has complied with the terms and conditions of subsection (b); and

(2)

“independent auditor” means an independent certified public accountant or independent licensed public accountant, certified or licensed by a regulatory authority of a State or a political subdivision of a State, who meets the standards specified in generally accepted accounting principles.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 115–126, title II, § 202(a), Feb. 14, 2018, 132 Stat. 323; amended Pub. L. 116–189, § 8(c), Oct. 30, 2020, 134 Stat. 968.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

2018Enacted · Pub. L. 115-126 · 132 Stat. 323
2020Amended · Pub. L. 116-189 · 134 Stat. 968

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 115-126 on 2018-02-14.

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