COVID-19 has impacted local governments in many ways, not the least of which is interfering with the timeline for completing a June 30, 2020 audit. After giving careful consideration to the limitations on local governments’ staff time and the availability of audit staff, we are extending the deadline for June 30, 2020 audits, both financial and compliance, to January 31, 2021.
What does that mean? If you have already submitted your audit contract with an October 31, 2020 deadline and submit your audit before January 31, 2021:
- we will accept your audit as timely, and we will make no indication in our records that your audit was late
- we will not require an amended contract form
If your audit report is submitted after 11:59 PM on January 31, 2021:
- it will be considered late
- you or your auditor will need to submit an amended contract form
If you have not yet submitted your audit contract for your June 30, 2021 audit, you may submit it with a January 31, 2021 due date instead of October 31, 2020 (or any date in between those two dates).
Again, units that have already submitted contracts do NOT need to send in contract amendment forms simply to change the due date to a date on or before January 31, 2021. We recommend that you consult with your auditor and your unit attorney to determine if you need to make changes to the contract you entered into with your auditor.
Note that these deadline modifications apply to the submission of your audit report to the Secretary of the Local Government Commission as required under North Carolina General Statute 159-34(a). Other entities may have filing deadlines or requirements different than those we have set, and the changes described here apply only to the submission of the report to the LGC.
Debt Approvals: Most of you know that beginning with the November LGC meeting, we require a unit to have its current fiscal year audit complete for that unit to be on the agenda for debt approval. We realize that will present a significant challenge for many of you this year. We are currently working with the LGC to produce a reasonable policy on this issue. However, those of you that are considering issuing debt that will be publicly traded will need to have your 2020 audits complete if the debt will sell after October 31, 2020.