(a) The governing body of each municipality shall cause an annual audit to be made of the accounts and records of all departments, boards, and agencies under its jurisdiction that receive and disburse funds. The audit must include, but is not limited to, general funds, highway funds, school funds, public utilities, and municipal courts.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 6-56-105

  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Officer: means the mayor, aldermen, city attorney and city judge. See Tennessee Code 6-1-101
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The comptroller of the treasury, through the department of audit, shall ensure that the audits are prepared in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards and determine whether the audits meet minimum audit standards, which are prescribed by the comptroller of the treasury. An audit does not meet the requirements of this section until the audit has been approved by the comptroller of the treasury.
(c) The audits may be prepared by certified public accountants or by the department of audit. The cost of each audit must be paid out of the funds of the municipality, and the governing body of the municipality shall appropriate a sufficient sum for that purpose.
(d) If the governing body of the municipality fails or refuses to have the audit prepared, the comptroller of the treasury may appoint a certified public accountant or direct the department of audit to prepare the audit, the cost of such audit to be paid by the municipality.
(e) All such audits must be completed as soon as practicable after the end of the fiscal year of the municipality. The preparer of the audit shall furnish one (1) copy of each audit to the mayor, chief executive officer, each member of the governing body, and the comptroller of the treasury. Copies of each audit must also be made available to the press.
(f) The result of each audit must be kept as a public and permanent record of the municipality and is subject to the inspection of each citizen or taxpayer.
(g) If a municipality fails to prepare auditable financial records in a timely manner, the comptroller of the treasury may appoint a certified public accountant or certified municipal finance officer to prepare financial records for the municipality’s annual audit.
(h) The internal audit staff of the municipality shall conduct audits in accordance with the standards established by the comptroller of the treasury pursuant to § 4-3-304(9).
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