18.
| (1) The Board shall cause proper books of accounts to be kept of the income and expenditure, assets and liabilities and all other transactions of the Institute, |
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| (2) The Board shall cause its books to be balanced as on the thirty-first day of December in each year and shall before the thirty-first day of March next, cause to be prepared an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet containing a summary of the assets and liabilities of the Institute made upto the first-mentioned date. |
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| (3) The income and expenditure account and the balance sheet shall be signed by the Chairman of the Board and the Director of the Institute. |
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| (4) The Board may employ the services of any qualified auditor (hereinafter referred to as "auditor") for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the Institute. |
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| (5) For the purpose of meeting the expenses incurred by any auditor in the audit of accounts of the Institute. such auditor shall be paid by the Institute such remuneration as the Board may determine. |
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| (6) The auditor shall inspect the accounts, the finances, the management of the finances and the property of the Institute, The auditor shall as far as possible, and as far as it is necessary, examine
| | (a) whether the organization, systems, procedures, books, records and other documents have been properly and adequately designed from the point of view of the presentation of information to enable continuous evaluation of the activities of the Institute, and whether such systems, procedures, books, records and other documents are in effective operation ; | | |
| | (b) whether the financial conduct of the Institute has been in accordance with the law, rules and regulations relevant to the Institute and whether there has been fairness in the financial administration of the Institute; | | |
| | (c) whether there has been economy and efficiency in the commitment of funds and utilization of such funds ; | | |
| | (d) whether system of keeping moneys and the safe- guarding of property are satisfactory ; | | |
| | (e) whether the accounts audited have been so designed as to present a true and fair view of the affairs of the Institute in respect of the period under consideration, due regard being paid to principles of accountancy, financing and valuation ; and | | |
| | (f) any such other matter as he may deem necessary. | | |
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| (7) The auditor shall determine the nature and extent of the audit that shall be carried out in any particular period and may dispense with any particular aspect. |
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| (8) The auditor shall have
| | (a) the right of access to any books, records, documents and any type of information which is directly or indirectly related to the activities of the Institute; | | |
| | (b) the right to call for such information, documents, explanation reports or other material at any time as in his opinion is necessary for the purposes of the audit; | | |
| | (c) the right to summon any person for examination and for the production of any document, where such examination or production is considered necessary for the purposes of the audit. | | |
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| (9) The Institute or any person of the Institute shall comply with any request made by the auditor in the exercise of the above-mentioned process. |
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| (10) The accounts of the Institute for each financial year shall be submitted to the auditor for audit within four months after the close of that year along with any report on the accounts which the auditor may require to be submitted in the manner specified by him. Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the preceding provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall on conviction after a summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees. |
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| (11) The auditor shall submit a report to the Chairman of the Institute within eight months after the close of the financial year, to which the report relates dealing with the results of the audit including a report on the accounts examined in the year. Copies of such report shall be forwarded by him where
| | (a) the Minister is the Minister in charge of the subject of finance, to that Minister ; or | | |
| | (b) The Minister is not the Minister in charge of the subject of finance, to both the Minister, and the Minister in charge of the subject of finance. | | |
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| (12) For the purposes of this section the expression ''qualified auditor" means-
| | (a) an individual who being a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka possesses a certificate to practice as an Accountant issued by the council of that Institute ; or | | |
| | (b) a firm of Chartered Accountants each of the partners of which being a member of that Institute, possess a certificate to practice as an Accountant issued by the Council of that Institute. | | |
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Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts