Those who are involved in financial reporting for a public or quasi-public entity in the state of Louisiana must be aware of Act 462 of the 2015 Louisiana Legislative Session which further amends Louisiana Revised Statute 24:513. Act 462 alters what information these organizations need to provide as part of their supplemental schedule. If you are responsible for financial reporting at a public or quasi-public entity, you must adhere to the newly revised guidelines outlined in Act 462.
What 462 changes
Act 462 is actually a minor adjustment to the existing rules from Act 706 of the 2014 Louisiana Legislative Session, which created the requirement to submit a supplemental schedule detailing compensation given agency heads, political subdivision heads or chief executive officers at local auditees.
The new amendment does not change language detailing which organizations need to submit a supplemental schedule, but does alter what that schedule needs to contain. Under 706, organizations needed to report all the compensation given to an agency head or executive. That included reimbursements, per diems, housing costs and more. Under Act 462, nongovernmental entities or not-for-profit entities that receive public funds need to report all the same types of compensation, but only if public funds were used to cover the costs in question.
Potential repercussions
In addition to clarifying the information that auditees are required to divulge, Act 462 introduces ramifications for organizations that fail to meet the requirements laid out in the original act. If an auditee fails to resolve audit findings for three years consecutively, the Legislative Audit Advisory Council can call the organization in for a hearing. If it is determined that the organization failed to comply without just cause, the council can withhold further public funding from the organization.