§ 10-4-422 - Records -- Public inspection. - Arkansas Statutes

10-4-422. Records -- Public inspection.

(a) The Legislative Auditor shall keep, or cause to be kept, a complete, accurate, and adequate set of fiscal transactions of the Division of Legislative Audit.

(b) The Legislative Auditor shall also keep paper, digital, or electronic copies of all audit reports, examinations, investigations, and any other reports or releases issued by the Legislative Auditor.

(c) (1) All working papers, including communications, notes, memoranda, preliminary drafts of audit reports, and other data gathered in the preparation of audit reports by the division are exempt from all provisions of the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, 25-19-101 et seq., and are not to be considered public documents for purposes of inspection or copying under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, 25-19-101 et seq., or any other law of the State of Arkansas, except as provided in this subsection.

(2) After any audit report has been presented to members of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, the audit report and copies of any documents contained in the working papers of the division shall be open to public inspection, except documents specifically exempted from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, 25-19-101 et seq., unsubstantiated allegations obtained in complying with the provisions of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Statement on Auditing Standards Number 99 or other professional guidelines regarding the detection of fraud, and documents which disclose auditing procedures and techniques as defined in subdivision (c)(3) of this section.

(3) As used in this subsection:

(A) "Audit program" means the instructions and guidelines formulated by the division to inform its accountants about the examination procedures to be followed in the course of examining records and accounts to verify their accuracy, including verifications that the examination procedures have been followed; and

(B) "Documents which disclose auditing procedures and techniques" includes:

(i) Internal control questionnaires consisting of the checklist of accounting and administrative procedures employed by the Division of Legislative Audit in the course of performing an audit; and

(ii) An audit program.