When a ward is discontinued, the stake president determines whether to audit its financial records. He considers such factors as the date the ward was discontinued, the ward’s previous audit results, and the availability of the ward’s financial records. For example, if the ward was discontinued late in the audit period, there might have been enough donations and expenses to justify an audit.
If a financial audit is considered necessary, it may be conducted anytime after the ward is discontinued. The audit may be completed online or on a paper audit form. The assigned stake auditor should make sure that the discontinued ward’s financial records are available. If the audit is not conducted as part of the regular six-month audit cycle, the audit is conducted on paper and is not entered into LUFAS.
The ward’s last bishop and clerk for finances should be present for the audit.
If a paper audit form is used, the stake auditor submits the completed form to the stake audit committee. The stake audit committee reviews it, and the committee chairman and the stake president sign it. See Conducting an Audit Using a Paper Form for more information.
As an alternative, the stake president may choose to wait until the end of the audit period and conduct the final audit online using the Local Unit Financial Auditing System (LUFAS). If the audit is conducted online, the ward’s last bishop does not sign the audit. The area auditor will need to enter any corrective action for exceptions noted and sign the audit on behalf of the unit’s bishop. Audit exceptions with corrective actions are resolved in the usual manner (see Resolving Audit Exceptions).
If a financial audit is not considered necessary, the stake president informs the assistant area auditor, who arranges with the area auditor to mark the unit as not requiring an audit for the period in LUFAS.