The auditor’s report


It is normal practice for the corporation's external auditor to attend the AGMs. However, he does not always have to attend so if the owners have questions for the auditor, and you think that the board has something to hide, it may be best to request his attendance.

The Act states that any owner can request the auditor or a former auditor  to attend an AGM or any owners' meeting. The request must be in writing and a copy sent to the board.

After the meeting has been brought to order, and the minutes of the previous meeting dealt with, the auditor's report is usually next on the agenda. This is because the auditor doesn't want to hang around any more than he has to. (Often, the Chair says that the auditor needs to speak first as he has another AGM to attend but that may or may not be true.)

The report
Unless a group of owners have studied the financial report and have noticed questionable entries, or that there are issues that should have been covered by Notes at the back of the report, the auditor normally does not have to answer many questions.

The main point to keep in mind is that the financial report is not the responsibility of the auditor. It is the board's report. He just did a sampling to determine if all the entries seem to be in order.

Individuals have questions
Outside a duly called owners meeting, the auditor does not have to answer questions from individual owners who call him at his office or send him a letter without being paid for his time. However many auditors will answer a couple of simple questions over the phone.

However, if the owner's questions will take some time, the auditor may refuse to answer the questions unless the corporation agrees to pay him. He could also ask for payment from the owner to compensate him for his time.

Alternatively, the auditor may bill the condo corporation who could then add the expense to the owner's common element fees.

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