Cohousing-L Mailing List: auditing the books

[Diana Carroll (dianaecarroll]

Have any of you hired an accountant to audit your homeowner's
association's books?

I've been handling all the bookkeeping for my group, Mosaic Commons,
using Quickbooks.  however, I am NOT in any way a professional
accountant or even bookkeeper.  I've been wondering if we should
engage an accounting firm to perform an annual audit.  I've never
dealt with an accounting firm or have any idea what the process would
be, or the expense.

Is an audit a legal requirement?  Does it have to be done by a CPA?
If we have a CPA in the group, could s/he perform the audit or must it
be completed by an independent agency?

How are other groups handling annual accounting audits?

- Diana