Auditing The PAC
In this age of transparency and ethics rules, one important item on your PAC “To Do List” should be a biennial PAC Audit. The audit should not simply be a review of the PAC finances, though that is important. It should also cover a review of the systems and processes used by the PAC to ensure that they support compliance with the law.
Ideally, the PAC will provide the auditor with financial documentation for the PAC. That would include copies of payroll deduction files, copies of personal checks that have been deposited into the PAC account, and an accounting of any petty cash funds. It would also include a list of all checks issued by the PAC during the review period, along with their ultimate disposition, i.e. cleared, outstanding, void. Finally, copies of bank statements covering the review period, along with the reconciliation of that statement, should also be provided.
Copies of all written procedures will be needed for the compliance portion. This part of the review will look at whether or not the procedures support the requirements of the FEC.