Does the five year rotation of the lead audit partner apply to the period prior to the effective date of the Act?
Yes. An audit partner should not oversee a public authority audit for more than any consecutive five year period. This applies to audit periods initiated prior to the effective date of the statute. For example, if an authority had the same audit partner for three consecutive years prior to the Act, then the authority is required to change lead audit partners no later than upon completion of the next two audit cycles. However, should a public authority have a contract with a specific audit firm or audit partner that currently prohibits such rotation within this five year cycle, the authority may honor the contract for the initial engagement period, but must rotate audit partners at the first available opportunity (no extensions allowed).
