Resources for Auditors

Reporting forms for relief associations with assets or liabilities of at least $750,000 are required to be submitted to the OSA by June 30. Relief associations with assets or liabilities above this statutory threshold must also submit an annual audit to the OSA.

Whether a relief association has exceeded the statutory threshold is determined using end of year asset and liability amounts, and is based on Special Fund amounts only. After a relief association exceeds the threshold in either assets or liabilities, according to the previous year’s financial report, an audit is required beginning with the next reporting year’s reports.

The 2022 Minnesota Legal Compliance Audit Guide for Relief Associations prescribes the minimum procedures and audit scope for legal compliance audits.

The reporting forms can be accessed through the State Auditor’s Form Entry System (SAFES) website. Helpful hints for completing, submitting, and electronically signing the reporting forms are included in the Reporting Checklist for Volunteer Fire Relief Associations.

If you have not already done so, please complete and submit the 2023 User Authorization Form to provide the relief association’s accountant or auditor with access to the relief association’s reporting information.

Relief associations with assets and liabilities that are both less than $750,000 are permitted to submit certified, rather than audited, financial statements to the OSA and have a March 31 reporting deadline. The certification must be signed by a certified public accountant in accordance with agreed-upon procedures and forms prescribed by the OSA.

Published last in the May 2023 Pension Newsletter