Senate Bill S10090

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S10090

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to adult care
facility financial statements

 
PURPOSE OF BILL:

To allow adult care facilities ("ACFs") to obtain a financial statement
review from a Certified Public Accountant ("CPA"), instead of an opinion
or full audit.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the closing paragraph of paragraph (a) of subdivision 4
of section 461-e of the social services law to allow ACFs to obtain a
CPA review, instead of an opinion, of financial statements required to
be filed with the Department of Health ("DOH"). DOH would still be able
to require an opinion if it determines that it is required and neces-
sary.
              

Section 2 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

ACFs" are required by statute to file an annual financial statement with
DOH that must be accompanied by an opinion from a CPA.

Until 2019, DOH was accepting CPA reviews of a facility's financial
report without requiring a full audit. In 2019, DOH modified and stream-
lined the ACF Financial Report form in consultation with stakeholders.
However, and in parallel, DOE also changed the CPA certification form
without input from ACFs.

As a result of the changes made to the. CPA certification form, account-
ants started requiring facilities to commission a full financial audit
in order to sign off on the report, resulting in substantial, added
costs for ACFs - the price of an audit is typically $10,000-$15,000 per
facility,

This legislation would allow facilities to seek a CPA review instead of
an opinion, consistent with DOH's previous practice, removing the need
for a CPA full audit. DOH would still be able to require an opinion if
necessary to determine the accuracy of the annual financial statement,
or for other reasons, if appropriate. This would ease a significant
burden on providers already facing inflation and staffing shortages.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.