Ach Audits

CREDIT UNION NAME: ______________________________________________

CREDIT UNION CONTACT(S): ________________________________________

AUDITOR'S NAME: _________________________________________________

DATE(S) AUDIT WORK CONDUCTED: _________________________________

General Audit Requirements

Each Participating DFI, and any third-party service provider that provides ACH services to the DFI, shall, in accordance with standard auditing procedures, conduct an internal or external audit of compliance with provisions of the ACH rules in accordance with the requirements of Appendix Eight. These audit provisions do not prescribe a specific methodology to be used for the completion of an audit but identify key rule provisions that should be examined during the audit process. Such annual audit shall be conducted under these Rule Compliance Audit Requirements no later than December 1 of each year. The Participating DFI must retain proof that they have completed an audit of compliance in accordance with these rules. Documentation supporting the completion of an audit must be (1) retained for a period of six years from the date of the audit, and (2) provided to the National Association upon request.

SUGGESTED AUDIT PROCEDURES:

Review past year(s) audit report to verify completion and timeliness, and retain documentation showing results of past audits.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Note exceptions from past year(s) and inquire about follow-up work by staff.

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Inquire about any third-party ACH service providers (such as DP vendors, Corporate Credit Unions, or payroll processors, etc), and review and retain any documentation concerning the audits completed by these providers.

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COMMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND EXCEPTIONS:

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Requirements Related to Receiving ACH Entries

(1) Verify that records of entries, including return and adjustment entries, transmitted from or to an ACH Operator are retained for six years from the date the entry was transmitted. Verify that a printout or reproduction of the information relating to the entry can be provided to the Participating DFI's customer or any other Participating DFI or ACH Operator that originated, transmitted, or received the entry.

SUGGESTED AUDIT PROCEDURES:

Question staff on procedures for retaining all ACH records for the past six years.

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Review past records for complete data on all received and returned entries. Determine if all the various fields from the ACH files are reflected on the reports, including return and NOC codes on exception handling reports. Retain paper copies of the reports reviewed.

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COMMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND EXCEPTIONS:

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Requirements Related to Receiving ACH Entries

(2) When electronic records are used, verify that such records (1) accurately reflect the information contained within the record, and (2) are capable of being accurately reproduced for later reference, whether by transmission, printing, or otherwise.

SUGGESTED AUDIT PROCEDURES:

Question staff to determine if all retained records are kept solely in a paper format, or if electronic storage or retention of records is utilized.

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If electronic records are used, compare the sample paper reports retained from audit provision (1) above to the corresponding electronic records, and determine if all data is accurately retained in the electronic storage system.

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If electronic records are used, print and retain the records reviewed along with any original paper copies of these corresponding records. Compare to the original copies and retain sample documentation.

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