Exposure Drafts, Comment Letters, and Statements of Position

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Savings and loan associations are corporations chartered either by the state in which they operate or the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB). All associations chartered by the FHLBB are known as "federal" associations and have the word "Federal" in their corporate names. The majority of the savings and loan associations are mutual institutions; they are owned by the savers who, together with the borrowers, are members entitled to vote at annual meetings. Most states provide for the organization of mutual associations. In addition, several states provide for capital stock associations that are authorized by state charter to issue and sell capital stock (sometimes called permanent reserve shares, guaranty stock, or guarantee stock) to investors. This capital stock represents equity capital which cannot be withdrawn, and it is not insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). The applicable laws and regulations of the states vary, but usually include requirements or restrictions concerning issuance of capital stock, such as a minimum amount of initial consideration, the rights of stockholders, or the payment of dividends. These requirements may be considerably more restrictive than those generally applicable to other corporations. In the event that the meaning and applicability of the regulatory requirements are not clear and interpretation is necessary, the auditor should request the association to obtain an opinion from an attorney or from the regulatory authority. All federal associations are subject to the rules and regulations of the FSLIC (Rules and Regulations for Insurance of Accounts) and the FHLBB (Rules and Regulations for the Federal Savings and Loan System) and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. State-chartered associations are subject to the laws and regulations of the state under whose charter they operate, and if federally insured, are also subject to the rules and regulations of the Federal Home Loan Bank System and the FSLIC. Some of the rules and regulations governing both federal and state-chartered associations pertain to accounting, although the majority of regulations pertain to the maintenance of investments, savings accounts, and operations. The independent auditor should familiarize himself with the rules and regulations of the applicable supervisory authorities and should be informed of current revisions. The accrual basis of accounting is the only acceptable basis of accounting under generally accepted accounting principles for business enterprises. Regulations of the FHLBB require that insured institutions, with certain exceptions, prepare their financial statements on the accrual basis of accounting. The auditor may, however, encounter other bases of accounting, such as the cash and the modified accrual bases. Under the latter method, an association may record certain items, such as interest income from investments and interest expense on borrowed money, on the accrual method, whereas other items of income and expense may be recorded on the cash basis. When there are material variations from generally accepted accounting principles, the independent auditor must exercise his judgment in determining whether a qualified opinion or an adverse opinion is. required. However, the auditor should be aware that the FHLBB may reject an audit report that does not contain an unqualified opinion in a case where extended auditing procedures or appropriate adjust ments would enable the issuance of an unqualified opinion. Under Rules and Regulations for Insurance of Accounts, all federal associations and state-chartered associations whose accounts are insured by the FSLIC are subject to examination by the Office of Examinations and Supervision (OES) of the FHLBB. Frequently, joint examinations of state-chartered associations are made by OES and by the state regulatory authority which examines and supervises such associations. The scope of state supervisory examinations of state-chartered associations that have independent audits varies from one state to another. It is not practical to cover the policy of each state in this publication; however, in some states the policy is quite similar to that of federal authorities.

Publication Date

1977

Relational Format

Book

Keywords

Savings and loan associations -- United States -- Accounting; Savings and loan associations -- United States -- Auditing

Disciplines

Accounting | Taxation

Comments

Originally published by: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Copyright and permission to reprint held by: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Audit and accounting guide for savings and loan associations; Exposure draft (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), 1977, July

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