WHEREAS by Rule 34(1) under the Real Estate Act, S.A. 1995, c. R-4.5 (the ” Act “), the Real Estate Council of Alberta (the “Council”) has the power, duty and responsibility to prescribe, adopt and approve the form for and information contained in the Accountant’s Report for the purposes of the agent’s accounting under Section 25 of the Act ;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Council hereby prescribes, adopts and approves the form attached hereto as Schedule “A” and the information contained therein as the form and information required for the Accountant’s Report for the purposes of the agent’s accounting under Section 25 of the Act.
DATED at Calgary, Alberta on this 9 th day of July 1996.
SCHEDULE “A”
REAL ESTATE ACT
ACCOUNTANT’S REPORT
To:
The Real Estate Council of Alberta
c/o The Executive Director
At the request of (name of agent) _________________________________________________ being the agent or designated representative of (name of agency) ______________________________, we have conducted certain procedures on the books, records, and accounts maintained by the real estate firm (the agent) for the fiscal year ended _________________, 19______.
In order to make this report, we have read Sections 20 and 25 of the Real Estate Act , obtained a signed copy of the Agent’s Representations to the Real Estate Council of Alberta and signed an Engagement Letter Between Accountant and Client dated _________________, 19_____.
Our examination was guided by the Table of Recommended Minimum Examination Guidelines. In completing this report, certain procedures as set out below were carried out on a month selected by us. The month of_____________, (hereinafter referred to in this report as the “selected month”) was used for the purpose of completing procedures 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 15 below. Based on the limited procedures carried out and with respect to each particular procedure, we report as follows:
1.We reviewed the trust bank reconciliation and the trust liability reconciliation (to determine whether there are sufficient funds in the depositories to meet the trust liabilities) for each of the twelve (12) months in the fiscal year ended ______________, 19___ and observed that
(a)listings and reconciliation had been prepared for each month,
(b)there were no unreconciled differences, and
(c)each trust reconciliation was dated and bore the signature of the agent or its designated representative,
with the following exceptions:
2.For the selected month, we reviewed (number) __________ trades in real estate. We determined that they were entered in the agent’s trust ledger accounts and supporting records. We report that each trust ledger account with supporting records indicated
(a)the nature of the trade,
(b)a description clearly identifying the real estate involved,
(c)the true consideration for the trade (in the case of lease or rental, expressed on an annual, monthly or other basis),
(d)the names of the parties to the trade,
(e)the amount of the deposit, rent or other funds received and a record of the disbursement of them, and
(f)the amount of the agent’s commission or other remuneration and the name of the party paying it,
with the following exceptions:
NOTE:
Trade in real estate includes a disposition or acquisition of or a transaction in real estate by sale, purchase, agreement for sale, exchange, option, lease, rental or otherwise.
3.We verified the information contained in the trust bank reconciliation as at the end of the selected month and found the information contained in the reconciliation to be correct, with the following exceptions:
4.We verified the information contained in the trust liability reconciliation (to determine whether there are sufficient funds in the depositories to meet the trust liabilities) as at the end of the selected month and found the information contained in those reconciliation to be correct, with the following exceptions:
5.We confirmed directly with depositories as at ______________, 19_____ (fiscal year end date), the amount of $____________ on deposit in all trust accounts disclosed in the Agent’s Representations to the Real Estate Council of Alberta and we agreed the amounts confirmed with the balances recorded in the agent’s bank reconciliation and reviewed the reconciling items to arrive at an agent’s reconciled bank balance of $____________.
6.We compared trust ledger balances from (number) _____ trust ledger accounts to the listing of trust liabilities and compared (number) _____ balances from the listing to the trust ledger accounts, both as at the end of the end of the selected month, and found them in agreement, with the following exceptions:
7.We traced the details of the last receipt of the selected month and the first receipt for the next month from the trust liability records to the trust bank records and found that the entries were recorded in the appropriate month, with the following exceptions.
8.We traced the last five disbursements of the selected month and the first five disbursements for the next month from the trust liability records to the trust bank records and found that the entries were recorded in the appropriate month, with the following exceptions.
9.We traced the trust liability month-end balances of the accounts examined in procedures 7 and 8 above to the listing of trust liabilities applicable to that date and found them to be in agreement, with the following exceptions.
10.For the selected month, we traced (number) _____ deposits from the trust ledger to the bank deposit books, bank statements and supporting records and found the deposits were made within two banking days after their receipt or within any further period agreed to in writing by the parties to the trade, with the following exceptions.
11.We examined (number) _____ disbursements in the selected month from the trust accounts and found the disbursements to be in accordance with the terms of trust governing the use of that money, with the following exceptions.
12.We scrutinized (number) _____ trust ledger accounts for debit balances greater than $100 that had arisen during the year and found no debit balances, with the following exceptions.
13.We scrutinized the agent’s trust depository statements and passbooks covering the year for depositories disclosed in the Agent’s Representations to the Real Estate Council of Alberta and found no overdrafts, with the following exceptions.
14.We determined by enquiry and observation that the agent (has) (does not have) a general account for funds other than trust funds.
15.We verified (all) (minimum of 15) receipts and (all) (minimum of 15) disbursements in the general account for the selected month and noted that they are not trust transactions, with the following exceptions.
16.We have forwarded a copy of the report to the agent and have discussed the contents of the report with the agent.
This report is prepared solely for submission to Real Estate Council of Alberta and is not to be referred to or distributed to any person other than in accordance with the Real Estate Act. The procedures carried out did not constitute an audit and therefore we do not express an opinion on the accuracy or completeness of the trust books, records and financial information provided, or as to whether there were any irregularities during the year which were not disclosed to us. However, we have reported on the results of applying the preceding procedures.
Accountant/Accounting Firm
___________________________________________
Signature and Professional Designation
___________________________________________
Address
___________________________________________
Date
___________________________________________
