Auditing condominium accounting: how it works

Article 1130-bis of the Italian Civil Code provides that the meeting may appoint, at any time or for several specifically identified years, an auditor to review the condominium's accounting. It is a control tool that strengthens transparency: when the accounts are complex or doubts arise about the management, the owners can entrust the examination of the records to an independent professional. The resolution is adopted with the majority required to appoint the manager, and the cost is shared among all owners according to their ownership thousandths (millesimi).

When an audit is useful

The audit is neither mandatory nor periodic: it is a power of the meeting. It becomes useful in several situations, for example when the accounting is particularly detailed, when there are extraordinary works of high value, when several managers succeed one another in a short time, or when individual owners raise disputes about the accounts. In these cases the involvement of an independent auditor helps clarify the situation and reconstruct the management objectively.

The quorum for the appointment

Appointing the auditor requires the same majority provided for appointing the manager, that of Article 1136, second paragraph, of the Italian Civil Code. At the first call the favourable vote of a majority of those attending representing at least half of the building's value is needed; at the second call a majority of those attending with at least one third of the building's value. The resolution must identify the scope of the audit, indicating the year or years to be examined.

What the auditor checks

The auditor examines the accounting to verify its regularity and its match with the supporting documents. The work typically covers a number of fundamental aspects of the management.

• Match between the entries of the report and the supporting documents.
• Alignment between the accounting register and the bank statements.
• Correctness of the expense allocation according to the thousandths (millesimi).
• Regularity in the management of funds and reserves.
• Consistency between the meeting resolutions and the expenses actually incurred.

How the cost is shared

The cost of the audit is a common expense and is shared among all owners according to their ownership thousandths (millesimi), as Article 1130-bis establishes. Even the owner who requested the audit, or the one who was against it, shares in the cost according to their quota, because the review is arranged in the collective interest of the condominium. It is advisable for the resolution to state clearly the fee agreed with the auditor, so as to avoid later disputes about the amount.

Auditor and condominium council: two different tools

The auditor should not be confused with the condominium council, also provided for by Article 1130-bis. The council, in condominiums with at least twelve units, has advisory and control functions and is made up of owners. The auditor, instead, is a person tasked with a technical review of the accounting, often an external professional with accounting expertise. The first is an internal body for support and oversight; the second is a specialised, targeted control arranged for one or more years.

The limits of the auditor's activity

The audit has a verification function, not a management one. The auditor checks and reports to the meeting, but does not replace the manager nor make decisions in the manager's place. The outcome is a report that the meeting freely assesses: it may confirm the regularity of the accounts or highlight anomalies that the owners will decide how to address. Moreover, the audit concerns the years identified in the resolution and does not automatically extend to other financial years.

Preparing the audit with software

Orderly accounting makes the audit fast and inexpensive. Management software keeps movements linked to supporting documents, keeps the register constantly aligned with the bank account and produces clear allocation statements, so the auditor can trace every entry back to its supporting document without laborious reconstructions. Less time for the auditor also means a lower cost for the condominium.

AmministraPro keeps the accounting traceable, with linked supporting documents and documented thousandth allocations, making any auditor's work easier. You can see how it works on the features page or compare the plans in the pricing section.