Short Answer

If the society's maintenance account is not audited or missing, the following steps should be taken:

Detailed Explanation

Section 77 of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 deals with the audit of the society's accounts. It mandates that every cooperative society must appoint an auditor to audit its accounts annually. If the maintenance account is not audited or missing, the society must immediately appoint an auditor to conduct the audit as per the provisions of this section. The audit helps in ensuring transparency, accountability, and compliance with financial regulations.

Rule 88 of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Rules, 1965 provides detailed guidelines on the audit process, including the qualifications of auditors, their duties, and the submission of audit reports. In case the maintenance account is missing, the auditor must make efforts to reconstruct the account based on available records and information. The audit report should highlight any discrepancies, irregularities, or non-compliance found during the audit.

In practice, if the society's maintenance account is not audited or missing, the management committee should convene a meeting to discuss the issue and appoint an auditor as per the Act and Rules. The appointed auditor should then diligently audit the accounts, reconstructing the maintenance account if necessary, and submit a comprehensive audit report to the society.

Practical Examples

• Scenario 1: XYZ Cooperative Housing Society discovers that its maintenance account has not been audited for the past two years.

• Scenario 2: ABC Cooperative Society realizes that the maintenance account records for the previous financial year are missing.

• Scenario 3: LMN Cooperative Society faces allegations of financial mismanagement due to the absence of audit reports for the maintenance account.

Reference

• Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (Section 77): https://cooperation.gujarat.gov.in/writereaddata/Portal/Images/pdf/Co_Op_Societies_Act1961.pdf

• Gujarat Cooperative Societies Rules, 1965 (Rule 88): https://cooperation.gujarat.gov.in/writereaddata/Portal/Images/pdf/Co_Op_Societies_Rules1965.pdf