| Receipts. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rates. | ||||
| Fines and penalties. | ||||
| Donations and subscriptions. | ||||
| From parliamentary grants. | ||||
| From other local authorities. | ||||
| From sale of securities in which sinking fund is invested. | ||||
| From all other sources, specifying them. | ||||
| Sale of catalogues, etc. | ||||
| etc. | ||||
| Expenditure. | ||||
| Buildings, repairs, maintenance. | ||||
| Books, periodicals, etc. | ||||
| Salaries and remuneration of officers and assistants. | ||||
| Establishment charges not before included. | ||||
| Loans: | Principal repaid | - | Out of invested Sinking Fund. | |
| Otherwise. | ||||
| „ | Interest. | |||
| Payments to other local authorities. | ||||
| Other expenditure. | ||||
51. Audit.
51. Audit.—In cases where library accounts are audited under the “District Auditors’ Act, 1879,” it is imperative that all the forms and consequences should be borne in mind. District auditors have power to surcharge expenditures for items which in their opinion cannot be legally incurred under the provisions of the Public Libraries Acts, and it should also be remembered that the committee-men who sign the disputed cheque are held liable. The powers vested in library authorities are so wide that it is very doubtful if some district auditors are not exceeding their authority by objecting, as they have done in some places, to payments for publications, subscriptions to societies, expenses of lectures, and other items. In cases of surcharge appeal for relief should be made to the Local Government Board, when it is a first offence, or when there is good grounds for challenging the decision of the auditor. The cost of auditing accounts is laid down in the “District Auditors’ Act, 1879,” according to the following scale. The library authority is required to purchase the necessary stamps to cover the amount:
| Under £20 | = | £0 | 5 | ||
| £20 | and under | £50 | = | 0 | 10 |
| 50 | „ | 100 | = | 1 | 0 |
| 100 | „ | 500 | = | 2 | 0 |
| 500 | „ | 1,000 | = | 3 | 0 |
| 1,000 | „ | 2,500 | = | 4 | 0 |
| 2,500 | „ | 5,000 | = | 5 | 0 |
| 5,000 | „ | 10,000 | = | 10 | 0 |
| 10,000 | „ | 20,000 | = | 15 | 0 |
| 20,000 | „ | 50,000 | = | 20 | 0 |
| 50,000 | „ | 100,000 | = | 30 | 0 |
| 100,000 | and upwards | = | 50 | 0 | |
Needless to say, very few libraries will have to pay more than £10. The charges for auditing by a firm of chartered accountants are generally according to an agreed scale.
Bibliography
52. Rating
52. Rating:
Greenwood, Thomas. Public Libraries, 1891, p. 376.