Tips for a Successful Property Annual Audit

We often discuss best practices in our industry to help properties run and operate as smoothly as possible. One of the best practices that the AEP asset management team encourages is conducting a timely and engaged 20% annual file audit. This will help identify common findings and errors so that if properties have a state file audit or any other agency file audit, minimal findings are found. Following the best practices below can help property managers and the third-party auditors complete the inspection and process in a timely manner.

File Organization

Our third-party auditor provides a cover sheet with the file order of required documents which is also sent to properties when they receive upload instructions. Following the helpful guidelines they provide should make uploading files easier and enable property managers to meet the deadline of five business days. Please do not upload one file in multiple parts. Each individual file should be uploaded as one full file. Be sure to develop a system to identify the items on the cover sheet so nothing will be missed. The cover sheet that is sent out is state specific and will outline required documents that need to be included with each file.

Tenant File Reviews

Once all selected files are uploaded to the third-party auditor’s portal, they will conduct a review of tenant files submitted. After all files are reviewed, the third-party auditor will issue a report that is sent to AEP. AEP will send the report out to the site requesting all corrections be addressed. However, AEP only requires the property to send the highlighted compliance corrections noted in the report to your compliance department within 30 days of receiving the deficiency report via email. It is very important the property managers submit the corrections in order of the deficiency letter using a cover sheet to separate the unit numbers within the 30-day timeframe.

Reviewing Most Recent and Previous Compliance Audits

Reviewing recent and previous compliance audits can help properties identify areas of improvement. Missing documents prevent the auditor from being able to do a thorough review. Remember to follow the deadlines that are given, and all files MUST be submitted at the same time and not submitted in stages.