(a) Audit by alternative licensed person. The NCUA Board may compel a federal credit union to obtain a supervisory committee audit which meets the minimum requirements of § 715.5 or § 715.7, and which is performed by an independent person who is licensed by the State or jurisdiction in which the credit union is principally located, for any fiscal year in which any of the following three conditions is present:

(b) Financial statement audit required. The NCUA Board may compel a federal credit union to obtain a financial statement audit performed in accordance with GAAS by an independent person who is licensed by the State or jurisdiction in which the credit union is principally located (even if such audit is not required by § 715.5), for any fiscal year in which the credit union has experienced serious and persistent recordkeeping deficiencies as defined in paragraph (c) of this section. The objective of a financial statement audit performed under this paragraph is to reconstruct the records of the credit union sufficient to allow an unqualified or, if necessary, a qualified opinion on the credit union's financial statements. An adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion should be the exception rather than the norm.

(c) “Serious and persistent recordkeeping deficiencies.” A record-keeping deficiency is “serious” if the NCUA Board reasonably believes that the board of directors and management of the credit union have not timely met financial reporting objectives and established practices and procedures sufficient to safeguard members' assets. A serious recordkeeping deficiency is “persistent” when it continues beyond a usual, expected or reasonable period of time.