The Division of County Audit, as a part of the Department of Audit, has the statutory responsibility for the audits of counties in Tennessee under provisions of Section 4-3-304, Tennessee Code Annotated which states in part that the department has the power and is required to: "Make annually an audit of all the records of the several counties of the state, including the offices of county trustees, circuit court clerks, criminal court clerks, county clerks and clerks and masters of chancery courts, and all county executives and judges of the courts of general sessions, specifically including the accounts of all "trust funds" in the hands of clerks and masters and/or county clerks, and any other county official, whether elected or appointed". This statute also provides that in lieu of performing the audit, the department "may accept an audit made by an independent certified public accountant... employed at the expense of the county, if the audit made by such independent certified public accountant... meets the minimum standards for county auditing established by the comptroller...". Also, the provisions of this statute provide that the department "shall prepare the audit required under the provisions of this subdivision in each county of this state at least once in every five-year period and shall not accept an audit prepared by a certified public accountant... in lieu of a state audit for more than four (4) years in every five-year-period beginning July 1, 1974, or may, in such manner as the comptroller may determine, participate with or monitor the audit with the independent certified public accountant...".