(a) (1) A stewardship organization may conduct an audit of covered entities that are required to remit a charge or administrative fee to the stewardship organization pursuant to Sections 42034 and 42034.2 to verify that the administrative fees and charges paid are proper and accurate. In addition, a stewardship organization may conduct an audit of authorized collectors to verify the charges submitted are proper and accurate.
(2) The purpose of the audits described in paragraph (1) is to ensure parties required by this chapter to pay or collect an administrative fee or charge are paying or collecting the proper amount to implement the program.
(b) If a stewardship organization conducts an audit pursuant to subdivision (a), it shall do all of the following:
(1) Conduct the audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing practices.
(2) Limit the scope of the audit of covered entities to confirming whether a charge or administrative fee has been properly paid by the covered entities.
(3) Hire an independent third-party auditor to conduct the audit.
(4) Provide a copy of the audit to the department.