(a) Mortgage brokers shall, at least once each year, submit to the department a financial statement that is unaudited and prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and certified by the licensee; provided, however, that mortgage brokers may elect to submit to the department an audited financial statement to satisfy this requirement. In the event that the mortgage broker submits to the department an unaudited financial statement prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in lieu of an audited financial statement, the department may require the mortgage broker to have an audit of the books and affairs of the licensed business and submit to the department an audited financial statement if the department finds that such an audit is necessary to determine whether the mortgage broker is complying with the provisions of this article and the rules and regulations adopted in furtherance of this article.

(b)(1) Each mortgage lender licensed under this article shall, at least once each year, have an external audit of the books and affairs of the licensed business, including an audited financial statement, except that a mortgage lender licensed under this article which is a subsidiary shall comply with this provision by annually providing a consolidated audited financial statement of its parent company and a financial statement, which may be unaudited, of the licensee that is prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The external audit and audited financial statement shall be made available to the department as required by the department except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(2) Based on the total assets of the mortgage lender, the complexity of the mortgage lender, the number of loans made by the mortgage lender, or other factors, the department may enact rules and regulations authorizing certain mortgage lenders to provide financial statements under paragraph (1) of this subsection that are unaudited.

(c) The department may by regulation establish additional minimum standards for audits and reports under this Code section.