1314                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 627

568-O.

a.  The Commission shall by ride, after consultation with appro-
priate advisory committees and public hearings, specify a uniform
system of accounting and financial reporting, including such cost
allocation methods as it may prescribe, by which hospitals and re-
lated institutions shall record their revenues, expenses, other income
and other outlays, assets and liabilities, and units of service. Existing
systems of accounting and reporting used by the different types of
institutions under the Commission's jurisdiction may be examined
and considered by the Commission, but in any event, the system shall
be developed and adopted within one year of the effective date of
this subtitle. ALL INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE COMMISSION'S
JURISDICTION SHALL ADOPT THE SYSTEM FOR THEIR
FISCAL YEAR PERIOD, STARTING ON OR AFTER APRIL 1,
1972.

b.  The Commission may allow and provide for modifications in
the accounting and reporting system in order to correctly reflect
differences in the scope or type of services and financial structure
between the various categories, sizes or types of institutions subject
to this subtitle and in a manner consistent with the purposes of this
subtitle.

568P.

a.  It shall be the duty of every hospital and related institution
which comes under the jurisdiction of this subtitle to file with the
Commission the following financial statements or reports in a form
and at intervals specified by the Commission but at least annually:

(1)  A balance sheet detailing the assets, liabilities and net worth
of the institution for its fiscal year;

(2)  A statement of income and expenses for the fiscal year; and

(3) Such other reports of the costs incurred in rendering services
as the Commission may prescribe.

b.  The annual financial statements filed pursuant to this section
shall be prepared in accordance with the system of accounting and
reporting adopted under Section 568-0. The Commission shall require
the certification of specified financial reports by the institution's
Certified Public Accountant and may require attests from responsible
officials of the institution that such reports have to the best of their
knowledge and belief been prepared in accordance with the prescribed
system of accounting and reporting.

c.  The Commission shall require the filing of all reports by speci-
fied dates, and may adopt regulations which assess penalties for
failure to file as required.

d.  All reports, except privileged medical information, filed under
any provision of this subtitle shall be open to public inspection and
shall be available for examination at the offices of the Commission
during regular business hours.

568-Q.

a. Whenever a further investigation is deemed necessary or desir-
able to verify the accuracy of the information in the reports made