(a) An annual financial report shall be submitted to the Secretary of Education by each intermediate unit not later than the 31st day of October, together with an auditor's report prepared by an independent auditor who shall be a certified public accountant or other competent public accountant. The financial information submitted in the annual financial report shall be materially consistent with the audited financial statements. All financial accounting and reporting by intermediate units to the Department of Education shall be in accordance with generally accepted accounting and reporting standards, except that management discussion and analysis and related notes and the following financial statements shall not be required components of the annual financial report: entity-wide financial statements, including the statement of activities and the statement of net assets; the reconciliation of the balance sheet--governmental funds to statement of net assets; and the reconciliation of the statement of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balances- governmental funds to statement of activities. The Department of Education shall establish a reporting standard for the annual financial report.

(a.1) By March 1 of each year, the Department of Education shall post on its publicly accessible Internet website information included in the intermediate units' annual financial reports. In posting the information, the Department of Education shall use a format consistent with the format the Department of Education uses when posting the annual financial report information of other local education agencies.

(b) The Department of Education shall order the forfeiture penalties provided for under section 2552.1(a.1)¹ against an intermediate unit for failure to timely submit an annual financial report.