§ 9-7-8.Contents of report — Rulings, findings, and conclusions

This section lays out the backbone of an auditor’s report. Once the hearing wraps up, the auditor must file three distinct things: the rulings made during the proceeding, the auditor’s findings — classified and clearly stated — and the auditor’s conclusions on the law and the facts.

That separation matters because the review process that follows splits along the same lines. Exceptions get classified as exceptions of law or exceptions of fact, and each type is reviewed differently — the judge handles law, a jury can handle fact. A report that keeps rulings, findings, and conclusions clearly and separately stated gives the parties something to point to when they draft those exceptions.

The auditor doesn’t just summarize; the underlying evidence gets filed too. That full record becomes the foundation for everything that follows, including the possible jury trial of exceptions of fact described later in this chapter.