Weak Financial Controls Make the Community Services Administration Vulnerable to Fraud and Abuse

On a number of occasions, GAO has testified before Congress on embezzlement, apparent abuse, and questionable transactions involving grantees of the Community Services Administration (CSA). A study was made to determine: (1) whether CSA itself had a system of internal controls to adequately protect against fraud, theft, and abuse; and (2) how grantees protect against improper use of federal funds and the assets purchased with federal funds. CSA and its grantees annually handle about $2 billion in federal, state, local, and public funds. Some of this money is appropriated to other agencies but is spent by grantees whose operating expenses are provided by CSA.