Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute: Review of the Audit of the Financial Statements for 2012 and 2011

What GAO Found

GAO did not find any instances in which the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s (PCORI) independent public accountant (IPA) did not comply, in all material respects, with U.S. generally accepted auditing standards and generally accepted government auditing standards in conducting PCORI’s financial statement audit. PCORI’s IPA provided an unmodified audit opinion on its 2012 and 2011 financial statements. The IPA found that PCORI’s financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, and did not identify any reportable noncompliance with the selected provisions of laws and regulations it tested. Further, the IPA did not identify any new deficiencies in internal control that it considered to be material weaknesses and determined that PCORI resolved the material weakness identified in 2011 regarding a deficiency in its internal control over financial reporting related to its receipt of appropriated funds. PCORI did not disagree with the report’s conclusions.

Why GAO Did This Study

This report presents the results of GAO’s review of the PCORI 2012 and 2011 financial statement audits. PCORI was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) as a federally funded, nonprofit corporation that is neither an agency nor establishment of the United States government. PCORI’s purpose is to assist patients, clinicians, purchasers, and policymakers in making informed health decisions by advancing the quality and relevance of evidence concerning the manner in which diseases, disorders, and other health conditions can effectively and appropriately be prevented, diagnosed, treated, monitored, and managed through research and evidence synthesis that considers variations in patient subpopulations, and the dissemination of research findings with respect to the relative health outcomes, clinical effectiveness, and appropriateness of the medical treatments, services, and other items.

PPACA requires PCORI to obtain an annual financial statement audit from a private entity with expertise in conducting financial audits, and requires the Comptroller General of the United States to annually perform a review of the audit of PCORI’s financial statements and report the results of the review to the Congress.

For more information, contact J.Lawrence Malenich at (202) 512-3406 or malenich@gao.gov.