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Congressional Award Foundation: Review of the Audit of the Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 2015

GAO-16-754R Published: Aug 12, 2016. Publicly Released: Aug 12, 2016.
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Highlights

What GAO Found

Based on the procedures performed by GAO regarding the independent public accountant’s (IPA) financial audit of the Congressional Award Foundation’s (Foundation) fiscal year 2015 financial statements, GAO did not identify any significant issues related to the financial statement audit that it believes require attention. The IPA provided an unmodified audit opinion on the Foundation’s fiscal year 2015 financial statements. Specifically, the IPA found that the Foundation’s financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Further, for fiscal year 2015, the IPA did not identify any deficiencies in internal control that it considered to be material weaknesses or any reportable noncompliance with the selected provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements it tested. However, the IPA identified a significant deficiency in internal control related to cash disbursements cutoff. The Foundation did not disagree with the IPA report’s conclusions, including the conclusion related to the significant deficiency.

GAO provided a draft of its report to the Foundation and the IPA for review. In the Foundation’s written comments, the Foundation’s National Director and Audit Chairman stated that they were pleased that GAO did not identify any significant issues related to the audit of the Foundation’s fiscal year 2015 financial statement audit that required attention. In addition, the IPA provided its views through e-mail, in which the IPA’s Audit Principal stated that the IPA had no comments in regard to our report.

Why GAO Did This Study

This report presents the results of GAO’s review of the financial audit of the Foundation’s fiscal year 2015 financial statements. The Congressional Award Act established the Congressional Award Board to carry out a program to promote excellence among the nation’s youth. The Foundation was created to assist the Congressional Award Board in carrying out this program.

The Congressional Award Act, as amended by the Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014, requires the Foundation to obtain an annual financial statement audit from an IPA. It also requires the Comptroller General of the United States to annually review the audit of the Foundation’s financial statements and report the results to the Congress.

GAO’s objective was to review the financial audit of the Foundation’s fiscal year 2015 financial statements. To satisfy this objective, GAO performed the following procedures: (1) read and considered various documents relating to the IPA’s independence, objectivity, and qualifications; (2) analyzed key IPA audit documentation; (3) read the Foundation’s fiscal year 2015 financial statements, the IPA’s audit report on those financial statements, the IPA’s report on internal control over financial reporting and on compliance, and the IPA’s schedule of findings and responses; and (4) met with IPA representatives and Foundation management officials.

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

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Topics

AccountingAccounting proceduresAudit oversightAuditing proceduresAuditsFinancial managementFinancial recordsFinancial statementsFinancial statement auditsFinancial reportingFinancial auditsInternal controls