[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 247 (Thursday, December 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70965-70966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27785]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2019-ICCD-0161]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; EZ-
Audit: Electronic Submission of Financial Statements and Compliance 
Audits

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a revision of an existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2019-ICCD-
0161. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily 
accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the docket ID 
number and the title of the information collection request when 
requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period 
will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave SW, 
LBJ, Room 6W-208D, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-377-4018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the 
Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this.
    Title of Collection: EZ-Audit: Electronic Submission of Financial 
Statements and Compliance Audits.
    OMB Control Number: 1845-0072.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector, State, Local, and 
Tribal Governments; Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 6,632.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 6,016.
    Abstract: eZ-Audit is a web-based process designed to facilitate 
the submission of compliance and financial statement audits, expedite 
the review of those audits by the Department, and provide more timely 
and useful information to public, non-profit and proprietary 
institutions regarding the Department's review. eZ-Audit establishes a 
uniform process under which all institutions submit directly to the 
Department any audit required under the Title IV, HEA program 
regulations. The revisions to this collection is a result of 
enhancements made to the current system to collect the compliance 
audits/financial statements in the appropriate format (e.g. revised 
question text and required uploads) from the foreign institutions that 
are required to submit audits in accordance to the Department's 
regulations and to

[[Page 70966]]

allow electronic submission of compliance audits/financial statements 
from the entities identified above. Revisions to financial statements 
information are to meet the new borrower defense regulations.

    Dated: December 19, 2019.
Kate Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-27785 Filed 12-23-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P