Financial Audit: House Office of the Sergeant at Arms--Periods Ended
December 31, 1993 and June 30, 1993 (Letter Report, 03/30/95,
GAO/AIMD-95-63).

GAO audited the balance sheets of the appropriated funds administered by
the House Office of the Sergeant at Arms as of December 31, 1993 and
June 30, 1993, and the related statements of operations and cash flows.
GAO found that the material statements were reliable in all material
respects; internal controls reasonably ensured that losses,
noncompliance with laws and regulations, and misstatements affecting the
financial statements would be prevented or detected; and that there was
no material noncompliance with laws and regulations.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  AIMD-95-63
     TITLE:  Financial Audit: House Office of the Sergeant at 
             Arms--Periods Ended December 31, 1993 and June 30, 1993
      DATE:  03/30/95
   SUBJECT:  Financial statement audits
             Funds management
             Legislative bodies
             Accounting procedures
             Auditing standards
             Accountability
             Financial records
             Compliance
             Internal controls
             Appropriated funds

             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of
Representatives

March 1995

FINANCIAL AUDIT - HOUSE OFFICE OF
THE SERGEANT AT ARMS--
PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1993
AND JUNE 30, 1993

GAO/AIMD-95-63

House Sergeant at Arms

(918706)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV


Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-259572

March 30, 1995

Mr.  Scot M.  Faulkner
Chief Administrative Officer
House of Representatives

Dear Mr.  Faulkner: 

In accordance with the act of July 26, 1949 (2 U.S.C.  81a), we
audited the balance sheets of the appropriated funds administered by
the Office of the Sergeant at Arms, House of Representatives, as of
December 31, 1993 and June 30, 1993, and the related statements of
operations and cash flows for each of the 6-month periods then ended. 
We found

  the financial statements were reliable in all material respects;

  internal controls in effect on December 31, 1993, provided
     reasonable assurance that losses, noncompliance with laws and
     regulations, and misstatements material to the financial
     statements would be prevented or detected; and

  no material noncompliance with laws and regulations we tested. 

The following sections outline each conclusion in more detail and
discuss the scope of our audits. 


   OPINION ON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

The financial statements and accompanying notes for the appropriated
funds administered by the House Office of Sergeant at Arms present
fairly, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles,
the Funds'

  assets, liabilities, and government equity;

  funding sources and expenditures; and

  cash flows. 

The financial statements present the results of activities financed
from the appropriated funds administered by the House Office of the
Sergeant at Arms--principally, salaries and benefits of Members of
the House of Representatives.  As discussed in note 3, salaries and
expenses of the Office of the Sergeant at Arms and operating expenses
such as costs for space, utilities, and equipment are not included in
the financial statements. 


   OPINION ON INTERNAL CONTROLS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

The internal controls we evaluated were those designed to

  safeguard assets against loss from unauthorized use or disposition;

  assure the execution of transactions in accordance with laws and
     regulations; and

  properly record, process, and summarize transactions to (1) permit
     the preparation of financial statements in accordance with
     generally accepted accounting principles and (2) maintain
     accountability for assets. 

Those controls in effect on December 31, 1993, provided reasonable
assurance that losses, noncompliance, or misstatements material in
relation to the financial statements would be prevented or detected. 


   COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND
   REGULATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

Our tests for compliance with selected provisions of laws and
regulations disclosed no material instances of noncompliance.  Also,
nothing came to our attention in the course of our other work to
indicate that material noncompliance with such provisions occurred. 


   OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND
   METHODOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4

Management is responsible for

  preparing semiannual financial statements in conformity with
     generally accepted accounting principles,

  establishing and maintaining internal controls to provide
     reasonable assurance that the internal control objectives
     mentioned above are met, and

  complying with applicable laws and regulations. 

We are responsible for obtaining reasonable assurance about whether
(1) the financial statements are reliable (free of material
misstatement and presented fairly in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles) and (2) relevant internal controls
are in place and operating effectively.  We are also responsible for
testing compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations. 

In order to fulfill these responsibilities, we

  examined, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and
     disclosures in the financial statements;

  assessed the accounting principles used by management;

  evaluated the overall presentation of the financial statements;

  evaluated and tested relevant internal controls in the following
     areas:  payroll, cash receipts, cash payments, and financial
     reporting; and

  tested compliance with selected provisions of

2 U.S.C.  31, 38a, 40, 43, and 43b-1 through 3, which relate to the
amount and disposition of House Members' salaries and travel
reimbursement;

2 U.S.C.  78, 80, and 80a, which relate to disbursing appropriated
funds;

Office of Personnel Management regulations on employee benefits and
employer costs; and

Internal Revenue Service regulations on income tax withholdings. 

We limited our work to accounting and other controls necessary to
achieve the objectives outlined in our opinion on internal controls. 
Because of inherent limitations in any system of internal control,
losses, noncompliance, or misstatements may nevertheless occur and
not be detected.  We also caution that projecting our evaluation to
future periods is subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of
compliance with controls may deteriorate. 

We performed our work in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.  We completed our audit work on
January 4, 1995. 

As adopted in the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 104th
Congress, the Office of Inspector General was directed to coordinate
and contract with an independent accounting firm, or firms, for a
series of audits that will result in a consolidated report of the
financial operations of the House, including the House Office of the
Sergeant at Arms.  Such a


consolidated report should provide valuable information on the
overall results of operations and current financial position of the
U.S.  House of Representatives.  We continue to strongly encourage
all federal entities to prepare and have audited comprehensive
financial statements as an integral facet of their financial
management program. 

Sincerely yours,

Charles A.  Bowsher
Comptroller General
of the United States


FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
=========================================================== Appendix 0

   Balance Sheets

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   Statements of Operations

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   Statements of Cash Flows

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   Notes to Financial Statements

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)