Financial Audit: Congressional Award Foundation's 1997 and 1996 Financial
Statements (Letter Report, 05/15/1998, GAO/AIMD-98-153).

The Congressional Award Foundation, formed in 1979, is a private,
nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that promotes excellence among youth
in public service, personal development, and physical fitness. GAO
audited the Foundation's 1997 and 1996 financial statements and found
that (1) they were reliable in all material respects; (2) the
Foundation's management fairly stated that internal controls effectively
safeguarded assets from material loss, ensured compliance with laws and
regulations, and ensured that no material misstatements appeared in the
financial statements; and (3) there was no reportable noncompliance with
laws and regulations.

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

 REPORTNUM:  AIMD-98-153
     TITLE:  Financial Audit: Congressional Award Foundation's 1997 and
	     1996 Financial Statements
      DATE:  05/15/1998
   SUBJECT:  Financial statement audits
	     Financial management
	     Internal controls
	     Foundations (organizations)
	     Financial records
	     Funds management
	     Accounting procedures

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GAO/AIMD-98-153

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

Report to the Congress

May 1998

FINANCIAL AUDIT - CONGRESSIONAL
AWARD FOUNDATION'S 1997 AND 1996
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

GAO/AIMD-98-153

Congressional Award Foundation

(917772)

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

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

B-278595

May 15, 1998

To the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives

This report presents our opinion on the financial statements of the
Congressional Award Foundation for the fiscal years ended September
30, 1997 and 1996.  These financial statements are the responsibility
of the Congressional Award Foundation.  This report also presents (1)
our opinion on Foundation management's assertions regarding the
effectiveness of its internal controls as of September 30, 1997, and
(2) our evaluation of the Foundation's compliance with laws and
regulations during fiscal year 1997.

We conducted our audits pursuant to section 8 of the Congressional
Award Act, as amended (2 U.S.C.  807), and in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.

We are sending copies of this report to the Chairman of the National
Board of Directors, Congressional Award Program; the National
Director, Congressional Award Foundation; the Chairmen and Ranking
Minority Members of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and
the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; and other
interested parties.

Robert W.  Gramling
Director, Corporate Audits
 and Standards

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

B-278595

To the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives

We have audited the statements of financial position of the
Congressional Award Foundation as of September 30, 1997 and 1996, and
the related statements of activities and statements of cash flows for
the fiscal years then ended.  We found

  -- the financial statements were reliable in all material respects;

  -- the Congressional Award Foundation's management fairly stated
     that internal controls in place on September 30, 1997, were
     effective in safeguarding assets from material loss, assuring
     material compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and
     assuring that there were no material misstatements in the
     financial statements; and

  -- no reportable noncompliance with laws and regulations we tested
     for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1997.

The following sections provide additional detail concerning our
conclusions and the scope of our audit.

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

The financial statements and accompanying notes present fairly, in
all material respects, in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles, the Congressional Award Foundation's financial
position as of September 30, 1997 and 1996, and the results of its
activities and its cash flows for the fiscal years then ended.

   OPINION ON MANAGEMENT'S
   ASSERTIONS ABOUT THE
   EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNAL
   CONTROLS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

We evaluated the Foundation management's assertions about the
effectiveness of its internal controls designed to

  -- safeguard assets against loss from unauthorized acquisition,
     use, or disposition;

  -- assure the execution of transactions in accordance with
     management's authority and with selected provisions of those
     laws and regulations that have a direct and material effect on
     the financial statements of the Foundation; and

  -- properly record, process, and summarize transactions to permit
     the preparation of reliable financial statements and to maintain
     accountability for assets.

Management of the Congressional Award Foundation fairly stated that
those controls in place on September 30, 1997, provided reasonable
assurance that losses, noncompliance, or misstatements material in
relation to the financial statements would be prevented or detected
on a timely basis.  Management made this assertion based upon
criteria established under the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity
Act of 1982 and the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-123,
Management Accountability and Control.

Although management's assertion regarding the effectiveness of
internal controls is fairly stated in all material respects based on
the control criteria cited earlier, we noted certain matters
involving the Foundation's internal accounting controls and its
operations.  These matters, while not significant, will be reported
to management separately, and copies will be provided to the
appropriate congressional committees.

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

Our tests for compliance with selected provisions of laws and
regulations disclosed no instances of noncompliance that would be
reportable under generally accepted government auditing standards.
However, the objective of our audit was not to provide an opinion on
overall compliance with laws and regulations.  Accordingly, we do not
express such an opinion.

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

The Foundation's Management is responsible for

  -- preparing the Foundation's annual financial statements in
     conformity with generally accepted accounting principles;

  -- establishing, maintaining, and assessing the Foundation's
     internal control 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 that (1) the
financial statements are free of material misstatement and presented
fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles and (2) management's assertion about
the effectiveness of internal controls is fairly stated, in all
material respects, based upon the internal control criteria used by
the Foundation's management in making this assertion.  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 and significant
     estimates made by the Foundation's management;

  -- evaluated the overall presentation of the financial statements;

  -- obtained an understanding of the Foundation's internal controls
     related to safeguarding assets, compliance with laws and
     regulations, and financial reporting;

  -- tested relevant internal controls over safeguarding, compliance,
     and financial reporting and evaluated management's assertion
     about the effectiveness of internal controls; and

  -- tested compliance with selected provisions of the Congressional
     Award Act, as amended.

We did not evaluate all internal controls relevant to operating
objectives, such as controls relevant to ensuring efficient
operations.  We limited our internal control testing to those
controls necessary to achieve the objectives outlined in our opinion
on management's assertion about the effectiveness of internal
controls.  Because of inherent limitations in any 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 conducted our audits from November 3, 1997, to April 24, 1998.
Our audits were conducted in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.

   FOUNDATION COMMENTS AND OUR
   EVALUATION
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5

We provided a draft of our report to Congressional Award Foundation
officials for their review and comment.  Foundation officials agreed
with the contents of our report.

Robert W.  Gramling
Director, Corporate Audits
 and Standards

April 24, 1998

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

   Statements of Financial
   Position

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   Statements of Activities

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   Statements of Cash Flows

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   Notes to the Financial
   Statements

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

*** End of document. ***