Financial Audit: Congressional Award Foundation's 1998 and 1997 Financial
Statements (Letter Report, 05/14/99, GAO/AIMD-99-173).
Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the financial
statements of the Congressional Award Foundation for the fiscal years
ended September 30, 1998 and 1997, focusing on: (1) the Foundation
management's assertions regarding the effectiveness of its internal
controls as of September 30, 1998; and (2) GAO's evaluation of the
Foundation's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations
during fiscal year 1998.
GAO noted that: (1) the financial statements were reliable in all
material respects; (2) the Foundation's management fairly stated that
internal controls in place on September 30, 1998, were effective in
safeguarding assets from material loss, assuring material compliance
with relevant laws and regulations, and ensuring that there were no
material misstatements in the financial statements; and (3) there was no
reportable noncompliance with selected provisions of laws and
regulations GAO tested for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1998.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: AIMD-99-173
TITLE: Financial Audit: Congressional Award Foundation's 1998 and
1997 Financial Statements
DATE: 05/14/99
SUBJECT: Financial statement audits
Internal controls
Reporting requirements
Financial management
Financial records
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ai99173.boo GAO
United States General Accounting Office
Report to the Congress
May 1999 FINANCIAL AUDIT Congressional Award Foundation's 1998 and
1997 Financial Statements
GAO/AIMD-99-173
United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 Let
te r
Page 1 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award Foundation
GAO
Accounting and Information Management Division Letter
B-282179 May 14, 1999 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, 1998 and 1997. These financial statements are the
responsibility of the Congressional Award Foundation. This report
also presents (1) our opinion on Foundation management's assertion
regarding the effectiveness of its internal controls as of
September 30, 1998, and (2) our evaluation of the Foundation's
compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations during
fiscal year 1998.
We conducted our audit 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 Senator Fred Thompson,
Chairman, and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Ranking Minority
Member, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs; Representative
William Goodling, Chairman, and Representative William Clay,
Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Education and the
Workforce; Mr. Thomas D. Campbell, Chairman, National Board of
Directors, Congressional Award Program; Mr. James F. Manning,
National Director, Congressional Award Foundation; and other
interested parties.
Robert W. Gramling Director, Corporate Audits
and Standards
Page 2 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award Foundation
Contents
Letter 1
Opinion Letter 3
Financial Statements 7 Statements of Financial Position 7
Statements of Activities 8 Statements of Cash Flows 9 Notes to
Financial Statements 10
United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 Let
te r
Page 3 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award Foundation
GAO
Accounting and Information Management Division
B-282179 Letter
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, 1998 and 1997,
and the related statements of activities and 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, 1998, 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 selected provisions of laws
and
regulations we tested for the fiscal year ended September 30,
1998. The following sections provide additional detail concerning
our conclusions and the scope of our audit.
Opinion on Financial Statements
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, 1998 and 1997, and the
results of its activities and its cash flows for the fiscal years
then ended.
Opinion on Management's Assertion About the Effectiveness of
Internal Controls
We evaluated the Foundation management's assertion 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.
B-282179 Page 4 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award Foundation
Management of the Congressional Award Foundation fairly stated
that those controls in place on September 30, 1998, 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 in a separate letter, and copies will be provided to
the appropriate congressional committees.
Compliance With Laws and Regulations
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
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
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 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.
Let t er
B-282179 Page 5 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award Foundation
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; inquired into the
Foundation's efforts to assess, and as necessary
address, the extent to which information systems the Foundation
relies on are vulnerable to the Year 2000 computing problem;
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 system of internal controls, 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 audit from December 11, 1998 through April 9,
1999. Our audits were conducted in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards.
B-282179 Page 6 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award Foundation
Foundation Comments and Our Evaluation
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 9, 1999
Page 9 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award Foundation
Financial Statements
Statements of Financial Position
Financial Statements Page 10 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Statements of Activities
Let t er
Financial Statements Page 11 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Statements of Cash Flows
Financial Statements Page 12 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Notes to Financial Statements
Financial Statements Page 13 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Financial Statements Page 14 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Financial Statements Page 15 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Financial Statements Page 16 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Financial Statements Page 17 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Financial Statements Page 18 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Financial Statements Page 19 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Financial Statements Page 20 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation
Financial Statements Page 21 GAO/AIMD-99-173 Congressional Award
Foundation (917773) Let t er
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