Financial Audit: Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for Fiscal	 
Years 2005 and 2004 (31-MAR-06, GAO-06-363).			 
                                                                 
GAO contracted with Clifton Gunderson LLP to audit the financial 
statements of the Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for fiscal	 
years 2005 and 2004. Clifton Gunderson LLP found that (1) the	 
financial statements were presented fairly, in all material	 
respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting  
principles; (2) the Fund maintained effective internal control	 
over financial reporting (including safeguarding assets) and	 
compliance with laws and regulations; and (3) there was no	 
reportable noncompliance with selected provisions of laws and	 
regulations it tested.						 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-06-363 					        
    ACCNO:   A50579						        
  TITLE:     Financial Audit: Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for   
Fiscal Years 2005 and 2004					 
     DATE:   03/31/2006 
  SUBJECT:   Accounting procedures				 
	     Auditing standards 				 
	     Dining facilities					 
	     Financial statement audits 			 
	     Fund audits					 
	     Internal controls					 
	     Revolving funds					 
	     Senate Restaurant Revolving Fund			 

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GAO-06-363

     

     * Report to the Committee on Rules and Administration, U.S. Senate, and
       the Architect of the Capitol
          * March 2006
     * FINANCIAL AUDIT
          * Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2004
     * Contents
     * Report on Audit of the U.S. Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund

Report to the Committee on Rules and Administration, U.S. Senate, and the
Architect of the Capitol

March 2006

FINANCIAL AUDIT

Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2004

Contents

March 31, 2006Letter

The Honorable Trent Lott Chairman The Honorable Christopher J. Dodd
Ranking Minority Member Committee on Rules and Administration United
States Senate

The Honorable Alan M. Hantman Architect of the Capitol

As requested, we provided for audits of the financial statements of the
U.S. Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund (the Fund) for the fiscal years
ended September 30, 2005 and 2004, by contracting with the independent
public accounting firm of Clifton Gunderson LLP. The contract required
that the audit be conducted in accordance with U.S. generally accepted
government auditing standards and the joint GAO/President's Council on
Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE)1 Financial Audit Manual.

In its audit of the Fund, Clifton Gunderson LLP found the following:

o The financial statements were presented fairly, in all material
respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles.

o The Fund maintained effective internal control over financial reporting
(including safeguarding assets) and compliance with laws and regulations.

o There was no reportable noncompliance with selected provisions of laws
and regulations it tested.

Although Clifton Gunderson LLP found that the Fund maintained effective
internal control, it did identify certain matters involving the Fund's
control environment that while not significant enough to be considered
reportable

conditions,2 deserve management attention. Clifton Gunderson LLP  is
reporting  these matters along with its recommendations for improvement to
management in a separate letter.

As disclosed in Clifton Gunderson LLP's report and in more detail in the
notes to the Fund's financial statements, the operation of the Senate
Restaurants is economically dependent on financial and other support
provided through the Architect of the Capitol (the Architect) and by the
U.S. Senate. The financial statements present the financial position and
the results of activities financed through the Fund and are not intended
to present the financial position and results of operations of the Senate
Restaurants as a whole.

o The Fund's financial statements for fiscal years 2005 and 2004 include
direct financial support received from the Architect and the Senate
totaling $850,000 and $1,100,000, respectively, from transferred
appropriations.

o The Fund's financial statements for fiscal years 2005 and 2004 do not
include other support that benefits the operation of the restaurants.
Specifically, the Architect provided approximately $161,183 and $217,407
in fiscal years 2005 and 2004, respectively, for the purchase and
maintenance of restaurant-related capital items, which remain the property
of the Architect, and professional fees. In addition, during fiscal years
2005 and 2004, the Architect and the Government Printing Office provided
the Fund with support services, the value of which cannot be readily
determined.

As disclosed in Clifton Gunderson LLP's report and note 1 to the Fund's
financial statements, losses from operations totaled $680,965 and
$1,058,543 in fiscal years 2005 and 2004, respectively. If losses from
operations continue, the Fund will continue to require future support to
maintain operations.

In connection with the audit of the Fund's financial statements performed
by Clifton Gunderson LLP, we reviewed its report and related audit
documentation and, as necessary, met with Clifton Gunderson LLP
representatives and the Fund's management. Our review, as differentiated
from an audit in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government
auditing standards, was not intended to enable us to express, and we do
not express, opinions on the Fund's financial statements and about the
effectiveness of its internal control or conclude on its compliance with
laws and regulations. Clifton Gunderson LLP is responsible for the
accompanying auditor's report and for the conclusions expressed in the
report. However, our review disclosed no instances in which Clifton
Gunderson LLP did not comply, in all material respects, with U.S.
generally accepted government auditing standards and the joint GAO/PCIE
Financial Audit Manual.

This report is a matter of public record and is intended for the use of
the U.S. Senate, the Architect, the management of the Senate Restaurants,
and other interested parties. We are sending copies of this report to the
Chairman and Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Legislative Branch,
Senate Committee on Appropriations, and the Majority Leader and Minority
Leader of the Senate. Copies of this report will be made available to
others upon request. This report is also available at no charge on the GAO
Web site at http://www.gao.gov .

If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-3406 or [email protected] . Contact points for
our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on
the last page of this report. Contributors to this report were Julie T.
Phillips, Assistant Director, and Kwabena Ansong.

Steven J. Sebastian Director Financial Management and Assurance

Report on Audit of the U.S. Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund Appendix I

(196076)
*** End of document. ***