United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Accounting and Information Management Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1996-07-02 monographic deposited born digital 8 p. GA 1.13:AIMD-96-124R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-96-124R P0b002ee1803a261e f:ai96124r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-AIMD-96-124R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-AIMD-96-124R AIMD-96-124R Travel Documentation Internal controls Federal agency accounting systems Expense claims Travel costs Claims processing Data integrity Joint Financial Management Improvement Program Correspondence AIMD

An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official requested that GAO give its opinion on whether EPA could eliminate supervisor approval of staff travel vouchers if alternative controls that provide the same level of assurance were implemented. GAO noted that: (1) the new EPA travel system would replace the supervisor's approval for travel authorization, ensure that the trip was necessary, and limit the expense amounts claimed; (2) under the new system, each travel voucher will be checked to determine whether the amounts claimed are reasonable and any regulation has been violated, and if irregularities are encountered the system would stop further processing of that voucher; (4) the proposed system would also check to ensure that it was functioning properly, that claims were adequately supported by documentation, and that the travel actually took place; (5) the new system's electronic signature system does not comply with National Institute of Standards and Technology standards to ensure data integrity; and (6) EPA could minimize the risk of irregularities and errors in the new system by verifying that authorized trips were actually taken prior to payment, implementing an effective electronic signature generation and validation process, and reviewing the system during annual internal control reviews under the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-96-124R/html/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-96-124R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-96-124R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-96-124R.pdf GAO/AIMD-96-124R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-96-124R Correspondence GAO/AIMD-96-124R; Employee Travel Claims (EPA); Travel Documentation Internal controls Federal agency accounting systems Expense claims Travel costs Claims processing Data integrity Joint Financial Management Improvement Program Title 15 Section 278g-3 15 U.S.C. 278g-3