United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-03-20 monographic deposited born digital 3 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-508R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-508R P0b002ee18038fed4 f:d02508r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-508R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-508R GAO-02-508R Construction contracts Internal controls Overpayments Contractor payments Correspondence A02914 GAO reviewed the Bureau of Prisons to determine whether they had made overpayments to contractors. During fiscal year 2001, the Bureau of Prisons had 24 open construction contracts that totaled approximately $1.9 billion. In addition to general disbursement controls, GAO found internal controls specific to construction contracts where both the project representative and the contracting officer must approve each monthly progress payment invoice. The contracting officer checks the invoice for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with contract terms. Further, the contracting officer keeps a running record of funds available by contract. The final contract payment is made only after all required work is verified as complete and all open claims have been satisfied. GAO sampled 27 payments on five construction contracts to determine if construction contract payment controls were properly designed, in place, and operating to prevent or detect overpayments. GAO found that the internal controls were in place and operating and construction contract payment amounts were correct, or, if errors occurred, they were detected and corrected promptly as a normal part of the payment system. A few minor clerical errors were subsequently detected and corrected by the Bureau of Prisons through its own routine control procedures before GAO made its review. Based on the controls in place and operating, the risk of undetected construction contractor overpayments at the Bureau of Prisons does not appear to be significant. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-508R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-508R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-508R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-508R.pdf GAO-02-508R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-508R Correspondence GAO-02-508R; Bureau of Prisons Contract Payments; Construction contracts Internal controls Overpayments Contractor payments