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 2008-05-22 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-08-833T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-833T P0b002ee180387848 f:d08833t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-833T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-833T GAO-08-833T Accountability Accounting procedures Federal aid programs Federal funds Financial management Financial statement audits Financial statements Fraud Fund audits Funds management Grant administration Grant monitoring Grants Grants-in-aid Independent agencies Internal controls Legal aid Program evaluation Program management Reporting requirements Standards Agency missions Testimony A82179 This testimony discuss GAO's recent reviews of Legal Services Corporation's (LSC) governance, accountability and grants management practices. LSC's mission is to make federal funding available to provide legal assistance in civil matters to low-income people throughout the United States on everyday legal problems. LSC pursues this mission by providing financial assistance, mostly through grants to legal service providers (grant recipients or grantees) who serve low-income members of the community who would otherwise not be able to afford legal assistance (clients). Established by a federal charter in 1974 as a federally funded, private nonprofit corporation, LSC is highly dependent on federal appropriations for its operations. LSC received $348.6 million in appropriations for fiscal year 2007, which made up about 99 percent of its total funding. In 2007, LSC served clients through 137 grantees with more than 900 offices serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and current and former U.S. territories. LSC uses the majority of its funding to provide grants to local legal-service providers. Funds are distributed based on the number of low-income persons living within a service area, with some grantees maintaining several offices within their service area. LSC management is responsible for ensuring that grant funds are used for their intended purposes and in accordance with laws and regulations. Thus, LSC is accountable for the effectiveness of its own internal controls and for providing oversight and monitoring of grantees' internal controls, use of grant funds, and compliance with laws and regulations. LSC's Board of Directors is responsible for carrying out fiduciary responsibilities in overseeing LSC management's operations and use of appropriated funds. In recent years, governance and accountability processes have received increased scrutiny and emphasis in the nonprofit, federal agency, and public company sectors as a result of governance and accountability breakdowns. Public companies now operate under strengthened governance and accountability standards, including requirements for ethics policies and improved internal controls. The federal government and nonprofit sectors have followed this lead and established new standards and requirements for improved internal control reporting and governance and accountability. For nonprofit corporations using funding from taxpayers and donors, effective governance, accountability, and internal control are key to maintaining trust and credibility. Governance and accountability breakdowns result in a lack of trust from donors, grantors, and appropriators, which could ultimately put funding and the organization's credibility at risk. The current period of economic hardship for many workers and their families' highlights the importance of LSC's mission and the efficient and effective use of taxpayers' dollars to achieve that mission. This testimony highlights our key findings on LSC's governance and accountability practices, as well as the internal control improvements needed in LSC's grants management and oversight to increase assurance that federal funds are being properly spent and its operations are effectively carried out to meet its mission of providing legal assistance to low-income people. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-833T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-833T.htm GAO-08-833T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-833T Testimony GAO-08-833T; Legal Services Corporation: Improvements Needed in Governance, Accountability, and Grants Management and Oversight; Accountability Accounting procedures Federal aid programs Federal funds Financial management Financial statement audits Financial statements Fraud Fund audits Funds management Grant administration Grant monitoring Grants Grants-in-aid Independent agencies Internal controls Legal aid Program evaluation Program management Reporting requirements Standards Agency missions Volume 88 Page 378 88 Stat. 378 Volume 110 Page 3009 110 Stat. 3009 Public Law 93-355 Public Law 104-208