United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1998-07-16 monographic deposited born digital 22 p. GA 1.13:T-RCED-98-243 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-98-243 P0b002ee18039b4a6 f:rc98243t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-98-243 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-98-243 T-RCED-98-243 Internal controls Libraries Service contracts Public schools Funds management Telecommunication industry Telecommunication Federal corporations Testimony RCED GAO discussed issues related to the Schools and Libraries Corporation's operating procedures and internal controls, focusing on: (1) its progress in reviewing applications; (2) the scope and timing of key compliance tests; (3) the status of its efforts to finalize its operating procedures; and (4) the status of the independent audit to determine whether the Corporation has developed an appropriate set of internal controls to mitigate against fraud, waste, and abuse.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the Corporation has made substantial progress in establishing an operational framework for the program that is consistent with relevant Federal Communications Commission (FCC) orders; (2) with regard to processing applications, the Corporation has worked with schools and libraries to inform them about the program and its application procedures; (3) during the initial application period, which began on January 30, 1998, and ended on April 15, 1998, schools and libraries sent in over 32,600 applications for discounts; (4) however, processing these applications has taken longer than either the Corporation or FCC expected; (5) the Corporation relies on a combination of applicants' self-certifications, third-party reviews, and its own procedures to ensure compliance with FCC's rules and regulations; (6) the Corporation tests applications for compliance with rules on the eligibility of applicants and requested services, and on the amount of requested discounts; (7) also, while the Corporation plans to conduct additional tests and reviews to ensure that applications are consistent with program rules, their scope and timing have not been finalized; (8) while the Corporation has established procedures for initially reviewing the applications, it has not yet finalized all necessary procedures and related internal controls for the program; (9) GAO is particularly concerned about this because the Corporation estimates that invoices for payment could begin to arrive as soon as 15 days after commitment letters are sent out; (10) the FCC Chairman has called for an independent audit of the Corporation's internal controls to help mitigate against fraud, waste, and abuse; (11) since applicants and vendors could begin submitting forms and invoices for disbursement of funds as soon as 15 days after they receive their commitment letters, it is important that the Corporation have all of its disbursement procedures, systems, and controls in place and reviewed by the independent auditor before sending these letters; (12) the FCC has not developed performance goals and measures for this program consistent with the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993; (13) FCC's Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year 1997-2002 and Annual Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 1999 mentions the schools and libraries program in the context of a large number of telecommunications initiatives, but establishes no specific performance measures or target levels of performance to be achieved by the program; and (14) the Corporation is still developing and finalizing some of its procedures and controls, and that they are subject to change. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-98-243/html/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-98-243.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-98-243/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-98-243.pdf GAO/T-RCED-98-243 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-98-243 Testimony GAO/T-RCED-98-243; Schools and Libraries Corporation: Actions Needed to Strengthen Program Integrity Operations Before Committing Funds; Internal controls Libraries Service contracts Public schools Funds management Telecommunication industry Telecommunication Federal corporations