Internal Control Improvements Needed in Agriculture's Miscellaneous Payments System
AFMD-85-66
Published: Sep 19, 1985. Publicly Released: Sep 19, 1985.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Finance Center's (NFC) miscellaneous payments system to assess the: (1) adequacy of internal controls for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of payment transaction processing; and (2) controls for ensuring the system's compliance with Comptroller General (CG) requirements pertinent to payment systems.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should instruct the Assistant Secretary for Administration to direct the Director, Office of Finance and Management, to reemphasize to USDA agencies' field certifying officers the importance of their responsibility for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of miscellaneous payments data provided to NFC for processing, consistent with the statutory requirements prescribed for certifying officers. |
Closed – Implemented
USDA issued instructions.
|
| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should instruct the Assistant Secretary for Administration to direct the Director, Office of Finance and Management, to establish a procedure for periodically analyzing reasons for system edit rejections by source so that appropriate actions to obtain improvements can be initiated. |
Closed – Implemented
Section 4 of the USDA 1986 Federal Manager's Financial Integrity Act (FIA) report shows this action has been completed.
|
| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should instruct the Assistant Secretary for Administration to direct the Director, Office of Finance and Management, to increase the number of essential miscellaneous payments system data fields for which rekeying is performed by data entry clerks to ensure accuracy, at least on a selective transaction basis. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Due to passage of time, a new study would have to be accomplished to effectively perform this function. GAO will continue to monitor USDA FIA reports for recurring problems in the future.
|
| Department of Agriculture | The Secretary of Agriculture should instruct the Assistant Secretary for Administration to direct the Director, Office of Finance and Management, to require that audits of miscellaneous payment vouchers include verification of critical transaction data fields to field supporting documentation. |
Closed – Implemented
USDA will perform an annual analysis via statistical sample. The sample plan was being prepared as of November 1, 1985. A pilot program will audit a statistical sample of vouchers for Prompt Payment Act compliance.
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Topics
Accounting errorsAccounting systemsCost accounting standards complianceFinancial recordsInternal controlsPaymentsReporting requirementsData entryElectronic data processingData errors