Financial Reporting:

NASA Can Improve Compliance With GAO Standards and Treasury Requirements

AFMD-88-21: Published: Feb 29, 1988. Publicly Released: Feb 29, 1988.

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GAO reviewed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) preparation of its fiscal year (FY) 1986 Report on Financial Position to determine the extent of compliance with GAO and Treasury annual financial reporting requirements.

GAO found that: (1) NASA substantially complied with GAO and Treasury standards and requirements in preparing its financial reports; (2) although the Goddard Space Flight Center recorded liabilities for contractor services, employee travel, utilities, and personnel compensation as they occurred, it did not recognize liabilities for goods and services such as inventory items, supplies, and property or services; (3) NASA did not eliminate intra-agency balances, such as receivables and payables, when it prepared consolidated financial statements; and (4) NASA did not disclose its capitalization policy, the basis for its capitalized property valuations, or the method it used in valuing inventories.

Recommendations for Executive Action

  1. Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: A determination has been made and all centers have been directed to ensure that liabilities are reported in accordance with GAO and Treasury requirements.

    Recommendation: To ensure that NASA fully complies with standards and requirements, and thus ensure that it provides reliable and useful financial management information to the Treasury, the Administrator, NASA, should require the NASA Comptroller to determine whether other centers are using the same or similar processes as Goddard in accounting for liabilities.

    Agency Affected: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  2. Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: All centers have been directed to report liabilities in accordance with GAO and Treasury requirements. The NASA Financial Management Division determines compliance during its FMFIA reviews of regional offices' operations. Each regional office is reviewed on a biennial basis.

    Recommendation: To ensure that NASA fully complies with standards and requirements, and thus ensure that it provides reliable and useful financial management information to the Treasury, the Administrator, NASA, should require the NASA Comptroller to report liabilities at Goddard and other centers in accordance with GAO and Treasury requirements.

    Agency Affected: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  3. Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: NASA complied with this recommendation beginning with the FY 1988 consolidated financial statements.

    Recommendation: To ensure that NASA fully complies with standards and requirements, and thus ensure that it provides reliable and useful financial management information to the Treasury, the Administrator, NASA, should require the NASA Comptroller to instruct the supervisor responsible for preparing the Reports on Financial Position to eliminate intra-agency balances when preparing consolidated reports.

    Agency Affected: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  4. Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: NASA complied with this recommendation starting with the FY 1987 financial statements.

    Recommendation: To ensure that NASA fully complies with standards and requirements, and thus ensure that it provides reliable and useful financial management information to the Treasury, the Administrator, NASA, should require the NASA Comptroller to disclose all of the information required in the supporting schedules to the Reports on Financial Position.

    Agency Affected: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

 

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