Public Debt: Management Actions Needed to Ensure More Accurate Accounting
GGD-90-54
Published: May 31, 1990. Publicly Released: May 31, 1990.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the Bureau of the Public Debt's internal control and accounting control systems, focusing on whether they: (1) enabled the Bureau to accurately account for the public debt and related interest; and (2) conformed to the Comptroller General's standards, as the law required.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Treasury | To ensure that the Public Debt Accounting and Reporting System (PARS) improves accounting for the public debt and related interest, the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the Commissioner, Bureau of the Public Debt, to complete the current account reconciliation project prior to the implementation of PARS, including developing a strategy for offsetting, writing off, or otherwise adjusting the numerous differences, some unreconcilable, in the Bureau's accounts. This strategy should be coordinated with Treasury and Office of Management and Budget officials because of its potential to alter the reported outstanding balance of public debt and interest expense. |
As of June 30, 1990, the Bureau reported it reconciled its previously unreconciled accounts. Its recommendations for disposing of the differences affecting public debt principal and interest that could not be resolved during the reconciliation effort were approved by Treasury officials in January 1991, and adjusting entries were made increasing interest expense by about $832 million.
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| Department of the Treasury | To ensure that the Public Debt Accounting and Recording System (PARS) improves accounting for the public debt and related interest, the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the Commissioner, Bureau of the Public Debt, to increase managerial oversight and emphasis over internal and fiscal agent operations to ensure that the systems of internal and accounting control are adequate and maintain accurate data. To do this, Bureau management must ensure that: (1) fiscal agents furnish source documents in a timely manner; (2) fiscal agents and Bureau personnel make timely corrections of source document and other accounting errors; (3) actions are taken to identify and correct internal control weaknesses that cause out-of-balance conditions; (4) timely and thorough reconciliations are made and account balances are verified; and (5) the information it needs to effectively monitor internal and fiscal agent operations is built into PARS before its implementation. |
With the implementation of the PARS system, action on this recommendation has been completed.
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| Department of the Treasury | The Secretary of the Treasury should monitor Bureau of the Public Debt's management efforts to develop and implement the replacement accounting system, PARS, and take other necessary actions to more accurately account for the public debt of the United States and for related interest. |
Action on this recommendation was completed when the PARS system was implemented in October 1992.
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Accounting proceduresFederal agency accounting systemsFederal records managementFinancial management systemsFunds managementInterest ratesInternal controlsManagement information systemsMonitoringPublic debt