Highlights
Volume 1, September 2003

Significant Reports

Financial Statement Audit and Review of Information Systems

Improving financial management and information security has been an important priority of the federal government for many years. The President's Management Agenda identified improved financial management as one of its five government-wide initiatives. The President's goal is to ensure that federal financial management systems produce accurate and timely information to support operating, budget, and policy decisions.

Since 1990, Congress has enacted several laws intended to improve federal financial management and information systems security. The Chief Financial Officer's (CFO) Act of 1990, as amended, requires that federal agencies prepare financial statements and that each agency's OIG, or an independent public accounting firm selected by the OIG, audit these statements annually. The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) requires agencies to perform annual reviews and report to the Office of Management and Budget on their information systems' security programs. In addition, Inspectors General are to provide independent evaluations of the information security programs and practices of their agencies.

During this semiannual period we issued three reports on work performed for NSF in accordance with the CFO Act and FISMA: the FY 2002 Management Letter Report, the FY 2003Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Independent Evaluation Report, and the FY 2003 FISMA Evaluation Summary Report.

The FY 2002 Management Letter Report

The FY 2002 Management Letter Report provides details on internal control findings identified during the FY 2002 financial statement audit (see discussion of audit in the March 2003 Semiannual Report, p. 17). The Report again identifies two areas of significant concern: post-award management, and cost accounting. (for further details see Semiannual Report)

• Committees of Visitors Provide Useful Information to
  NSF Managers (see Semiannual for Details)

• NSF Awards for International Programs (see Semiannual for Details)

• A Western University Inappropriately Claims
  $1.4 Million for Reimbursement (see Semiannual for Details)

• A Management Framework for Effective Award
  Monitoring (see Semiannual for Details)

• Indirect Cost Rate Audits Projected to Save
  Government $5.3 Million (see Semiannual for Details)

• Audits of Community Colleges (see Semiannual for Details)

 Jul 08, '04