First-Year Implementation of the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act in the Department of Education

GAO evaluated the Department of Education's implementation of the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982.

GAO found that Education's program for evaluating and reporting on its internal control and accounting systems made progress during the first year of implementation of the act. GAO noted that Education needs to improve certain aspects of its internal control evaluation program because: (1) not all weaknesses identified by vulnerability assessments were corrected; (2) in some instances, Education personnel did not comply with certain documentation requirements for internal control reviews; and (3) automatic data processing controls were not covered in the vulnerability assessment process. GAO found that Education's report on its accounting systems did not express an opinion as to whether its systems complied with federal guidelines and requirements. GAO believes that improvements are necessary because: (1) two accounting systems were omitted from Education's inventory of its accounting systems; (2) personnel performing accounting system reviews are not adequately trained and do not comply with certain documentation requirements; and (3) Education's accounting system assessment guidelines do not require testing accounting systems in operation.