GAO Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on: (1) whether the excise tax revenue distributed to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) for the fiscal year (FY) ended September 30, 1999, is supported by the underlying records; and (2) FY 1999 AATF activity.

GAO noted that: (1) in performing the agreed-upon procedures, GAO conducted its work in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, which incorporate financial audit and attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; (2) these standards also provide guidance when performing and reporting the results of agreed-upon procedures; and (3) the procedures GAO agreed to perform include: (a) detailed tests of transactions that represent the underlying basis of amounts distributed to AATF; (b) review of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) quarterly AATF certifications; (c) review of the Financial Management Service adjustments to AATF for FY 1999; (d) review of the Office of Tax Analysis process for estimating amounts to be distributed to AAFT for the fourth quarter of FY 1999; (e) comparison of net excise tax distributions to AATF during FY 1999 and amounts reported in the financial statements prepared by the Bureau of Public Debt for AATF and the Federal Aviation Administration's consolidated financial statements; and (f) review of key reconciliations of IRS records to Treasury records.