Inadequate Internal Controls Affect Quality and Reliability of the Civil Service Retirement System's Annual Report

Gao ID: AFMD-83-3 October 22, 1982

GAO reported on the quality and reliability of the financial and actuarial information presented by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in its 1980 report on the Civil Service Retirement System. GAO also reviewed the plan's internal control procedures to determine their effectiveness in ensuring the reliability of the information used.

GAO found that OPM did not establish adequate internal control procedures to ensure reliable data. The inadequacies resulted because OPM did not properly control the design, development, and maintenance of the computer programs used in performing actuarial valuations. OPM also did not establish accounting and review procedures sufficient to prevent inaccurate financial data from being reported. OPM also failed to ensure that the annual report was prepared in complete accordance with reporting guidelines which encompass generally accepted accounting principles and the reporting requirements of statutory law.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Dennis J. Duquette Team: General Accounting Office: Accounting and Financial Management Division Phone: (202) 275-9406


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