Fiscal Years 2015 and 2014 Financial Statements, Federal Student Aid

For FY 2015, both the Department and FSA financial statements were fairly presented, in all material respects, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; however, like FY 2014, the financial statement auditors identified one significant deficiency in internal control over financial reporting and one instance of reportable noncompliance. The significant deficiency involved information technology controls over security management, personnel security, access controls, and configuration management, which can increase the risk of unauthorized access to the Department’s systems used to capture, process, and report financial transactions and balances, affecting the reliability and security of the data and information. The instance of noncompliance involved a provision of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, as amended by the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 which requires Federal agencies to notify the Secretary of the Treasury of debts that are more than 120 days delinquent. The auditors found that neither the Department nor FSA had processes in place to comply with the 120-day notification requirement.