Performance Audit of the U.S. Department of Education’s Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 Fiscal Year 2020 Quarter 4 Financial and Award Data

The objectives of our audit were to assess the 1) completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and quality of the Department’s fiscal year 2020, fourth quarter financial and award data (Files A, B, C, D1, and D2) submitted for publication on USASpending.gov (submissions); and 2) Department’s implementation and use of the Government-wide financial data standards established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury).For objective 1, we determined the Department submitted data of an Excellent quality based on the applicable Quality Assessment Scorecard. However, the Department did not submit certain data completely, accurately, or timely. We also identified internal control deficiencies over the Department’s DATA Act submissions. For objective 2, we determined that the Department implemented and used the Government-wide financial data standards established by OMB and Treasury under the DATA Act.