Trust Funds Administered by Economic Development

A review of trust funds administered by Economic Development (ED) found the majority of the trust funds were inactive, and according to ED management, had been established between 1983 and 1991 for a variety of purposes. ED management said they found no activity in the majority of these trusts. ED had closed approximately 11 inactive trust funds as of July 27, 2007. Our review further found that documentation of these trust agreements was limited. TVA management could not provide documentation to show the recipients of fund balance distributions or the reallocation of the funds beyond a 2006 closeout memorandum from TVA to the recipients that certified that the contract requirements had been met and that funds had been used as required by the contract. In addition, TVA management could not provide us with account statements for 11 of the 16 trust accounts, bank account numbers for 6 of the 16 trusts, or the underlying agreements for half the trusts. Because of the limited documentation, we were unable to determine whether the trust funds are being administered in accordance with the terms of the agreements and whether the trust funds are being administered in accordance with the terms of the agreements and applicable laws and regulations. According to the Senior Vice President, ED, TVA no longer establishes trust accounts, and it does not intend to do so in the future.