Federal Reports

What We Looked AtIn accordance with the Government Corporation Control Act of 1945, we audited the financial statements of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS), a U.S. Government Corporation, as of and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022, and September 30, 2021. What We FoundIn our opinion, GLS’s financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the Agency’s financial position as of September 30, 2022, and September 30, 2021, and its operations and changes in cumulative results of operations, cash flows, budgetary resources and actual expenses, and changes in equity of the U.S. Government for the years then ended, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. We found no material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting based on the limited procedures we performed. We also found no reportable noncompliance for fiscal year 2022, with provisions of the applicable laws, regulations, and contracts we tested. RecommendationsWe are making no recommendations.

This audit report shows Kearney found that the financial statements were fairly presented in all material respects, in conformity with U.S. lly accepted accounting principles. However, Kearney identified several deficiencies in information technology (IT) controls forFCC and Universal Service Fund (USF). Kearney deemed the aggregate of the IT controldeficiencies to be a significant deficiency in internal controls over financial reporting.

The OIG identified the top management and performance challenges (TMPC) for FY 2022 facing the U.S. AbilityOne Commission as: 1) Implementation of the Strategic Plan a) Modernization and Enhancement of Oversight of NPA Compliance b) Implementation of new Cooperative Agreements with Central Nonprofit Agencies c) Successful Implementation of the Section 898 Panel Recommendations d) Use of an Enterprise-wide Risk Management (ERM) Framework 2) Enhancement of Program Compliance (as currently executed, before implementation of the new Strategic Plan, as well as new challenges as a result of the Strategic Plan) 3) Breakdowns in Internal Control over Financial Management and Reporting 4) Growing List of Unimplemented OIG Audit Recommendations. Appendices: - Appendix A Watch Item: Program Growth and Resulting Risk - Appendix B - Removal of Watch Items: Accessibility - Appendix C - Removal of Top Challenges: 1) Higher Level of Transparency Needed to Enhance Program Confidence 2) Implementation of Cooperative Agreements with CNAs (as they existed before the Commission issued its new Strategic Plan) 3) Program Erosion - Appendix D – 898 Panel Recommendations for Commission action. OIG provided a draft of the report to Commission management, whose comments on the new challenges and on the Commission’s progress in each challenge area have been considered for incorporation into the final version.

Our objective was to review the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) decision - making process for terminating its private collection agency (PCA) contracts.The decision to terminate the PCA contracts is part of an ongoing, multiyear Departmental strategy to overhaul student loan servicing and default collections. In mid-2018, FSA made the decision for Business Process Operations (BPO) vendors to handle future default collections due to potential efficiencies and costs savings and the belief that doing so would improve customer service and the customer experience.As of September 2022, defaulted accounts are with FSA’s Default Resolution Group, which is handling any defaulted customer inquiries, and FSA intends for the BPO vendors to begin handling default collections in June 2023.

Transmittal of the Final Report Assessing the Federal Trade Commission’s Compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Redacted for public release)