Federal Reports

Amtrak (the company) contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP to audit its consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2024, and for the year then ended, and to provide a report on internal control over financial reporting and on compliance and other matters. Because the company receives federal assistance, it must obtain an audit performed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

As required by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, we monitored the audit activities of Ernst & Young to help ensure audit quality and compliance with auditing standards. Our monitoring focused on two Ernst & Young reports and disclosed no
instances in which Ernst & Young did not comply, in all material respects, with generally accepted government auditing standards. We reached this conclusion by monitoring Ernst & Young’s audit activities, which included reviewing its reports, auditor independence and qualifications, audit plans, detailed testing results, summary work papers, and quality controls. We also attended key meetings.

Ernst & Young’s first report was its audit of the company’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal year (FY) 2024. In a report dated December 12, 2024, Ernst & Young concluded that the company’s consolidated financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Further, the report emphasized that the company has a history of operating losses and without receipt of federal government funding, the company will not be able to continue in its current form, and significant operating changes, restructurings, or bankruptcy might occur.

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Care in the Community healthcare inspection program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of community care processes at seven VA Sierra Pacific Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 21 medical facilities with a community care program. This evaluation focused on five domains:
•    Leadership and Administration of Community Care
•    Community Care Diagnostic Imaging Results
•    Administratively Closed Community Care Consults
•    Community Care Provider Requests for Additional Services
•    Care Coordination: Scheduling and Communication with Patients Referred for Community Care
The OIG issued 13 recommendations for improvement in the five domains:
•    Leadership and Administration of Community Care
o    Community oversight councils functioning according to charters
o    Entering patient safety events in the Joint Patient Safety Reporting system
o    Briefing patient safety trends, lessons learned, and corrective actions
o    Scanning community care documents into the electronic health record
•    Community Care Diagnostic Imaging Results
o    Using the significant findings alert for abnormal diagnostic imaging results
•    Administratively Closed Community Care Consults
o    Confirming patients attended appointments obtaining medical documents
o    Making two attempts to obtain medical documents after administratively closing consults
•    Community Care Provider Requests for Additional Services
o    Processing requests
o    Sending approval and denial letters to community providers and patients
•    Care Coordination: Scheduling and Communication with Patients Referred for Community Care
o    Timely scheduling of patients
o    Confirming patients attended appointments
o    Using the Community Care–Care Coordination Plan note to document care coordination activities