Federal Reports

Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Statement Opinion

Fiscal Year 2022 Independent Evaluation of the SEC’s Implementation of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, Report No. 574

Results of the annual audit of FEC's FY 22 Financial Statements

We determined that FHEO could provide more guidance related to FHEO’s performance assessment process to improve its oversight of State and local fair housing enforcement agencies participating in FHAP.  The FHAP Division has provided guidance that FHEO regional staff responsible for monitoring and overseeing FHAP agency performance (HUD reviewers) does not consistently follow.  Additionally, although all HUD reviewers work from the same performance standards, individual reviewers sometimes apply the standards in different ways.  HUD reviewers expressed a desire for more definitive guidance as to what level of compliance was acceptable and concrete examples of what constituted compliance and noncompliance.Other opportunities exist for the FHAP Division to provide enhanced guidance and training.  Although FHEO provides training, nearly all HUD reviewers and regional directors we spoke with requested more training.  At the time of our fieldwork, HUD reviewers had not had access to refresher training on conducting PARs in more than year.  The most recent PAR-specific refresher training was in July 2020.  The FHAP Division held its most recent training for new reviewers in January 2021.Another area in which the FHAP Division can enhance guidance is through performance improvement plans (PIP).  FHEO can use PIPs to improve FHAP agencies’ performance after determining that the agency is not meeting a performance standard.  Regulation allows regional offices discretion in applying PIPs.  However, during our period of review, regional offices often did not place FHAP agencies with repeat deficiencies on PIPs.  The FHAP Division leaves the management of FHAP agency performance to the regions, and FHEO regional directors use different criteria when deciding to issue a PIP.  The FHAP Division can issue stricter guidance clarifying when regional directors are expected to place a FHAP agency on a PIP.

The attached report presents the results of the independent certified public accountants’ audit of the balance sheets of the Department of Energy Nuclear Waste Fund, as of September 30, 2022, and 2021, and the related statements of net cost, changes in net position, and statements of budgetary resources for the years then ended.To fulfill the Office of Inspector General’s audit responsibilities, we contracted with the independent public accounting firm of KPMG LLP (KPMG) to conduct the audit, subject to our review. KPMG is responsible for expressing an opinion on the Nuclear Waste Fund’s financial statements and reporting on applicable internal controls and compliance with laws and regulations. The Office of Inspector General monitored audit progress and reviewed the audit report and related documentation. This review disclosed no instances where KPMG did not comply, in all material respects, with generally accepted government auditing standards. The Office of Inspector General did not express an independent opinion on the Nuclear Waste Fund’s financial statements.KPMG concluded that the combined financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the Nuclear Waste Fund as of September 30, 2022, and 2021, and its net costs, changes in net position, and budgetary resources for the years then ended, in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles.As part of this review, auditors also considered the Nuclear Waste Fund’s internal controls over financial reporting and tested for compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements that could have a direct and material effect on the determination of financial statement amounts. The audit did not identify any deficiency in internal control over financial reporting that is considered a material weakness. Additionally, the results of the auditors’ review disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards or applicable Office of Management and Budget guidance.

OIG contracted RMA to audit DFC’s consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, report on internal control over financial reporting, and report on compliance with laws and other matters. The audit was performed in accordance with U.S. generally accepted auditing standards, Office of Management and Budget audit guidance, and the Government Accountability Office’s and Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency’s Financial Audit Manual.

We rendered an unmodified opinion on the EPA’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2022 and 2021, meaning that they were fairly presented and free of material misstatement.