Open Recommendations

Work with AmeriCorps’ Office of General Counsel (OGC) and follow OMB Circular A-11, section 113.10, to determine if there are any potential violations, including violations of the Antideficiency Act. (New)

Complete its internal inquiry related to the overinvestment of the Trust Fund, document the causes and timing, and determine appropriate next steps in coordination with the Office of Inspector General. (New)

Evaluate its fund’s control system to mitigate the risk of overinvesting. (New)

Develop and implement standard operating procedures for analyzing account balances and monitoring significant fluctuations which will allow management to evaluate, document, and approve the reasonableness of balances and detect accounting errors in its financial statements. AmeriCorps should ensure these procedures and the staff responsible for performing, reviewing, and approving the procedures are documented. (Modified Repeat)

Develop and implement performance goals to reduce the reliance of journal entries as a compensating measure. Performance goals should accompany the implementation of internal controls designed to analyze and address the root causes of financial reporting errors between financial management systems. (Modified Repeat)

Coordinate with all functional groups affected by financial system interfacing issues to implement all recommendations related to interfacing issues across financial systems and mitigate the remaining risks identified in the FY 2022 risk assessment. (Modified Repeat)

Conduct monthly reviews of transactions processed in Momentum and migrated to Oracle through interface or reported in Oracle using journal entries to ensure that there are no differences between the systems and that the correct object class codes were applied. (Modified Repeat)

Develop and implement internal controls designed to identify the root causes of all financial system interfacing issues, notify management of compatibility issues between Momentum and Oracle, and mitigate the issue from occurring for future transactions. (Modified Repeat)

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) Chief Administrative Officer require the Supplies, Services and Material Management Division to identify and leverage data analytics to perform purchase card reviews to ensure compliance with AOC purchase card policies and procedures.

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol Chief Administrative Officer require the Supplies, Services and Material Management Division to update and implement the Purchase Card Review Process Standard Operating Procedure 4-13, January 27, 2020, to include criteria and procedures for conducting all purchase card reviews.

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) Chief Administrative Officer require that purchase card approving officials perform quarterly or semiannual purchase card reviews to assist the Agency Program Coordinator in ensuring compliance with AOC purchase card policies and procedures.

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) update the AOC Contracting Manual to include examples of split transactions and instructions on how to avoid them.

We recommend the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) develop guidance and update the AOC Contracting Manual to describe the use of third-party processors and vendors and define terms like “questionable merchant category codes,” “mandatory sources,” “third-party merchants,” “third-party processors” and “third-party vendors” in accordance with federal government best practices.

We recommend that the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) update the AOC Contracting Manual to describe the process for avoiding sales tax and add the requirement to reclaim improperly assessed taxes.

KPMG recommends that DOT management implement processes to perform administrative functions without the use of shared accounts.

KPMG recommends that DOT management design and implement controls over privileged access to certain systems, including provisioning new or modified access and periodic recertification of accounts.

KPMG recommends that DOT management re-enforce requirements for controls to consistently approve and document new or modified user account, user termination, and recertification requests as required by internal policy and standards for effective internal control systems.

Perform quarterly reviews over a sample of personnel to ensure that personnel files are maintained and updated to correctly reflect personnel actions.

Assess reviews performed by the Human Capital and Talent Management/Employee Services and Benefits division to ensure payroll benefit, leave, and deductions calculated and recorded in employee leave and earnings statements are accurate, agree to employee authorized elections, and comply with USAID's Automated Directive System and federal regulations.

Review the reconciliation process with National Finance Center Payroll/Personnel System records to determine enhancements for more effectively identifying and correcting inaccurate information.

Develop and document a process on how the Agency implements and
adopts new accounting standards and guidance going forward, including, but not limited to, the
implementation of the embedded leases portion of SFFAS 54.

Develop and document a process to ensure its leases are recorded in
accordance with SFFAS 54. At a minimum, this should include the Agency's consideration of materiality and process to assess the completeness, accuracy and reasonableness of all information from the Department of State for which USAID relies on to report in its financial statements and to include an element of management review and approval.

Determine what information needs to be captured at a transaction level to allow for the identification of the lease and the type of lease (i.e., domestic, international - USAID dedicated, international - housing pool) at the disbursement transaction level.

Develop and implement a process to capture the information identified based on Recommendation 6 to allow for automation of determining completeness of the Department of State provided lease listing.

Develop a process by which USAID can automatically calculate lease balances for leases dedicated to USAID to allow USAID to verify the accuracy of the information provided by the Department of State related to USAID's dedicated leases.