Deputy Inspector General's Report on the
Findings and Recommendations to the Chief Financial Officer
Related to the FY 2001 Consolidated Financial Statement Audit
22-02-004-13-001
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This report reflects the findings of the Office of Inspector General at
the time that the audit report was issued. More current information may
be available as a result of the resolution of this audit by the Department
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the resolution of this report's findings, please contact the program agency.
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We have audited the Principal Statements of the United States Department
of Labor (DOL) as of and for the year ended September 30, 2001, and have issued
our report thereon dated January 11, 2002. We conducted our audit in accordance
with generally accepted auditing standards; the standards applicable to
financial statement audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued
by the Comptroller General of the United States; and Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 01-02, "Audit Requirements for Federal Financial
Statements."
In planning and performing our audit, we considered DOL's internal
control over financial reporting by obtaining an understanding of the
Department's internal control, determined whether internal controls had been
placed in operation, assessed control risk, and performed tests of controls in
order to determine our auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing our
opinion on the financial statements. We limited our internal control testing to
those controls necessary to achieve the objectives described in OMB Bulletin
No. 01-02. We did not test all internal controls relevant to operating
objectives as broadly defined by the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act
of 1982. The objective of our audit was not to provide assurance on internal
control. Consequently, we do not provide an opinion on internal control.
Our consideration of the internal control over financial reporting would
not necessarily disclose all matters in the internal control over financial
reporting that might be reportable conditions. Under standards issued by the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, reportable conditions are
matters coming to our attention relating to significant deficiencies in the
design or operation of the internal control that, in our judgment, could
adversely affect the organization's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the
financial statements. Material weaknesses are reportable conditions in which
the design or operation of one or more of the internal control components does
not reduce to a relatively low level the risk that misstatements in amounts
that would be material in relation to the financial statements being audited
may occur and not be detected within a timely period by employees in the normal
course of performing their assigned functions. Because of inherent limitations
in internal controls, misstatements, losses, or noncompliance may nevertheless
occur and not be detected. We noted certain matters, discussed in the following
pages, involving the internal control and its operations that we consider to be
reportable conditions. However, none of the reportable conditions is believed
to be a material weakness.
With respect to internal control related to performance measures
reported in the Department's FY 2001 Performance and Accountability Report, we
obtained an understanding of the design of significant internal controls
relating to the existence and completeness assertions and determined whether
they have been placed in operation, as required by OMB Bulletin No. 01-02. Our
procedures were not designed to provide assurance on internal control over
reported performance measures, and, accordingly, we do not provide an opinion
on such controls.
This report does not contain current or prior year findings and
recommendations pertaining to our audit of the Department's general controls
and security over EDP systems that support the financial statements in
accordance with GAO audit guidelines. A separate report was issued to the Chief
Information Officer containing EDP related findings and recommendations for
resolution.
The Deputy Inspector General's Report, which expresses our opinion on
the fair presentation of DOL's Fiscal Year 2001 principal financial statements,
and our reports on internal control and compliance with laws and regulations,
are presented in the Department's FY 2001 Performance and Accountability
Report. In order to provide information to management that could help in the
development of responses and corrective actions for the instances of
noncompliance, reportable conditions and other conditions noted (Management
Advisory Comments), we are providing the following detailed findings and
recommendations to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). This report is intended
solely for the information and use of the management of the Department of
Labor, OMB and Congress, and is not intended to be used and should not be used
by anyone other than these specified parties.
The following chart summarizes the open recommendations by area of concern
and the year first identified:
