Thursday, December 04, 2003
CONTACT: Sandy Scott
Phone: 202-606-6724
Email: sscott@cns.gov
Washington D.C. — The Corporation for National and Community Service announced today it received an unqualified or "clean" opinion on its fiscal year 2003 financial statements, marking the fourth consecutive year the Corporation has received a clean opinion.
The opinion was issued by the Corporation's Inspector General and the independent accounting firm Cotton and Company LLP, which conducted the audit. The opinion was issued on November 14th, 82 days earlier than previous Corporation audits. By completing the audit before November 15, the Corporation was a year ahead of schedule in meeting an Office of Management and Budget requirement that federal agencies submit audit results within 45 days of the end of the fiscal year.
"I am pleased that the Corporation continues to receive a clean opinion on its financial statements," said Corporation Acting CEO and Chief Operating Officer James F. Manning. "The opinion reflects the hard work of our staff and our agency's commitment to excellence."
Chief Financial Officer Michelle Guillermin cited several factors that led to the clean audit, including strong financial controls, hard work by dedicated staff, leadership from the Corporation's board and management team, and its financial management system. "We thank our employees for this achievement, and pledge to take additional steps to strengthen financial and program management," Guillermin said.
Noting that national and community service operates through a decentralized structure of state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations, the auditors made several recommendations on how the Corporation can improve the monitoring of its grantees. The Corporation concurs with the recommendations and will implement the recommendations over the course of the next year.
"We are pleased with the results, but we also recognize that more needs to be done and we are committed to establishing a work environment that strives for continuous improvements in its programs," Manning said. In August, the Corporation established a cross-agency Management Improvement Team to review operations and make recommendations to improve accountability and efficiency in the agency and its programs.
The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Working with national and community nonprofits, faith-based groups, schools, and local agencies, the Corporation engages Americans in meeting critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. The Corporation and its programs are part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility, and to help all Americans answer the President's Call to Service. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.