|
OCFT utilizes project audits and attestation engagements as key monitoring tools of DOL-funded technical cooperation projects to combat exploitive child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking internationally.
International Labor Organization (ILO) Audits
OCFT engages the ILO's External Auditor to conduct audits on a sample of projects funded by DOL under cooperative agreements with the ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC). The IPEC projects to be audited are selected by OCFT managers using a risk ranking assessment, and the audits are conducted in accordance with terms of reference negotiated by OCFT, the ILO and the External Auditor. The objectives of the audits conducted by the ILO's External Auditor are to:
- Form an opinion on whether the financial transactions reflected in the Financial Status Report (SF269) are presented fairly and in all material respects in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles as applied by the United Nations System of Accounting Standards;
- Determine whether the project is complying with all of the terms of the relevant cooperative agreement; and,
- Assess the accuracy and reliability of the performance data from the grantees' progress reports that support OCFT's performance goals and measures in the Department's performance budget and Performance and Accountability Report.
Between August 2006 and July 2008, the ILO External Auditor, which was the National Audit Organization of the United Kingdom, conducted approximately 17 audits of DOL-funded IPEC projects. Results of the audits were documented in a summary report. As of July 2008, the ILO has a new External Auditor, which is the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
Attestation Engagements
OCFT has entered into a contract with a certified public accounting firm to conduct independent attestation engagements of OCFT Education Initiative grantees. The purpose of these attestation engagements is to:
- Determine whether the grantees are complying with the terms of their OCFT cooperative agreements and with the Department of Labor and U.S. Government regulations for grants;
- Ensure that financial reports are accurate and reliable; and
- Assess the accuracy and reliability of the performance data from the grantees' progress reports that support OCFT's performance goals and measures in the Department's performance budget and Performance Accountability Report.
In an attestation engagement, an auditor may assess a broad range of financial or non-financial subjects and report on the results. The results of each attestation engagement conducted by OCFT's contract auditors are summarized in an examination report, which requires the auditor to express an opinion on the audit objectives and related assertions by grantee officials. OCFT's audit contract requires that the auditors conduct their work in accordance with the standards on attestation engagements published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and included in the U.S. Government Accountability Office's Government Auditing Standards, 2003 Revision (the Yellow Book).
| 
