Introduction
This Report’s Purpose and Reporting Process
This Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for fiscal year (FY) 2008 provides financial and performance information, enabling the President, Congress, and the American public to assess the annual performance of the Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department).
This report is prepared under the direction of the Department’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The financial statements contained within this report are prepared by the Department’s Justice Management Division, Finance Staff, and audited by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). This report includes the Department’s financial statements for FY 2008 and for the preceding fiscal year (FY 2007) and reports on all accounts and associated activities of each office, bureau, and activity of the Department. The Department’s FY 2008 audited financial statements have been consolidated or combined based upon the results of audits undertaken in each of the nine departmental reporting entities.
The Department continues to enforce vigorously the broad spectrum of laws of the United States; notably, the fight against terrorism continues to be the first and overriding priority of the Department. In FY 2007, the Attorney General announced the Department’s Strategic Plan for FYs 2007-2012 (available electronically on the Department’s website at: http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/mps/strategic2007-2012/index.html). This Strategic Plan includes three strategic goals and related objectives that are mentioned throughout this report.
Organization of the Report
Message from the Attorney General: This report begins with a message from the Attorney General. In it, the Attorney General provides his assessment of the completeness and reliability of the performance and financial data, as required by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars A-11 and A-136, as well as the significant challenges the Department faces and how they are being confronted.
Section I – Management’s Discussion and Analysis: This section includes summary information about the mission and organization of the Department; resource information; an analysis of the Department’s financial statements; an analysis of performance information for the Department’s key performance measures; and assurances and information related to internal control and financial management systems conformance with government-wide requirements, as required by OMB Circular A-123 and the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA).
Section II – FY 2008 Performance Report: This section provides the Department’s FY 2008 Performance Report, which presents how the Department is working toward accomplishing its mission. The Performance Report provides a summary discussion of the Department’s three strategic goals. It also reports on the key performance measures by detailing the program objectives and FY 2008 targets and actual performance, as well as whether targets were or were not achieved. In addition, this section provides an update on the Department’s progress toward achieving the FY 2012 long-term outcome goals set forth in its FYs 2007-2012 Strategic Plan.
Section III – Financial Section: This section begins with a message from the Department’s CFO and the OIG’s Commentary and Summary. It also includes the reports of the Independent Auditors and the Department’s consolidated financial statements and associated notes.
Section IV – Management Section: This section provides information on progress made during FY 2008 in each area of the President’s Management Agenda. This section also outlines the Department’s progress in terms of the OMB Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) process. Lastly, this section includes the OIG-identified Top Management and Performance Challenges in the Department of Justice and Department management’s response, along with the corrective action plans required by FMFIA for the internal control weaknesses.
Appendices: (A) the OIG Audit Division analysis and summary of actions necessary to close the FY 2008 annual financial statement audit report; (B) the Department’s financial structure; (C) the Improper Payments Information Act reporting details; (D) the FY 2008 financial management status report and five-year plan summary; (E) a list of major program evaluations completed during FY 2008; (F) an intellectual property report; (G) a list of acronyms; and (H) a list of Department websites.
This report is available at: http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/annualreports/pr2008/TableofContents.htm
Compliance with Legislated Reporting Requirements
This report meets the following legislated reporting requirements:
Inspector General (IG) Act of 1978 (Amended) – Requires information on management actions in response to Inspector General audits
Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA) – Requires a report on the status of management controls and the most serious management problems identified within the agency
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) – Requires performance reporting against all established agency goals outlined in current strategic planning documents
Government Management Reform Act of 1994 (GMRA) – Requires an audit of agency financial statements
Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) – Requires an assessment of agency financial systems for adherence to government-wide requirements and standards
Reports Consolidation Act of 2000 (RCA) – Authorizes the consolidation of certain financial and performance management reports of federal agencies in an annual Performance and Accountability Report
Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) – Requires reporting on agency efforts to identify and reduce improper payments
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