Defense Logistics Agency's Progress in Implementing the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act

GAO reviewed the Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) continuing efforts to implement and comply with the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA). GAO found that: (1) DLA has made progress toward implementing a program for evaluating its systems of internal accounting and administrative controls, but the program experienced developmental problems that delayed full implementation; (2) DLA failed to identify several significant management control problems during the evaluation process; (3) the evaluation of DLA accounting systems did not include testing systems in operation; (4) the limited involvement of DLA headquarters elements hampered full disclosure of all material weaknesses; and (5) DLA needs to improve its approach for evaluating automatic data processing (ADP) internal controls. GAO also found that: (1) DLA did not have an adequate basis for reporting that its accounting systems were in conformance with Comptroller General requirements because of the lack of review of those systems in operation; (2) 48 percent of all contract disbursements were performed manually which increased the risk of over or underpayments to contractors; (3) additional deficiencies were not reported; (4) corrective actions were mostly long range and dependent on a proposed ADP equipment replacement program; and (5) the DLA evaluation system has not been developed to the point that it can provide a sufficient basis to ensure the requirements of the act have been met.

GAO reviewed the Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) continuing efforts to implement and comply with the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA). GAO found that: (1) DLA has made progress toward implementing a program for evaluating its systems of internal accounting and administrative controls, but the program experienced developmental problems that delayed full implementation; (2) DLA failed to identify several significant management control problems during the evaluation process; (3) the evaluation of DLA accounting systems did not include testing systems in operation; (4) the limited involvement of DLA headquarters elements hampered full disclosure of all material weaknesses; and (5) DLA needs to improve its approach for evaluating automatic data processing (ADP) internal controls. GAO also found that: (1) DLA did not have an adequate basis for reporting that its accounting systems were in conformance with Comptroller General requirements because of the lack of review of those systems in operation; (2) 48 percent of all contract disbursements were performed manually which increased the risk of over or underpayments to contractors; (3) additional deficiencies were not reported; (4) corrective actions were mostly long range and dependent on a proposed ADP equipment replacement program; and (5) the DLA evaluation system has not been developed to the point that it can provide a sufficient basis to ensure the requirements of the act have been met.

GAO reviewed Defense Logistic Agency (DLA) efforts to implement and comply with the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982. GAO found that DLA has generally made progress in evaluating internal accounting and administrative controls and accounting compliance as required under the act. DLA has made changes in the internal controls evaluation process to: (1) provide specific guidance and training to personnel in field activities; (2) assign responsibility to managers for evaluating automatic data processing controls; and (3) incorporate a tracking system to identify corrective actions. Although the DLA process complied with the Comptroller General's accounting principles and standards, it did not test accounting systems. DLA identified its areas of weakness as policies and procedures that do not ensure the receipt of materials requisitioned by the military services. In addition, DLA noted problems in specific program areas. GAO believes that the reasonable assurance statement in the annual reports to the President and Congress will become more meaningful as changes are implemented.

Defense Logistics Agency's First-Year Implementation of the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act

Department of Defense's Progress in Implementing the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act

GAO reviewed the Navy's efforts to implement and comply with the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act, focusing on: (1) the Navy's progress in implementing its program for evaluating internal controls; (2) whether actions taken by the Navy under the act are improving internal controls and accounting systems; and (3) the adequacy of the Navy's basis for determining that its accounting systems meet the act's requirements and conform with the Comptroller General's requirements for accounting systems. GAO found that the Navy made progress during 1984 in developing its internal controls evaluation program and in reviewing its accounting systems for compliance with the act. The Navy identified a number of material weaknesses for which corrective actions were underway or planned, at both departmental and local levels. However, GAO found that: (1) while the Navy has implemented a number of corrective actions, Navy managers do not routinely test corrective actions to determine their effectiveness; and (2) the Navy has not yet fully implemented its internal controls evaluation program or established a tracking system to ensure that identified material weaknesses are corrected. In addition, GAO found that: (1) most of the Navy's accounting systems do not conform with the Comptroller General's requirements; (2) the Navy did not adequately evaluate and test the systems it reported as being in conformance with the requirements; and (3) the Navy's efforts to bring its accounting systems into compliance could be delayed by schedule slippages for corrective actions, inadequate coordination of internal control reviews, and the lack of an adequate tracking system to monitor accounting system deficiencies and related corrective actions.