Transparent reporting to the American people and the President on our stewardship and management of public funds is an integral part of our efforts to improve accountability to customers, constituents, and the public. The following is a summary from the Department of State’s Agency Financial Report (AFR) for Fiscal Year 2008; for a complete version see http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/perfrpt/2008/. The AFR includes statements from the Secretary of State on page 2, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on page 30, the Independent Auditor on page 34, and the Inspector General (OIG) on page 101.
The Department of State’s financial statements are audited by an independent public accounting firm (IPA) and for FY 2008, while the Department did submit the AFR to OMB on time, sufficient evidential matter could not be provided to the IPA to complete the audit and express an opinion by the November 17, 2008 deadline. Since then, with the cooperation of the IPA and OIG, the Department’s efforts continued and the Department satisfied the independent auditor about the amounts presented in the financial statements and footnotes. On December 12, 2008, the Department received an unqualified (“clean”) opinion on the financial statements for FY 2008.
| % Change 2008 over 2007 | 2008 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | +15% | $52,116 | $45,234 |
| Total Liabilities | +8% | 21,483 | 19,894 |
| Total Net Position | +21% | 30,633 | 25,340 |
| Total Net Cost of Operations | +30% | $17,741 | $13,636 |
| Total Budgetary Resources | +23% | $38,825 | $31,511 |
The Department maintains a robust system of internal controls. During the past year, the Department worked closely with the IPA to address the material weaknesses reported for FY 2007. As a result of improvements made, the Department is pleased to report that it ended the year with no material weaknesses in internal control. Accordingly, for FY 2008, the Secretary was able to provide an unqualified statement of assurance overall, and for internal controls over financial reporting.
