The Agency Financial Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 provides an overview of the Department’s financial and performance data to help Congress, the President, and the public assess our stewardship over the resources entrusted to us.
| Percent Change 2019 over 2018 |
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance Sheet Totals as of September 30 |
|||||
| Total Assets | +3% | $109.0 | $105.6 | $100.6 | $93.8 |
| Total Liabilities | +8% | 32.4 | 29.9 | 26.8 | 25.7 |
| Total Net Position | +1% | 76.6 | 75.7 | 73.8 | 68.1 |
| Results of Operations for the Year Ended September 30 |
|||||
| Total Net Cost of Operations | +3% | $29.7 | $28.7 | $26.5 | $27.4 |
| Budgetary Resources for the Year Ended September 30 |
|||||
| Total Budgetary Resources | +4% | $74.9 | $72.3 | $71.0 | $69.3 |
| Visas Issued at Foreign Posts | 8.7 million | 9.0 million | 9.7 million | 10.4 million |
1 Throughout this report all use of year indicates fiscal year. (back to text)
The U.S. Department of State’s Agency Financial Report (AFR) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 provides an overview of the Department’s financial and performance data to help Congress, the President, and the public assess our stewardship over the resources entrusted to us. This report is available at the Department’s website (www.state.gov/plans-performance-budget/agency-financial-reports) and includes sidebars, links, and information that satisfies the reporting requirements contained in the following legislation:
The AFR is the first of a series of two annual financial and performance reports the Department will issue. The reports include: (1) an Agency Financial Report issued in January 2020; and (2) an agency Annual Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report. These reports will be available online at www.state.gov/plans-performance-budget.
Note: Throughout this report all use of year indicates fiscal year.
The front cover images include: (center) Secretary Pompeo cuts a celebratory cake with former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger at the Department’s 230th anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C., July 29, 2019; and (left) to (right) the first thirty-five Secretaries of State (1790 to 1898). The back cover images include: (center) Secretary Pompeo (2018 to present) and the Department’s professional ethos statement that was delivered on April 26, 2019; and (left) to (right) the remaining thirty-four Secretaries of State (1898 to 2018).
In May 2019, the U.S. Department of State received the Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR) from the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) for its Fiscal Year 2018 Agency Financial Report. The CEAR is the highest form of recognition in Federal Government management reporting. The CEAR Program was established by the AGA, in conjunction with the Chief Financial Officers Council, to further performance and accountability reporting. This represents the twelfth time the Department has won the CEAR award. The Department also received a Best-in-Class Award for its comprehensive enterprise risk management program description. In addition, the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) awarded the Department’s AFR the Gold Award for excellence within its industry. The LACP also ranked the AFR in their Top 100 Reports Worldwide (ranking at 42nd overall from more than 6,000 entries).
![Photo showing Secretary Pompeo posing for a photo with former Secretary Kissinger and Senior Staff at the 230th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, D.C., July 29, 2019. [Department of State]](https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/pg3-48408101427_9012125d5c_o-1024x696.jpg)
The State Department’s Fiscal Year 2019 Agency Financial Report (AFR) provides financial and performance information for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2018, and ending on September 30, 2019, with comparative prior year data, where appropriate. The AFR demonstrates the agency’s commitment to its mission and accountability to Congress and the American people. This report presents the Department’s operations, accomplishments, and challenges. The AFR begins with a message from the Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo. This introduction is followed by three main sections and appendices. In addition, a series of “In Focus” sidebars are interspersed to present useful information on the Department.
Section I provides an overview of the Department’s performance and financial information. It introduces the vision and mission of the Department, includes a brief history, and describes the agency’s organizational structure. This section briefly highlights the Department’s goal areas, its focus on developing priorities, and provides an overview of major program areas. The section also highlights the agency’s financial results, and provides management’s assurances on the Department’s internal controls.
Section II begins with a message from the Comptroller. This section details the Department’s financial status and includes the audit transmittal letter from the Inspector General, the independent auditor’s reports, and the audited financial statements and notes. The Required Supplementary Information included in this section provides a combining statement of budgetary resources, the condition of heritage asset collections, and a report on the Department’s year-end deferred maintenance and repairs.
Section III begins with the Inspector General’s statement on the agency’s management and performance challenges followed by management’s responses. The section also includes a summary of the results of the Department’s financial statement audit and management assurances and describes the Department’s financial legal requirements, as well as payment integrity efforts, resource management systems, a summary of the Department’s heritage assets, and the status of OMB’s Reduce the Footprint policy.
The appendices include data that supports the main sections of the AFR. This includes a glossary of abbreviations and acronyms used in the report and a map of the Department of State’s locations across the globe.
![Photo showing Secretary Pompeo delivering remarks on “One Team, One Mission, One Future: Introducing our Ethos” to State Department employees in Washington, D.C., April 26, 2019. [Department of State]](https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/pg4-47652601552_1a8a2ee93d_o-1024x535.jpg)
I am pleased to present the Department of State’s Agency Financial Report (AFR) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. Our mission set is straightforward: The Department is determined to spend and invest American taxpayer funds carefully and effectively.
Positioned in every corner of the world, the men and women of the Department of State are advancing America’s interests and values on a daily basis. Within the context of today’s challenging global environment, this work is never easy – and is often dangerous. Both state and non-state actors are increasingly applying unconventional measures aimed at eroding our national security and economic interests and, ultimately, threatening our way of life.
The Department of State continues to focus its efforts on four key national priorities, as outlined in the Department’s Joint Strategic Plan.
Protecting America’s Security at Home and Abroad: Protecting Americans at home and abroad remains this Administration’s highest priority. We remain committed to the complete dismantling of the ISIS threat and the ongoing fight against radical Islamic terrorism. We continue to be vigilant against security threats emanating from our own hemisphere, some of which are concentrated near our southern border. Protecting America’s security also continues to demand clear-eyed, skillful engagement on Iran’s outlaw behavior; on North Korean weapons of mass destruction programs; and on Chinese and Russian aggression in military, economic, information, and cyber domains, among others.
Renewing America’s Competitive Advantage for Sustained Economic Growth and Job Creation: Other Department leaders and I, whether advancing U.S. interests in Asia, Europe, or elsewhere in the world, consistently champion the formula that helps nations achieve prosperity: property rights, the rule of law, lower taxes, and an overall lighter touch from government regulation. We will pursue American prosperity by advocating for robust, reciprocal, free, and fair international trade and economic cooperation. Our teams will continue to help open new markets abroad for American businesses. We will reinforce our commitment to partnerships that serve both the United States and our friends, in contrast to other nations, such as China, that adopt a predatory economic posture toward other nations.
Promoting American Leadership through Balanced Engagement: We aim to defend American sovereignty and values and help our partners and allies do the same for themselves. We aspire to shape a free and open international order that reflects and upholds democratic values and human rights. I am proud that we helped do this for the second year in a row by hosting more than 100 nations for the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, the largest human-rights conference ever held at the Department of State. We will strive to ensure that international organizations are agile, respectful of national sovereignty, committed to delivering on their stated missions, and dedicated to creating value for those nations that comprise and contribute to them.
Ensuring Effectiveness and Accountability to the American Taxpayer: In the past year, we have taken several important steps to honor the confidence that the American people place in the Department of State. You will see throughout this year’s AFR references to our Department Ethos, a defining and guiding statement for all members of the Department of State team. By unifying our efforts, we expect to achieve even greater success on behalf of the American people. In addition, we have instituted regular investment and strategic performance reviews, which enable our senior leaders to ensure that our efforts and resources are aligned with our most important strategic goals.
This AFR is not merely a key accountability document; it is our principal publication and report to the President, Congress, and the American people on our leadership in financial management and our stewardship of the public funds entrusted to us. To ensure this AFR is complete and reliable, the Department of State maintains a robust system of management controls. The Department conducted its assessment of the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Appendix A of OMB Circular A-123. Based on the results of this assessment and the results of the independent audit, the Department can provide reasonable assurance that the FY 2019 Financial Statements are complete and reliable. The “Message from the Comptroller” in this AFR underscores our improvements in FY 2019 and includes the results of the independent audit of our FY 2019 Financial Statements.
The Department of State, in concert with our interagency partners, will continue to meet the complex challenges that our country faces today and in the future – in every corner of the world. We will continue to be a force for good.
Michael R. Pompeo
Secretary of State
January 17, 2020
View the full Section I: Management’s Discussion and Analysis.
View the full Section II: Financial Section.
View the full Section III: Other Information.
View the full Acknowledgements and Contact Information
View the full Collection of Sidebars
