The Agency Financial Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 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 2021 over 2020 |
2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance Sheet Totals as of September 30 |
|||||
| Total Assets | +2% | $111.9 | $109.7 | $109.0 | $105.6 |
| Total Liabilities | +8% | 35.8 | 33.0 | 32.4 | 29.9 |
| Total Net Position | -1% | 76.1 | 76.7 | 76.6 | 75.7 |
| Results of Operations for the Year Ended September 30 |
|||||
| Total Net Cost of Operations | +18% | $38.4 | $32.6 | $29.7 | $28.7 |
| Budgetary Resources for the Year Ended September 30 |
|||||
| Total Budgetary Resources | +4% | $80.1 | $77.1 | $74.9 | $72.3 |
* 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) 2021 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 November 2021; and (2) an agency Annual Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report issued in March 2022. These reports will be available online at www.state.gov/plans-performance-budget.
Note: Throughout this report all use of year indicates fiscal year.
Members of the U.S. State Department team in the Central African Republic celebrate the July delivery for distribution of some 300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses. Fighting the global pandemic is one of the ways State seeks to advance the theme of this year’s AFR: Foreign Policy for the American People. [Photo courtesy of UNICEF]
In May 2021, 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 2020 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 fourteenth time the Department has won the CEAR award.
The State Department’s Fiscal Year 2021 Agency Financial Report (AFR) provides financial and performance information for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2020, and ending on September 30, 2021, 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, Antony J. Blinken. 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 mission of the Department, includes a brief history, and describes the agency’s organizational structure. This section briefly highlights the Department’s goals, 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 provides information on payment integrity, grants programs, federal civil penalties inflation adjustments, resource management systems, and the Department’s heritage assets.
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.
The Department of State’s Agency Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2021 reflects President Biden’s pledge to “put diplomacy at the center of our foreign policy.”
The Department of State stands on the frontlines of the global challenges that most directly impact the security, livelihoods, and well-being of the American people, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the climate crisis. To deliver for the American people at this consequential moment, we are focused on five strategic goals:
1. Renew U.S. leadership and mobilize coalitions to address the global challenges that have the greatest impact on Americans’ security and well-being.
We are revitalizing and modernizing our alliances and partnerships, forging new ones, and renewing American leadership within international organizations. We are building the international coalitions necessary to strengthen global health security, combat infectious disease, and address and mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis. We are reinvigorating U.S. humanitarian leadership, and working with our allies and partners to prevent, deter, and resolve conflicts and address international security challenges such as counterterrorism and nuclear proliferation. And to support all of these efforts, we will continue our work to enhance foreign publics’ understanding of and support for the values and policies of the United States.
2. Promote global prosperity and shape an international environment in which the United States can thrive.
A strong U.S. middle class, resilient and equitable democracy, economic competitiveness, and national security are mutually reinforcing. That’s why we are shaping a global economy that creates opportunities for all Americans and delivers more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable growth. We will drive our national competitiveness by protecting and promoting the U.S. innovation base, supporting U.S. technological leadership, and leveling the playing field for American workers and businesses. And we are strengthening U.S. and global resilience to economic, technological, cyber, environmental, and other systemic shocks.
3. Strengthen democratic institutions, uphold universal values, and promote human dignity.
We must work in common cause with our closest allies and partners to promote and defend strong, accountable, and resilient democracies that deliver for their citizens. This includes working to advance equity, accessibility, and rights for all and improving access to health and education, especially for women, youth, and marginalized groups. We are making it a national security priority to prevent, expose, and reduce corruption. And we will live up to our values as a nation of immigrants by promoting a safe, humane, and orderly immigration and asylum system, addressing the root causes of migration together with our partners, and enhancing protections for refugees and displaced persons.
4. Revitalize the diplomatic and development workforce and institutions.
To deliver in all of these areas, we are investing in our most vital asset – our people. We are working to build, equip, and empower a diplomatic workforce that fully reflects the diversity of the nation it represents. We are modernizing our technology, enhancing our cybersecurity, and leveraging data to inform our work. And we will protect our personnel, information, and physical infrastructure from 21st Century threats while adapting to perform our vital work under a range of security conditions.
5. Serve U.S. citizens around the world and facilitate international exchange and connectivity.
Our foremost mission is and will always be to support and serve American citizens including while they are traveling or residing abroad. And because the ability to attract and retain the world’s best talent is vital to our economic security and competitiveness, we will continue facilitate legitimate travel to and from the United States.
Diplomacy is and must remain our nation’s tool of first resort in a more competitive, crowded, and complicated world. That’s how we can solve global challenges, forge cooperation, advance our interests and values, protect our people, and prevent crises overseas from becoming emergencies here at home. And that’s how we can shape a more secure and prosperous future for the American people, and for the world.
This AFR is our principal report to the President, Congress, and the American people on State’s management of the public funds entrusted to us to enable our leadership of U.S. diplomatic efforts. The Department maintains a comprehensive, sound system of management controls to ensure this AFR is complete and reliable. 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, I can provide reasonable assurance that the FY 2021 financial statements are complete and reliable. Moreover, the reports on performance and additional financial information in the AFR should strengthen public confidence in the Department’s management. The Message from the Comptroller in this AFR highlights progress made to improve financial management this past year and includes the results of the independent audit of our FY 2021 financial statements.
Antony J. Blinken
Secretary of State
November 15, 2021
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