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GAO-05-693R 1 (2005-08-12)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptarux0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 



  SGAO

       Accountability * Integrity  Reliability
United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548


         August 12, 2005




         Margaret J. Carpenter
         Associate Executive Director
         Office of Financial Management
         U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission


         Subject: Management Report: Opportunities for Improvements in SEC's Internal
                  Controls and Accounting Procedures

         Dear Ms. Carpenter:
         In May 2005, we issued our report expressing an opinion on the Securities and
         Exchange Commission's (SEC) fiscal year 2004 financial statements and an opinion
         on SEC's internal control as of September 30, 2004.' We also reported on the results
         of our tests of SEC's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations
         during fiscal year 2004. Our report on SEC's fiscal year 2004 financial statements
         identified reportable conditions in the internal controls over financial reporting that
         we considered to be material weaknesses. These weaknesses related to SEC's
         controls over (1) recording and reporting disgorgements3 and penalties,4 (2)
         information security, and (3) preparing financial statements and related disclosures.
         We issued two separate reports providing recommendations to address those
         weaknesses.5


         The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations for those issues identified
         during our audit that, although not material in relation to the financial statements, we
         believe warrant management's attention. We are making 16 recommendations in this

         ' GAO, Financial Audit: SEC's Fiscal Year 2004 Financial Statements, GAO-05-244 (Washington,
         D.C.: May 26, 2005).
         2 A material weakness is a condition in which the design or operation of one or more of the internal
         control components does not reduce, to a relatively low level, the risk that errors, fraud, or
         noncompliance in amounts that would be material to the financial statements may occur and not be
         detected promptly by employees in the normal course of their duties.
         3 A disgorgement is the repayment of illegally earned profits.
         4 A penalty is a monetary sum that is to be paid by the registrant to SEC as a result of a security law
         violation.
         GAO, Material Internal Control Issues Reported in the SEC's Fiscal Year 2004 Financial Statement
         Audit Report, GAO-05-691R (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 27, 2005), and GAO, Information Security:
         Securities and Exchange Commission Needs to Address Weak Controls over Financial and Sensitive
         Data, GAO-05-262 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 23, 2005).


GAO-05-693R SEC Management Report

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