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GAO-05-814R 1 (2005-09-20)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptaryu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: SGAO Accountability * Integrity Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 September 20, 2005 Mr. Sid L. Kaplan Acting Assistant Secretary and Chief Financial Officer Department of State The Honorable Howard J. Krongard Inspector General Department of State Subject: Financial Audit: Restatements to the Department of State's Fiscal Year 2003 Financial Statements As you know, the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is required to annually prepare and submit audited financial statements of the U.S. government to the President and Congress. We are required to audit these consolidated financial statements (CFS) and report on the results of our work.' An issue meriting concern and close scrutiny that emerged during our fiscal year 2004 CFS audit was the growing number of Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies that restated2 certain of their financial statements for fiscal year 2003 to correct errors. Errors in financial statements can result from mathematical mistakes, mistakes in the application of accounting principles, or oversight or misuse of facts that existed at the time the financial statements were prepared. Frequent restatements to correct errors can undermine public trust and confidence in both the entity and all responsible parties. Further, when restatements do occur, it is important that financial statements clearly communicate and readers of the restated financial statements understand that the financial statements originally issued by management in the previous year and the opinion thereon should no longer 'The Government Management Reform Act of 1994 has required such reporting, covering the executive branch of government, beginning with financial statements prepared for fiscal year 1997. 31 U.S.C. § 331 (e). The federal government has elected to include certain financial information on the legislative and judicial branches in the CFS as well. 2A financial statement restatement occurs when an entity either voluntarily or prompted by its auditors or regulators revises public financial information that has previously been reported. 'According to Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) No. 21, Reporting Corrections of Errors and Changes in Accounting Principles, prior period financial statements presented should be restated only to correct errors that caused such statements to be materially misstated. GAO-05-814R State Department Fiscal Year 2003 Restatement Page 1

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