About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-15-387R 1 (2015-04-30)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaaivy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A O U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 April 30, 2015 The Honorable Mary Jo White Chair U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Management Report: Improvements Needed in SEC's Internal Controls and Accounting Procedures Dear Ms. White: On November 17, 2014, we issued our report containing our opinion on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) and its Investor Protection Fund's (IPF)1 fiscal years 2014 and 2013 financial statements.2 The November 2014 report also included (1) our evaluation of SEC's compliance with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements during fiscal year 2014 and (2) our opinion on the effectiveness of SEC's internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2014, including discussion of a significant deficiency in SEC's internal control over financial reporting resulting from continuing and new deficiencies in its accounting for disgorgement and penalty transactions.3 The purpose of this report is to (1) present additional information regarding the significant deficiency we identified in our November 2014 financial audit report, along with related recommendations; (2) communicate other less significant deficiencies we identified in SEC's internal controls during our fiscal year 2014 audit, along with our related recommended corrective actions; and (3) provide the status of our prior recommendations reported as new or open in our May 12, 2014, management report to the SEC (see enc. 1).4 1IPF was established in 2010 to fund the activities of SEC's whistleblower award program and the SEC Office of Inspector General suggestion program for SEC employees. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 111-203, § 922, 124 Stat. 1376, 1841 (2010) (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 78u-6(g)(2)). IPF is a separate fund reported on within SEC's financial statements, and its financial statements present a segment of SEC financial activity. Accordingly, IPF's financial transactions are also included in SEC's financial statements. 2GAO, Financial Audit. Securities and Exchange Commission's Fiscal Years 2014 and 2013 Financial Statements, GAO-15-166R (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 17, 2014). 3A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charges with governance. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity's financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis. A control deficiency exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis. 4GAO, Management Report.- Improvements Needed in SEC's Internal Controls and Accounting Procedures, GAO-1 4- 416R (Washington, D.C.: May 12, 2014). GAO-1 5-387R SEC Management Report Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most