In a recent management report, the Government Accountability Office ("GAO") recommended improvements to the internal controls and accounting procedures of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"). GAO determined that the CFPB had not implemented effectively internal controls over the recording of its property, equipment and software since GAO's fiscal year 2013 financial statement audit of the agency.
GAO advised the CFPB that if it continued to make such errors, its financial statements could be misstated quarterly and at year-end, which, in turn, could (i) prevent management from making informed decisions about the allocation of resources, and (ii) provide misleading information to the users of the financial statements about CFPB's financial position.
GAO recommended that the CFPB:
- direct the program offices to require vendors to provide detailed invoices with costs broken out by project; and
- direct the CFO to update the Office of the Chief Financial Officer's financial records to include costs by project.
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