The Government Accountability Office has issued a report that presents additional information regarding two significant deficiencies identified by the GAO in its audit of the CFPB’s FY 2013 and 2012 financial statements. The GAO found that the CFPB did not effectively design or implement (1) internal control over its year-end accrual process to ensure accounts payable amounts recorded were complete and accurate, and (2) policies and procedures to ensure accurate and complete recording of its property and equipment transactions in the general ledger. According to the GAO, the CFPB did not record or erroneously recorded approximately $4.2 million in accounts payable transactions and erroneously recorded approximately $7 million in property and equipment transactions.
In the report, the GAO states that “[t]hese deficiencies increase the risk that CFPB may not detect and correct errors in time to prevent misstatement of the financial statements.” The report discusses the reasons the errors occurred and recommends actions to be taken by the CFPB’s Chief Financial Officer to address the deficiencies. In a letter accompanying the report, Director Cordray indicated that the CFPB concurred with the GAO’s recommendations and “has implemented or is in the process of implementing actions that address issues” identified by the GAO in its audit. He further stated that the CFPB “will continue to implement corrective actions to resolve and mitigate the significant deficiencies identified.”