31 USC 3512 - Executive agency accounting and other financial management reports and plans

U.S Code last checked for updates: Nov 22, 2024

§ 3512.

Executive agency accounting and other financial management reports and plans

(a)

(1)

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress and make available on a website described in section 1122 a financial management status report and a governmentwide 5-year financial management plan.

(2)

A financial management status report under this subsection shall include—

(A)

a description and analysis of the status of financial management in the executive branch;

(B)

a summary of the most recently completed financial statements—

(i)

of Federal agencies under section 3515 of this title; and

(ii)

of Government corporations;

(C)

a summary of the most recently completed financial statement audits and reports—

(i)

of Federal agencies under section 3521(e) and (f) of this title; and

(ii)

of Government corporations;

(D)

a summary of reports on internal accounting and administrative control systems submitted to the President and the Congress under the amendments made by the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (Public Law 97–255);

(E)

a listing of agencies whose financial management systems do not comply substantially with the requirements of Section 1

 So in original. Probably should not be capitalized.

3(a) 2

 So in original. Probably should be followed by “of”. See References in Text note below.

the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996, and a summary statement of the efforts underway to remedy the noncompliance; and

(F)

any other information the Director considers appropriate to fully inform the Congress regarding the financial management of the Federal Government.

(3)

(A)

A governmentwide 5-year financial management plan under this subsection shall describe the activities the Director, the Deputy Director for Management, the Controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management, and agency Chief Financial Officers shall conduct over the next 5 fiscal years to improve the financial management of the Federal Government.

(B)

Each governmentwide 5-year financial management plan prepared under this subsection shall—

(i)

describe the existing financial management structure and any changes needed to establish an integrated financial management system;

(ii)

be consistent with applicable accounting principles, standards, and requirements;

(iii)

provide a strategy for developing and integrating individual agency accounting, financial information, and other financial management systems to ensure adequacy, consistency, and timeliness of financial information;

(iv)

identify and make proposals to eliminate duplicative and unnecessary systems, including encouraging agencies to share systems which have sufficient capacity to perform the functions needed;

(v)

identify projects to bring existing systems into compliance with the applicable standards and requirements;

(vi)

contain milestones for equipment acquisitions and other actions necessary to implement the 5-year plan consistent with the requirements of this section;

(vii)

identify financial management personnel needs and actions to ensure those needs are met;

(viii)

include a plan for ensuring the annual audit of financial statements of executive agencies pursuant to section 3521(h) of this title; and

(ix)

estimate the costs of implementing the governmentwide 5-year plan.

(4)

(A)

Not later than 15 months after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit the first financial management status report and governmentwide 5-year financial management plan under this subsection to the appropriate committees of the Congress.

(B)

(i)

Not later than January 31 of each year thereafter, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a financial management status report and a revised governmentwide 5-year financial management plan to cover the succeeding 5 fiscal years, including a report on the accomplishments of the executive branch in implementing the plan during the preceding fiscal year.

(ii)

The Director shall include with each revised governmentwide 5-year financial management plan a description of any substantive changes in the financial statement audit plan required by paragraph (3)(B)(viii), progress made by executive agencies in implementing the audit plan, and any improvements in Federal Government financial management related to preparation and audit of financial statements of executive agencies.

(5)

Not later than 30 days after receiving each annual report under section 902(a)(6) of this title, the Director shall transmit to the Chairman of the Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives and the Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate a final copy of that report and any comments on the report by the Director.

(b)

The head of each executive agency shall establish and maintain systems of accounting and internal controls that provide—

(1)

complete disclosure of the financial results of the activities of the agency;

(2)

adequate financial information the agency needs for management purposes;

(3)

effective control over, and accountability for, assets for which the agency is responsible, including internal audit;

(4)

reliable accounting results that will be the basis for—

(A)

preparing and supporting the budget requests of the agency;

(B)

controlling the carrying out of the agency budget; and

(C)

providing financial information the President requires under section 1104(e) of this title; and

(5)

suitable integration of the accounting of the agency with the central accounting and reporting responsibilities of the Secretary of the Treasury under section 3513 of this title.

(c)

(1)

To ensure compliance with subsection (b)(3) of this section and consistent with standards the Comptroller General prescribes, the head of each executive agency shall establish internal accounting and administrative controls that reasonably ensure that—

(A)

obligations and costs comply with applicable law;

(B)

all assets are safeguarded against waste, loss, unauthorized use, and misappropriation; and

(C)

revenues and expenditures applicable to agency operations are recorded and accounted for properly so that accounts and reliable financial and statistical reports may be prepared and accountability of the assets may be maintained.

(2)

Standards the Comptroller General prescribes under this subsection shall include standards to ensure the prompt resolution of all audit findings.

(d)

(1)

In consultation with the Comptroller General, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget—

(A)

shall establish by December 31, 1982, guidelines that the head of each executive agency shall follow in evaluating the internal accounting and administrative control systems of the agency to decide whether the systems comply with subsection (c) of this section; and

(B)

may change a guideline when considered necessary.

(2)

By December 31 of each year (beginning in 1983), the head of each executive agency, based on an evaluation conducted according to guidelines prescribed under paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall prepare a statement on whether the systems of the agency comply with subsection (c) of this section, including—

(A)

if the head of an executive agency decides the systems do not comply with subsection (c) of this section, a report identifying any material weakness in the systems and describing the plans and schedule for correcting the weakness; and

(B)

a separate report on whether the accounting system of the agency conforms to the principles, standards, and requirements the Comptroller General prescribes under section 3511(a) of this title.

(3)

The head of each executive agency shall sign the statement and reports required by this subsection and submit them to the President and Congress. The statement and reports are available to the public, except that information shall be deleted from a statement or report before it is made available if the information specifically is—

(A)

prohibited from disclosure by law; or

(B)

required by Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or the conduct of foreign affairs.

(e)

To assist in preparing a cost-based budget under section 1108(b) of this title and consistent with principles and standards the Comptroller General prescribes, the head of each executive agency shall maintain the accounts of the agency on an accrual basis to show the resources, liabilities, and costs of operations of the agency. An accounting system under this subsection shall include monetary property accounting records.

(f)

The Comptroller General shall—

(1)

cooperate with the head of each executive agency in developing an accounting system for the agency; and

(2)

approve the system when the Comptroller General considers it to be adequate and in conformity with the principles, standards, and requirements prescribed under section 3511 of this title.

(g)

The Comptroller General shall review the accounting systems of each executive agency. The results of a review shall be available to the head of the executive agency, the Secretary, and the President. The Comptroller General shall report to Congress on a review when the Comptroller General considers it proper.

(Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 959; Pub. L. 97–452, § 1(12), Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2468; Pub. L. 101–576, title III, § 301(a), Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 2847; Pub. L. 103–272, § 4(f)(1)(J), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1362; Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(f) [title VIII, § 805(b)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–314, 3009–392; Pub. L. 113–101, § 4, May 9, 2014, 128 Stat. 1153; Pub. L. 116–283, div. H, title XCVI, § 9601(c)(2)(E), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4828.)

cite as: 31 USC 3512