Review of the Statements of Assurance Process

The Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, in conjunction with the regional bureaus, should create a uniform mechanism for posts to report to their regional bureaus deficiencies in management controls that are not reportable in statements of assurance.

The Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services should issue guidance for performing comprehensive reviews on the full range of activities in the mission.

The Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services should provide specific guidance on management controls duties, processes, and procedures at the beginning of each fiscal year.

The Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services should implement a mechanism for information sharing between bureaus at the working level on internal control deficiencies to determine whether the deficiencies in the aggregate should be reported as a material weakness or significant deficiency.

The Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services should identify areas for mandatory review in future statements of assurance on the basis of centralized analysis of risk assessments.

The Foreign Service Institute, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, should develop training for senior managers on their management control responsibilities.

The Foreign Service Institute, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, should include a module about the Government Accountability Office’s Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government in the basic, intermediate, and senior leadership classes (PK245, PT207, PT133).

The Foreign Service Institute, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, should include a module on the Government Accountability Office’s Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government in its Political and Economic tradecraft classes.