Attestation Report

OIG-04-030

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Department of the Treasury 

Payments for Water and Sewer Services Provided by the District 

of Columbia Were Made Timely for the Third Quarter of 

Fiscal Year 2004 

April 15, 2004 

Office of 

Inspector General 

Department of the Treasury 

Contents 

Department of the Treasury Payments for Water and Sewer Services 

Provided by the District of Columbia Were Made Timely for the Third 

Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004 (OIG-04-030) 

Page i

Report of the Office of Inspector General................................................... 1 

Appendix

 Report Distribution...................................................................................... 5 

 

Abbreviations

 BEP Bureau of Engraving and Printing 

 DC District of Columbia 

 DC WASA District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority 

 DO Departmental Offices 

 FMS Financial Management Service 

 IPAC Intra-governmental Payment and Collection System 

 OIG Office of Inspector General 

 OTS Office of Thrift Supervision 

 U.S. United States 

 

OIG Report of the Office of 

Inspector General

The Department of the Treasury 

Office of Inspector General 

Department of the Treasury Payments for Water and Sewer Services 

Provided by the District of Columbia Were Made Timely for the Third 

Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004 (OIG-04-030) 

Page 1

The Honorable Ted Stevens 

Chairman 

The Honorable Robert C. Byrd 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

The Honorable C.W. Bill Young 

Chairman 

The Honorable David R. Obey 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Appropriations 

U.S. House of Representatives 

The District of Columbia (DC) Public Works Act of 1954 

(Public Law 83-364), as amended, requires: (1) each Federal 

department, independent establishment, or agency receiving water 

and sewer services from DC to make payments on the first day of 

each quarter for these services; and (2) the inspector general of 

each Federal department, establishment, or agency receiving water 

and sewer services from DC to submit a quarterly report to the 

Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and 

Senate analyzing the promptness of payment with respect to the 

water and sewer services furnished to such department, 

establishment, or agency. Management of the Treasury bureaus 

that utilize DC water and sewer services is responsible for timely 

payment of such services. 

Treasury has three bureaus that receive water and sewer services 

from DC and are billed directly by the DC Water and Sewer 

Authority (DC WASA): Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the 
Department of the Treasury Payments for Water and Sewer Services 

Provided by the District of Columbia Were Made Timely for the Third 

Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004 (OIG-04-030) 

Page 2

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and Departmental Offices (DO). 

The DC WASA provides each bureau with a projected billing 

estimate for the fiscal year, and the Financial Management Service 

(FMS) collects quarterly payments via the Intra-governmental 

Payment and Collection (IPAC) system from the bureau. 

Agreed-Upon Procedures and Findings 

We performed four agreed-upon procedures to assist you in 

evaluating Treasury’s compliance with the Act for the third quarter 

of fiscal year 2004. The overall objective of the agreed-upon 

procedures was to analyze the Treasury’s promptness in making 

payments for the water and sewer services received from DC for 

the third quarter of fiscal year 2004. 

We performed the procedures in accordance with generally 

accepted government auditing standards, which incorporate the 

attestation standards established by the American Institute of 

Certified Public Accountants. These standards provide guidance 

when performing and reporting the findings of agreed-upon 

procedures for evaluating compliance with specified requirements. 

The procedures and our findings are enumerated below: 

Procedure 1

Through inquiry of FMS officials, determine if there were 

changes to the process by which FMS collects for water and 

sewer services since January 16, 2004, the date of our report 

for the second quarter of fiscal year 2004. 

Finding

We determined, through inquiry of an FMS official, that there 

were no changes to the process by which FMS collects for 

water and sewer services since January 16, 2004, the date of 

our report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2004. 
_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Department of the Treasury Payments for Water and Sewer Services 

Provided by the District of Columbia Were Made Timely for the Third 

Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004 (OIG-04-030) 

Page 3

Procedure 2

Through inquiry of FMS officials, determine if there were any 

amendments to the projected billing estimate for fiscal year 

2004 issued by DC WASA on April 15, 2002. 

Finding

We determined, through inquiry of an FMS official, that there 

were no amendments to the projected billing estimate for fiscal 

year 2004 issued by DC WASA on April 15, 2002. 

Procedure 3

Obtain documentation from FMS supporting the payments made 

by the Treasury entities for DC water and sewer services for the 

third quarter of fiscal year 2004. 

Finding

We obtained IPAC records from FMS supporting the payments 

made by the Treasury entities for DC water and sewer services 

for the third quarter of fiscal year 2004. 

Procedure 4

Inspect the documentation provided by FMS for the third 

quarter of fiscal year 2004 to determine if payments were made 

in full (equal to one-fourth of the annual estimate) on the first 

day of the fiscal quarter in accordance with the DC WASA’s 

projected billing estimate. 

Finding

We compared the amounts and dates paid from the IPAC 

records to the projected billing estimate and determined that
_________________________________________________________________________________ 

Department of the Treasury Payments for Water and Sewer Services 

Provided by the District of Columbia Were Made Timely for the Third 

Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004 (OIG-04-030) 

Page 4

the payments for the third quarter water and sewer services 

were made in full (equal to one-fourth of the annual estimate) 

on April 1, 2004, the first business day of the fiscal quarter, in 

accordance with the DC WASA’s projected billing estimate. 

The sufficiency of these procedures is solely the responsibility of 

the specified parties. Consequently, we make no representation 

regarding the sufficiency of the procedures either for the purpose 

for which this report has been prepared or for any other purpose. 

We were not engaged to and did not conduct an examination, the 

objective of which would be the expression of an opinion on 

compliance. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. Had 

we performed additional procedures, other matters might have 

come to our attention that would have been reported to you. 

This report is intended solely for the use of the Congress, Treasury, 

BEP, DO, FMS, and OTS, and is not intended to be and should not 

be used by anyone other than these specified parties. 

* * * * * * 

Should you have any questions, please contact me at 

(202) 927-5792, or a member of your staff may contact 

Donald R. Kassel, Director, Banking and Fiscal Service Audits, at 

(202) 927-6512. The major OIG contributors to this report were 

Mr. Kassel and Myung Han, Economist. 

Robert A. Taylor, Jr. 

Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Program Audits 

April 15, 2004 
Appendix 

Report Distribution 

Department of the Treasury Payments for Water and Sewer Services 

Provided by the District of Columbia Were Made Timely for the Third 

Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004 (OIG-04-030) 

Page 5

Financial Management Service

Commissioner 

Assistant Commissioner, Financial Operations 

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Director 

Departmental Offices

Deputy Chief Financial Officer 

Office of Thrift Supervision

Director