GAO-04-141R Senate Office of Public Records Fund Review

United States General Accounting Office 

Washington, DC 20548 

October 17, 2003 

The Honorable Emily J. Reynolds 

Secretary of the United States Senate 

Subject: Senate Office of Public Records Revolving Fund 

Dear Ms. Secretary: 

We performed procedures you requested to assist you in determining whether the 

Senate Office of Public Records revolving fund’s reported fiscal year 2001 (October 1, 

2000, through September 30, 2001) and fiscal year 2002 (October 1, 2001, through 

September 30, 2002) receipts and disbursements and fund balances at the beginning 

and end of the review period are complete and accurate. 

In summary, the procedures you asked us to perform included reviewing 

documentation supporting the Senate Office of Public Records revolving fund’s 

recorded receipt and disbursement transactions for evidence that the transactions 

were properly authorized, recorded, and reported on the Senate Disbursing Office’s 

monthly Statement of Funding Authorization and Expense Activity reports. In 

addition, you asked us to review the fund balance at the beginning and end of the 

fiscal years under review. As a result of performing the agreed-upon procedures, we 

identified one instance in which a cash disbursement was not forwarded to the 

Senate Committee on Rules and Administration prior to payment. This occurred 

during the displacement of staff from the Senate Disbursing Office as a result of the 

anthrax incident in the fall of 2001. Additionally, we found that the beginning and 

ending fund balances for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 recorded in the Senate Disbursing 

Office’s monthly statements agreed with the balances reported by the U.S. Treasury. 

The details of the agreed-upon procedures along with our results are presented in 

enclosure I. The unaudited Schedules of Receipts, Disbursements, and Fund 

Balances for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 for the Senate Office of Public Records 

revolving fund are in enclosure II. 

By specifying the agreed-upon procedures, your office was responsible for ensuring 

that the procedures we performed were sufficient to meet your objectives, and we 

make no representations in that respect. In performing these procedures, we 

conducted our work in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 

standards that incorporate financial audit and attestation standards established by 

the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. These standards also provide 

guidance when performing and reporting the results of agreed-upon procedures. In 

agreeing to perform the procedures you requested, we discussed this guidance and 

the related limitations on the nature, scope, and intended use of our work with your 
2 GAO-04-141R Senate Office of Public Records Fund Review 

office. We did not perform a financial audit, and accordingly, we do not express an 

opinion on the enclosed Schedules of Receipts, Disbursements, and Fund Balances 

for the Office of Public Records. 

We provided a draft of this report along with its enclosures to your staff for review 

and comment. They provided us with technical comments that have been 

incorporated in this report, as appropriate. We conducted our work from May 14, 

2003, through July 30, 2003. This report is intended for your office’s use and is not 

intended to be and should not be used by those who have not agreed to the 

procedures and taken responsibility for the sufficiency of the procedures for their 

purposes. 

As arranged with your offices, unless you announce the contents of this report 

earlier, we will not distribute it until 30 days from its date. Then copies will be made 

available to others upon request. If you have any questions concerning our work, 

please contact me at (202) 512-9471 or Keith Thompson, Assistant Director, at (202) 

512-6328. Key contributors to this assignment were Chanetta Reed and Stacey Smith. 

This report will be made available at http://www.gao.gov, GAO’s Internet site. 

Sincerely yours, 

Jeanette Franzel 

Director 

Financial Management and Assurance 

(202) 512-9471 

Enclosures 
Enclosure I 

3 GAO-04-141R Senate Office of Public Records Fund Review 

Agreed-Upon Procedures and Related Results

Receipts Procedures

1. We examined all fiscal years 2002 and 2001 official receipt documents to 

determine whether they were properly included in the total weekly deposit. We 

then compared the weekly deposit amounts to the amounts reported on the 

Senate Disbursing Office’s monthly Statement of Funding Authorization and 

Expense Activity reports. 

2. We reviewed the Senate Disbursing Office’s monthly Statement of Funding 

Authorization and Expense Activity reports for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 receipts 

to determine whether each deposit was correctly recorded in the proper fiscal 

year. 

Results

We found cash receipts for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 for the Senate Office of Public 

Records were supported by appropriate documentation and were accurately 

recorded, summarized, and reported in the Senate Disbursing Office’s monthly 

Statement of Funding Authorization and Expense Activity reports. 

Disbursements Procedures

Using the Senate Disbursing Office copies of fiscal years 2002 and 2001 disbursement 

vouchers and associated supporting documentation for the Senate Office of Public 

Records revolving fund, we did the following: 

1. Determined whether the request for payment per the disbursement voucher 

was (a) certified by the designated official from the Office of Public Records 

as to the receipt and acceptance of the goods and/or services for which the 

payment was made, (b) authorized by the Secretary of the Senate or an 

authorized designee, and (c) sanctioned by the Committee on Rules and 

Administration prior to disbursement. 

2. Compared the payee (e.g., vendor number, name, and address) and amount 

billed from the supporting invoice to the approved disbursement voucher 

applicable for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 disbursement activities and to the 

Senate Disbursing Office’s monthly Statement of Funding Authorization and 

Expense Activity reports. 

3. Reviewed the Senate Disbursing Office’s monthly Statement of Funding 

Authorization and Expense Activity reports for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 
Enclosure I 

4 GAO-04-141R Senate Office of Public Records Fund Review 

disbursement activities to determine whether each disbursement was 

correctly recorded in the proper fiscal year. 

Results

We found that cash disbursements for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 from the Senate 

Office of Public Records revolving fund were certified, authorized, and sanctioned 

prior to payment as required1 except in one instance. We identified one disbursement 

in the amount of $720 for fiscal year 2002 that, while properly certified and 

authorized, was not sanctioned by the Senate Committee on Rules and 

Administration prior to payment. This occurrence, as explained by the Senate 

Disbursing Office, was attributable to an oversight by the Senate Disbursing Office 

due to displacement from their normal business operations as a result of the anthrax 

incident.2 This transaction was subsequently sanctioned by the Committee on Rules 

and Administration and was found to be in order for payment. 

We found that all disbursements were supported by the appropriate documentation 

and accurately recorded, summarized, and reported in the Senate Disbursing Office’s 

monthly Statement of Funding Authorization and Expense Activity reports for the 

revolving fund. We found that all disbursements for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 were 

recorded in the appropriate year. 

Fund Balances

1. We compared the Senate Office of Public Record’s reconciliation of its 

receipts and disbursements for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 to the Senate 

Disbursing Office’s monthly Statement of Funding Authorization and Expense 

Activity reports and traced and confirmed no differences. 

2. We compared the beginning (October 1, 2001, and 2000) and ending 

(September 30, 2002, and 2001) fiscal years 2002 and 2001 fund balances for 

the Senate Office of Public Records recorded on the Senate Disbursing Office’s 

monthly Statement of Funding Authorization and Expense Activity reports to 

the balances reported by the U.S. Treasury. 

Results

We found that the Senate Office of Public Records had performed all reconciliations 

for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 and identified no reconciling items or discrepancies. 

 

1

 Disbursement from the revolving fund shall be made upon vouchers approved by the Secretary of the 

Senate (2 U.S.C. 68-7). The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration must sanction all cash 

disbursements made by the Senate Disbursing Office on behalf of the Office of Public Records (2 

U.S.C. 68). 

2

 Staff in the Senate Disbursing office was displaced from October 2001 until around February 2002. 
Enclosure I 

5 GAO-04-141R Senate Office of Public Records Fund Review 

The beginning and ending fund balances for fiscal years 2002 and 2001 recorded in 

the Senate Disbursing Office’s monthly Statement of Funding Authorization and 

Expense Activity reports agreed with the balances reported by the U.S. Treasury.
Enclosure II 

6 GAO-04-141R Senate Office of Public Records Fund Review 

Senate Office of Public Records Revolving Fund Schedules and Related Notes

Fiscal Years 2002 and 2001 

Schedules of Receipts, Disbursements, and Fund Balances (Unaudited) 

 

 FY 2002 FY 2001 

 Receipts 

 

 Copies of public documents $ 19,324 $ 24,185 

 

 Disbursements 

 

 Contractual services $ 27,233 $ 39,330 

 Equipment 1,957 39,144 

 

 Total disbursements $ 29,190 $ 78,474 

 

 Net fiscal year receipt/(disbursement) activity $ (9,866) $ (54,289) 

 

 Beginning balance $ 126,194 $ 180,483 

 

 Ending balance $ 116,328 $ 126,194 

 

 
Enclosure II 

7 GAO-04-141R Senate Office of Public Records Fund Review 

Notes to the Schedules of Receipts, Disbursements, and Fund Balances

Reporting Entity 

The Senate Office of Public Records revolving fund was established in 1989, as provided 

by section 13 of Public Law 101-163. All moneys received on and after October 1, 1989, 

by the Senate Office of Public Records from fees and other charges for services are 

deposited to the credit of the revolving fund. Moneys in the revolving fund shall be 

available without fiscal year limitation for disbursement by the Secretary of the Senate 

for use in connection with the operation of the Senate Office of Public Records, 

including for purchase of supplies and equipment and for other expenses. 

Disbursements from the revolving fund are documented on vouchers approved by the 

Secretary of the Senate. The Secretary of the Senate is authorized to prescribe such 

regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of section 13 of Public Law 

101-163. To provide capital for the revolving fund, section 13 authorized the Secretary of 

the Senate to transfer up to $30,000 in appropriated fiscal year 1990 funds from the 

‘‘Miscellaneous Items’’ account in the Senate’s contingent fund to the revolving fund. 

Basis of Accounting 

For purposes of these schedules, the Senate Office of Public Records revolving fund 

reports receipts and disbursements using the cash basis, which recognizes transactions 

when cash is received or disbursed. This basis of accounting differs from generally 

accepted accounting principles, which recognize revenues when earned and expenses 

when incurred. 

Contractual Services 

Contractual services include the costs associated with modifications provided by a 

vendor to correct latent deficiencies in purchased software and the purchase of 

additional information system software. 

Fund Balance 

The beginning fund balance on the fiscal year 2001 statement represents the balance at 

October 1, 2000, carried over from the prior period. The ending fund balance on the fiscal 

year 2001 statement represents the fund balance remaining at September 30, 2001, and is 

carried over as the beginning fund balance for fiscal year 2002. The ending fund balance 

for fiscal year 2002 represents the fund balance remaining at September 30, 2002, and is 

available for use in a subsequent period. 

(194234) 
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