FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

WASHINGTON. D.C. 20463

A8S-lS

July 25, 1985

MEMORANDUM

FRED EILAND

PRESS OFFICER

TO:

FROM:

,~. ROBERT J. COSTA 7')' '-..../

ASSISTANT STAFF DIRECTOR

AUDIT DIVISION

SUBJECT:

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PUBLIC ISSUANCE OF FINAL AUDIT REPORT - AL SWIFT FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE

Attached please find a copy of the final audit report of Al

Swift for Congress Committee which was approved by the Commission

on July 10, 1985.

Informational copies of the report have been received by all

parties involved and the repor~ may be released to the public.

Attachment as stated

cc: FEe Library

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~Public Record

"Office of General Counsel
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FEDERAL ELECllON COMMISSION

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REPORT OF THE AUDIT DIVISION

ON THE

AL SWIFT FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE

I. Backaround

A. Overv ie"-'

This report is based on an audit of the Al Swift For

Congress Committee ("th~ Committee n ), undertaken by the Audit

Di'¥.ision of the Federal Election Commission in accordance with

the Commission's audit policy to determine whether there has been

compliance with the provisions of the Federal Election Campaign

Act of 1971, as amended ("the Act n ). The audit was conducted

pursuant to 2 u.s.c. 5 438(b) which states, in part, that the Com~ission may conduct audits and field investigations of any

political committee required to file a report under Section 434

of this title. Prior to conducting any audit under this section,

the Corr~ission shall perform an internal review of reports filed

by selected committees to determine if the reports filed by a

Darticular commi t:tee meet the threshold reauirementF for .... ---- substantial compliance with the Act. -

The Committee registered with the Clerk of the House of Re?rese~tatives on March 23, 1978, as the principal campaign cO~~i:tRe designated by the Honorable Allan Byron Swift. The

Committee mainta~~s its headquarters in Everett, Washington.

The audit covered the period January 1, 1983 through Dece~beI 31, 1984. The Committee reported an opening cash

balance on January 1, 1983, of $6,141.06; total receipts for the

period of $328,968.28; total disbursements for the period of

$30',282.93 and a cash on hand balance December 31, 1984, of

$30,826.41.

This report is based on documents and working papers

sUDoortina each of its factual statements. They form part of the

record upbn which the Commission based its decisions on the

matters in this reoort ana were available to Commissioners and

ap?ropriate staff for review.

B. Rev Personnel

The Treasurer of the Committee during the period of

audit ~as Ms. Betty Bagley.

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• The audit included such tests as ve:ification of total

:e?o:ted receipts and disbursements and i~=i~idual transactions· re~ie~ of req~i:ed supporting aocurnentatio~; analysis of ' Cc~~ittee de~:s and obligations, and suc~ c~~e: audit proce~ures

as deemed necessary under the circumstances. However, althouch

the contribution records provided by the ~omrnittee meet the - recordkeeping requirements of 2 U.S.C. S432(c) and 11 C.F.R. , 102.9(a) the records were not maintained in a manner which

allowed testin9 for correct aggregate contri~utor totals and

p.o?er .. 't' .. ' 1 ernlza~lon.

II. Audit Fincincs and Recommendations

A. Misstatement of Financial Activitv

Sections 434(b) (2) and (4) of Title 2 of the United

States Code state, in part, that each report shall contain the

total amount of all recei~ts and disbursements for the reporting period and the calendar year •

A reconciliation between the Committee's bank account

anc disclosu:e reports revealed that the Committee's reports contained a $14,700 overstatement in recei?ts and! $14,660 overstatemen~ in disbursements. The receipts overstatement was

apparently the result of an incorrect calculation performed by

the Treasurer concerning total receipts during the 10/1/84 -. 1J../ 26/ S21 repor t-nrg-pef tcses. Th-e-d'tsbwt s~:nent 0 "e~~-t:-at-e,,,ent ._. "- ."

occur:ed when $1~,300.00 in loan repaym~nts and a $4~~

cont:ioution refund were reported twice du:ipg the 10/18/84 - 11/26/84 repor~ing period.

According to the Treasurer, the Co~mittee itemized the

majo:itv of :e=ei~ts and disbursements recardless of amount th~o~c~-Se~tern~e:·30, 1984. Uoon the advice of the Commission,

be;in;in; on Oc:o~er 1, 1984, only receipts and disbursements i~

excess of or agcregating in excess of $200 in the calendar year ~e:e i~e~izec.=7 The overstatements were the result of errors

maoe d~!ins this transition period.

The Treasurer of the Co~~ittee statec that amended rep~:ts W~~:C ~e filed.

On May 17, 1985, the Committee filed an amended report

correcting the misstatements noted above.

The Audit staff recommends no furt~e: action in this matter.

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.::,. See 11 C.F.R. 3 l04.3(a) (4) til and (b) ('<' (i)

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A matter noted during the audit was referred to the O~fice of General Counsel.

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