Peer Review 

Office of Inspector General 

PEER REVIEW OF THE 

FARM CREDIT 

ADMINISTRATION 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR 

GENERAL 

Report No. ER-16-04

Federal Labor Relations Authority 

1400 K Street, N.W. Suite 250, Washington, D.C. 20424 
 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20424-0001 

 INSPECTOR GENERAL 

System Review Report 

August 2, 2016 

To: Elizabeth M. Dean, Inspector General 

 Farm Credit Administration 

 Office of Inspector General 

We have reviewed the system of quality control for the audit organization of the Farm Credit 

Administration (FCA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) in effect for the year ended March 31, 

2016. A system of quality of control encompasses the FCA OIG’s organizational structure and 

the policies adopted and procedures established to provide it with reasonable assurance of 

conforming with Government Auditing Standards. The elements of quality control are described 

in Government Auditing Standards. The FCA OIG is responsible for establishing and 

maintaining a system of quality control that is designed to provide the FCA OIG with reasonable 

assurance that the organization and its personnel comply with professional standards and 

applicable legal and regulatory requirements in all material respects. Our responsibility is to 

express an opinion on the design of the system of quality control and FCA OIG’s compliance 

therewith based on our review. 

Our review was conducted in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and the Council 

of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Guide for Conducting Peer 

Reviews of the Audit Organizations of Federal Offices of Inspector General. During our review, 

we interviewed the FCA OIG personnel and obtained an understanding of the nature of FCA 

OIG audit organization, and the design of the FCA OIG’s system of quality control sufficient to 

assess the risks implicit in its audit function. Based on our assessments, we selected audits and 

administrative files to test for conformity with professional standards and compliance with the 

FCA OIG’s system of quality control. The audits selected represented a reasonable cross-section 

of the FCA OIG’s audit organization, with emphasis on higher-risk audits. Prior to concluding 

the peer review, we reassessed the adequacy of the scope of the peer review procedures and met 

with the FCA OIG’s management to discuss the results of our review. We believe that the 

procedures we performed provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. 

In performing our review, we obtained an understanding of the system of quality control for the 

FCA OIG audit organization. In addition, we tested compliance with the FCA OIG’s quality 

control policies and procedures to the extent we considered appropriate. These tests covered the 

application of the FCA OIG’s policies and procedures on selected audits. Our review was based 

on selected tests; therefore, it would not necessarily detect all weaknesses in the system of 

quality control or all instances of noncompliance with it. 
There are inherent limitations in the effectiveness of any system of quality control, and, therefore, 

noncompliance with the system of quality control may occur and not be detected. Projection of any 

evaluation of a system of quality control to future periods is subject to the risk that the system of 

quality control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or because the degree of 

compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. 

Enclosure 1 to this report identifies the FCA OIG office that we visited and the audits that we 

reviewed. 

In our opinion, the system of quality control for the audit organization of the FCA OIG in effect for 

the year ended March 31, 2016, has been suitably designed and complied with to provide the FCA 

OIG with reasonable assurance of performing and reporting in conformity with applicable 

professional standards in all material respects. Audit organizations can receive a rating of pass, pass 

with deficiencies, or fail. The FCA OIG has received an External Peer Review rating of pass. 

Dana Rooney 

Inspector General 

Enclosure 

 
Enclosure 1

Scope and Methodology

We tested compliance with the FCA OIG audit organization’s system of quality control to the extent 

we considered appropriate. These tests included a review of 3 of 14 audit reports issued during the 

period April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2016. We also reviewed the internal quality control reviews 

performed by the FCA OIG.

In addition, we reviewed the FCA OIG’s monitoring of audits performed by Independent Public 

Accountants (IPAs) where the IPA served as the auditor during the period April 1, 2013 through 

March 31, 2016. During the period, the FCA OIG contracted for the audit of its agency’s Fiscal 

Years 2013, 2014, and 2015 financial statements.

We visited the McLean, VA office of FCA OIG, which is its only office.

Reviewed Audits performed by the FCA OIG:

Report No. Report Date Report Title

A-16-01 3/31/2016 The Farm Credit Administration’s Risk Project

A-15-03 2/29/2016 Human Capital Planning at the Farm Credit Administration 

Reviewed Monitoring Files of the FCA OIG for Contracted Audits:

Report No. Report Date Report Title

A-15-FS 11/09/2015 Audit of Farm Credit Administration’s

 Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 2015