UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580 

Office of Inspector General 

June 9, 2022 

Wendy Laguarda 

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, 

2022. A system of quality control encompasses FCA OIG’s organizational structure and the 

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

conforming in all material respects with Government Auditing Standards and applicable legal 

and regulatory requirements. The elements of quality control are described in Government 

Auditing Standards. 

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

the year ended March 31, 2022, has been suitably designed and complied with to provide FCA 

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

professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements in all material respects. 

Audit organizations can receive a rating of pass, pass with deficiencies, or fail. FCA OIG has 

received an External Peer Review rating of pass. 

Monitoring of GAGAS Engagements Performed by Independent Public Accountants 

In addition to reviewing its system of quality control to ensure adherence with Government 

Auditing Standards, we applied certain limited procedures in accordance with guidance 

established by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) related 

to FCA OIG’s monitoring of engagements conducted in accordance with generally accepted 

government auditing standards (GAGAS engagements) by an independent public accountant 

(IPA) under contract where the IPA served as the auditor. It should be noted that monitoring of 

GAGAS engagements performed by IPAs is not an audit and, therefore, is not subject to the 

requirements of Government Auditing Standards. The purpose of our limited procedures was to 

determine whether FCA OIG had controls to ensure IPAs performed contracted work in 

accordance with professional standards. However, our objective was not to express an opinion; 

accordingly, we do not express an opinion on FCA OIG’s monitoring of work performed by 

IPAs. 
 

 

 

 

 

Basis of Opinion 

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

for Conducting Peer Reviews of Audit Organizations of Federal Offices of Inspector General. 

During our review, we interviewed FCA OIG personnel and obtained an understanding of the 

nature of the FCA OIG audit organization, and the design of FCA OIG’s system of quality 

control sufficient to assess the risks implicit in its audit function. Based on our assessments, we 

selected a GAGAS engagement and administrative files to test for conformity with professional 

standards and compliance with FCA OIG’s system of quality control. The GAGAS engagement 

selected represented a reasonable cross-section of FCA OIG audit organization, with an 

emphasis on higher-risk engagements. 

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 FCA OIG’s quality control 

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

application of FCA OIG’s policies and procedures on selected GAGAS engagement. 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. 

Prior to concluding the peer review, we reassessed the adequacy of the scope of the peer review 

procedures and met with FCA OIG management to discuss the results of our review. We believe 

that the procedures we performed provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. Enclosure 1 to this 

report identifies the engagements we reviewed. Enclosure 2 of this report includes the FCA OIG 

response to the draft report. 

Responsibilities and Limitation 

FCA OIG is responsible for establishing and maintaining a system of quality control designed to 

provide FCA OIG with reasonable assurance that the organization and its personnel comply in all 

material respects with professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. 

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the design of the system of quality control and 

FCA OIG’s compliance based on our review. 

There are inherent limitations in the effectiveness of any system of quality control; therefore, 

noncompliance with the system of quality control may occur and may 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 

Inspector General 

Enclosures 

the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. 

Andrew Katsaros 

2 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Enclosure 1 

Scope and Methodology 

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

we considered appropriate. These tests included a review of one of one engagements report 

conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS 

engagement) issued from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022. We also reviewed the internal 

quality control reviews performed by FCA OIG. 

In addition, we reviewed FCA OIG’s monitoring of GAGAS engagements performed by an IPA 

where the IPA served as the auditor from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022. During the 

period, FCA OIG contracted for the audit of its agency’s fiscal year 2021 financial statements. 

FCA OIG also contracted for other GAGAS engagements that were performed in accordance 

with Government Auditing Standards. 

Table 1. Reviewed GAGAS Engagements Performed by FCA OIG 

Report No. Report Date Report Title 

A-21-01 September 24, 2021 

Audit: The Office of Secondary Market 

Oversight’s Examination Policies and 

Procedures 

Table 2. Reviewed Monitoring Files of FCA OIG for Contracted GAGAS Engagements 

Report No. Report Date Report Title 

A-21-FS November 10, 2021 

Audit Report on Farm Credit 

Administration’s Financial Statements 

for Fiscal Year 2021 

3 
h,me 8,. 2022 

And rew Katsaros 

I rn:spector Genera l 

Federal T racle Comm~ ion 

600 P,ern11sylva ia ,Avenu:e NW 

Washrngtorn, DC 20580 

Dear I l'ilspeci:or G ernera1 Kat:saros: 

IG 

f a:nn edit Adnunis1Htion 

0 1ee o Jmpec:Lur Gcm:r.d 

I hav,e reviewed yol!J r draft report om the system review report for tlhe audit or~n~tion of the 

Fam1 Credi:t: .Admirni5tratiorn Office of l11~pector General in effect for t hl e year e nded Marc hi 31, 

2022. We are pleasiedl to have received[ a peer review rating of Pass. A pass rati111 g is the highest 

rating1 that can be issued. This rating1 iiS iiSs ued when the review t eam condludes tlhat the system of 

qu.ality control ' or t he au:d'it: o:rganiization has been suitably designed[ arn d oom p ied with to provide 

tlhe orgalliliz:atian Mlith rearonable assu rallilce of perforn ing a· d reporting in conformity with 

a;ppli.ca'b e professiional standards in a material respects .. 

We a;ppreciiate t he wo:rl: that went into the re<11i.ew and the professiorn alism ,md effort g · em to our 

office., We hav,e no further ,comment.so the draft report. 

Sirn cercly, 

Wend¥ R. lag11.arda 

I rnspector Genera l 

1501 fillilD Oredit Drive, Mcle11B. VA 22102 703·883 ·40:10 www.frn.gov/abo lllt/linspedor·gen.eral 

Enclosure 2 

FCA OIG Response to the Draft Report 

4