1005 N. Glebe Road, Suite 610

Arlington, VA 22201

Phone: (571) 429-6600

www.rmafed.com

Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Government Audit Quality Center

Page 1 of 4

Independent Auditor’s Report

The Director

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements

Opinion

We have audited the accompanying financial statements of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

Service (FMCS), which comprise the balance sheet as of September 30, 2022, and the related

statements of net cost, changes in net position, and budgetary resources (hereinafter referred to as 

“financial statement”), for the year then ended, and the related notes to the financial statements.

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all 

material respects, the financial position of the FMCS as of September 30, 2022, and its net costs, 

changes in net position, and budgetary resources for the year then ended, in accordance with 

accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United 

States of America (GAAS) and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in 

Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, and the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 22-01, Audit Requirements for the Federal 

Financial Statements. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the 

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report. We are 

required to be independent of the FMCS and to meet our other ethical responsibilities, in 

accordance with the relevant ethical requirements relating to our audit. We believe that the audit 

evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Other Matter

The financial statements of the prior period were audited by a predecessor auditor. The opinion 

expressed by the predecessor auditor was an unmodified opinion as of and for the years ended 

September 30, 2021, and 2020. The predecessor auditor report was dated November 12, 2021.

Responsibilities of Management for the Financial Statements

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in 

accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and for 

the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and 
1005 N. Glebe Road, Suite 610

Arlington, VA 22201

Phone: (571) 429-6600

www.rmafed.com

Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Government Audit Quality Center

Page 2 of 4

fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to 

fraud or error.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole 

are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report 

that includes our opinions. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not absolute 

assurance and therefore is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with GAAS and 

Government Auditing Standards will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. The 

risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting 

from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or 

the override of internal control. Misstatements are considered material if there is a substantial 

likelihood that, individually or in the aggregate, they would influence the judgment made by a 

reasonable user based on the financial statements.

In performing an audit in accordance with GAAS and Government Auditing Standards, we:

• exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit.

• identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due 

to fraud or error, and design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks. Such 

procedures include examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures 

in the financial statements.

• obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit 

procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an 

opinion on the effectiveness of FMCS’ internal control. Accordingly, no such opinion is 

expressed.

• evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant 

accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluate the overall presentation of the 

financial statements.

We are required to communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other 

matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit, significant audit findings, and certain internal 

control-related matters that we identified during the audit.

Required Supplementary Information

Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America require management’s 

discussion and analysis be presented to supplement the basic financial statements. Such 

information is the responsibility of management and, although not a part of the basic financial 

statements, is required by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, who considers it to 
1005 N. Glebe Road, Suite 610

Arlington, VA 22201

Phone: (571) 429-6600

www.rmafed.com

Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Government Audit Quality Center

Page 3 of 4

be an essential part of financial reporting for placing the basic financial statements in an 

appropriate operational, economic, or historical context. 

We have applied certain limited procedures to the required supplementary information in 

accordance with GAAS, which consisted of inquiries of management about the methods of 

preparing the information and comparing the information for consistency with management’s 

responses to our inquiries, the basic financial statements, and other knowledge we obtained during 

our audit of the basic financial statements. We do not express an opinion or provide any assurance 

on the information because the limited procedures do not provide us with sufficient evidence to 

express an opinion or provide any assurance.

Other Information

Management is responsible for the other information presented in the Performance and 

Accountability Report. The Message from the Director and other information are for purposes of 

additional analysis and are not a required part of the basic financial statements. Our opinion on the 

basic financial statements does not cover the other information, and we do not express an opinion 

or any form of assurance thereon.

In connection with our audit of the basic financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other 

information and consider whether a material inconsistency exists between the other information 

and the financial statements, or the other information otherwise appears to be materially misstated. 

If, based on the work performed, we conclude that an uncorrected material misstatement of the 

other information exists, we are required to describe it in our report.

Other Reporting Required by Government Auditing Standards

Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements, we considered the FMCS’ 

internal control over financial reporting (internal control) as a basis for designing audit procedures 

that are appropriate in the circumstances for the purpose of expressing our opinions on the financial 

statements, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the FMCS’ 

internal control. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on the effectiveness of the FMCS’ 

internal control.

A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow 

management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, 

or detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a 

combination of deficiencies, in internal control, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a 

material misstatement of the entity’s financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and 

corrected, on a timely basis. A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of 
1005 N. Glebe Road, Suite 610

Arlington, VA 22201

Phone: (571) 429-6600

www.rmafed.com

Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Government Audit Quality Center

Page 4 of 4

deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough 

to merit attention by those charged with governance.

Our consideration of internal control was for the limited purpose described in the first paragraph 

of this section and was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be 

material weaknesses or significant deficiencies. Given these limitations, during our audit we did

not identify any deficiencies in internal control that we consider to be material weaknesses. 

However, material weaknesses or significant deficiencies may exist that were not identified.

Report on Compliance and Other Matters

As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the FMCS’ financial statements are free 

from material misstatement, we performed tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws, 

regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, noncompliance with which could have a direct and 

material effect on the financial statements. However, providing an opinion on compliance with 

those provisions was not an objective of our audit, and accordingly, we do not express such an 

opinion. The results of our tests disclosed no instances of non-compliance or other matters that are 

required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards or OMB Bulletin No. 22-01.

The Purpose of the Other Reporting Required by Government Auditing Standards

The purpose of the communication described in the Other Reporting Required by Government 

Auditing Standards section of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal 

control and compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the 

effectiveness of the FMCS’ internal control or compliance. This section is an integral part of an 

audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering the FMCS’

internal control and compliance. Accordingly, this communication is not suitable for any other 

purpose.

Arlington, VA

November 15, 2022