Financial Audit: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Fiscal Year 2004 Management Representation Letter on Its Financial Statements

摘要

NASAs fiscal year 2004 management representation letter did not provide all the information necessary to support Treasury and OMBs preparation of the CFS management representation letter. This in turn impacted our ability to rely on the representations in the CFS management representation letter in combination with individual federal agency representation letters. We identified some needed improvements in two of the five key areas we reviewed. First, NASA did not provide the materiality thresholds used to determine, for representation purposes, any matters that were individually or collectively material to its financial statements. Such individual federal agency thresholds are considered by Treasury and OMB in providing a materiality threshold for the CFS representation letter. Second, the letter included 25 of the 28 representations 4 from the FAM that were applicable to NASA. The other 3 representations were not fully included. We believe that these matters can be easily addressed. We are making two recommendations to NASAs Chief Financial Officer targeted to specific changes needed. Also, we are recommending that the NASA Inspector General, with the contracted independent public accountant, work with the agency to help ensure that future management representation letters meet the key conditions noted as needing improvements in this report.