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Agency Snapshot:
Department of Agriculture Decision makers and the public must have confidence in the financial information provided by agencies in order to make good decisions about managing government programs and implementing policy. The results of the annual independent audit are one of the best ways to assess agencies’ financial information and recordkeeping systems. All agencies are working to improve their financial management in order to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used as efficiently as possible.
Audit Opinions
An audit opinion provides the public with an independent, third-party assessment as to whether the agency’s financial information is presented fairly. There are four types of audit opinions: Unqualified (clean), Qualified, Disclaimer, and Adverse. An unqualified audit opinion means that the auditor believes the financial information presented by the agency is fairly presented – which is our goal for all agencies. Qualified, Disclaimer or Adverse opinions indicate that financial reporting issues have been identified or the auditor could not render an opinion. The metric here shows audit opinions received by the agency.
| FY | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Qualified | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean |
Financial Material Weaknesses Found in Audit Reports
In addition to rendering an overall opinion, auditors can cite major problems, or material weaknesses, in their reports that accompany the audited statements. Although material weaknesses vary, the more material weaknesses an agency has, the more likely the agency could have a significant misstatement in their financial information. Agencies are working hard to eliminate any material weaknesses in an effort to improve financial management. The metric here shows the number of material weaknesses in the last five fiscal years for the agency. More information is available in this report.
