The Department of Homeland Security has awarded
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP a blanket purchase agreement with a
potential five-year value of $42.4 million to help the department
assess internal controls over financial reporting.
“The DHS Financial Accountability Act imposes profound challenges
to us–DHS is the first cabinet department required to have an
audit of its internal controls over financial reporting,” said
Andrew Maner, the department’s chief financial officer.
“We look forward to working with the Congress, the Office of
Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office,
and the Inspector General’s Office to demonstrate our commitment
to the Act, and to be a leader in our controls implementation
that sets an example for other agencies to follow,” he said.
DHS said it began efforts last year including the establishment
of responsibilities over internal controls across DHS, pilot
projects to document control and correct weaknesses, and the
completion of GAO’s internal control management and evaluation
tool across the department.
DHS also noted that the President’s fiscal 2007 budget request
includes $35.5 million to support department-wide financial
management improvements, including $19 million to improve
financial management systems with eMerge2 and $16.5 million to
address financial management weaknesses and audit internal
controls over financial reporting.
