^ PKO\& U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General At a Glance 11-1-0156 March 10, 2011 Catalyst for Improving the Environment Why We Did This Audit The Food Quality Protection Act requires that we perform an annual audit of the Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund (known as the FIFRA Fund) financial statements. Background The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for reassessing the safety of older pesticide registrations against modern health and environmental testing standards. To expedite this reregistration process, Congress authorized EPA to collect fees from pesticide manufacturers. The fees are deposited into the FIFRA Fund. Each year, the Agency prepares financial statements that present financial information about the fund, along with information about EPA's progress in reregistering pesticides. Fiscal Year 2010 and 2009 Financial Statements for the Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund Opinion We rendered an unqualified, or clean, opinion on EPA's Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund financial statements for fiscal years 2010 and 2009, meaning they are fairly presented and free of material misstatement. Internal Control Significant Deficiency Noted We noted one significant deficiency in internal controls. EPA misapplied federal retirement benefit cost factors in calculating fiscal year 2010 imputed cost related to the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System. Imputed costs are costs that are not fully reimbursed. This $340,772 understatement is material for the FIFRA Fund and, if not corrected, would result in a qualification of FIFRA's financial statements. The Agency has corrected fiscal year 2010 imputed costs in the FIFRA Fund financial statements. Compliance With Applicable Laws and Regulations The Agency was in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Agency Comments and Office of Inspector General Evaluation The Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention concurred with our general conclusions that the financial statements are fairly presented and free of material misstatements. For further information, contact our Office of Congressional, Public Affairs and Management at (202) 566-2391. The full report is at: www.epa.gov/oia/reports/2011/ 20110310-11-1-0156.pdf ------- |