Reconciliation Reports

In January 1996, BIA provided to each tribe a report package on the results of the reconciliation procedures performed by its contractor for fiscal years 1973 through 1992, BIA’s reconciliations for fiscal years 1993 through 1995, and a transmittal letter which described the information provided and BIA’s plans to meet with tribes to discuss the reconciliation results. In addition, for the procedures which were performed, BIA did not fully disclose scope limitations or changes in methodologies, such as accounts and time periods that were not covered and alternative source documents used. In addition, on March 8, 1996, OTFM issued reports to 112 tribes on their portions of multitribe judgment awards. These judgment awards resulted from claims against the federal government. However, OTFM’s Reconciliation Project Manager told us that OTFM may not be able to issue reports to all of the tribes involved in multitribe awards because some are no longer federally recognized as tribal entities, and BIA may not be able to locate the tribes or their descendants. Project Objectives and Scope

Tribal concerns about the reconciliation project’s objectives and scope included the following: the lack of an audit and how this affected the reliability of the reconciled account balances, the failure to include fraud as a reconciliation objective, the reliability of portions of the reconciliations that BIA rather than the independent contractor had performed and adjustments that BIA had proposed, and the fact that the effort seemed to consist mainly of a reconciliation of BIA accounts with BIA-generated documents. Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Efforts to Reconcile and Audit the Indian Trust Funds (GAO/T-AFMD-91-2, April 11, 1991).
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) efforts to reconcile and certify tribal trust fund accounts.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) BIA has spent over $21 million over 5 years in its attempts to reconcile and certify Indian trust fund accounts; (2) BIA and its reconciliation and certification contractors modified their contracts and procedures numerous times because of missing records, lack of an audit trail, and cost and time constraints; (3) in January 1996, BIA provided each tribe with a report package on the results of the reconciliation procedures performed; (4) BIA did not fully disclose in the report which procedures specified in the reconciliation contract were not performed, scope limitations, or changes in methodologies for procedures that were performed; (5) BIA issued reports to 112 tribes regarding their portions of multitribe judgment awards for claims against the federal government, but may not issue reports to all tribes involved because some are no longer recognized by the federal government and it may not be able to locate the tribes or their descendants; and (6) at a February 1996 meeting with BIA, tribal representatives expressed concerns about the adequacy of the reconciliation objectives and scope, the effect of missing documents on account balance accuracy, and the thoroughness of procedures for accuracy testing.