In 1990, Congress authorized federal agencies to enter into interagency agreements with the Graduate School for training and other related services (7 U.S.C. In examining the funding received by the Graduate School, we found a similar result: the agencies surveyed spent more on contracts with private companies—about $29 million—than on interagency agreements with the Graduate School—about $5.7 million. Graduate School’s Financial Statements Incorrectly Identified Interagency Agreement Revenue

The interagency agreement line item in the Graduate School’s fiscal year 1999 financial statements did not include all of the revenue received from interagency agreements. We stratified the population into four strata on the basis of the total of revenue billings for fiscal year 1999.
What GAO Found

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Graduate School provides extensive training opportunities to government employees and others. As a nonappropriated fund instrumentality, the Graduate School relies solely on income from the training it offers. During fiscal year 1999, the federal agencies GAO reviewed had 20 interagency agreements with the Graduate School totaling about $5.7 million. The agencies also had 531 contracts, totaling $29 million, with private companies for training and related services. The Graduate School's financial statements for fiscal year 1999 incorrectly identified the portion of revenue that was earned through interagency agreements. This misclassification occurred primarily because of the Graduate School's reporting policies.