Independent Accountants’ Report on SBA’s Compliance with the DATA Act

OIG issued Report No. 18-02, Independent Accountants’ Report on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) compliance with the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act).  OIG contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm KPMG LLP (KPMG) to perform an attestation engagement as required by the DATA Act.  The objectives of this engagement were to assess (1) the completeness, timeliness, accuracy, and quality of SBA’s fiscal year (FY) 2017, second quarter financial and award data submitted for publication on USASpending.gov, and (2) SBA’s implementation and use of the Government-wide financial data standards established by the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  KPMG conducted the engagement in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the standards applicable to attestation engagements contained in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Government Auditing Standards, and guidance issued in the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General’s publication, Inspectors General Guide to Compliance Under the DATA Act (the Guide).

The independent accountants’ report presents a modified opinion on SBA’s FY 2017, second quarter data submission required under the DATA Act.  Specifically, KPMG reported that

• the data submission was presented in accordance with the characteristics defined in the Guide, in all material respects, except for accuracy, and
• there is a material weakness related to SBA’s controls over the accuracy of data reported on USASpending.gov.

Details regarding KPMG’s conclusions are included in Exhibit I to this report.  The auditors did not report any instances or matters regarding noncompliance.