
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-531 Section 4(b)]
[CITE: 31USC3521]

 
                       TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE
 
                   SUBTITLE III--FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
 
                  CHAPTER 35--ACCOUNTING AND COLLECTION
 
             SUBCHAPTER III--AUDITING AND SETTLING ACCOUNTS
 
Sec. 3521. Audits by agencies

    (a) Each account of an agency shall be audited administratively 
before being submitted to the Comptroller General. The head of each 
agency shall prescribe regulations for conducting the audit and 
designate a place at which the audit is to be conducted. However, a 
disbursing official of an executive agency may not administratively 
audit vouchers for which the official is responsible. With the consent 
of the Comptroller General, the head of the agency may waive any part of 
an audit.
    (b) The head of an agency may prescribe a statistical sampling 
procedure to audit vouchers of the agency when the head of the agency 
decides economies will result from using the procedure. The Comptroller 
General--
        (1) may prescribe the maximum amount of a voucher that may be 
    audited under this subsection; and
        (2) in reviewing the accounting system of the agency, shall 
    evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of the procedure.

    (c) A disbursing or certifying official acting in good faith under 
subsection (b) of this section is not liable for a payment or 
certification of a voucher not audited specifically because of the 
procedure prescribed under subsection (b) if the official and the head 
of the agency carry out diligently collection action the Comptroller 
General prescribes.
    (d) Subsections (b) and (c) of this section do not--
        (1) affect the liability, or authorize the relief, of a payee, 
    beneficiary, or recipient of an illegal, improper, or incorrect 
    payment; or
        (2) relieve a disbursing or certifying official, the head of an 
    agency, or the Comptroller General of responsibility in carrying out 
    collection action against a payee, beneficiary, or recipient.

    (e) Each financial statement prepared under section 3515 by an 
agency shall be audited in accordance with applicable generally accepted 
government auditing standards--
        (1) in the case of an agency having an Inspector General 
    appointed under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), 
    by the Inspector General or by an independent external auditor, as 
    determined by the Inspector General of the agency; and
        (2) in any other case, by an independent external auditor, as 
    determined by the head of the agency.

    (f) For each audited financial statement required under subsection 
(a) of section 3515 of this title, the person who audits the statement 
for purpose of subsection (e) of this section shall submit a report on 
the audit to the head of the agency and the Controller of the Office of 
Federal Financial Management. A report under this subsection shall be 
prepared in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 
standards.
    (g) The Comptroller General of the United States--
        (1) may review any audit of a financial statement conducted 
    under this subsection by an Inspector General or an external 
    auditor;
        (2) shall report to the Congress, the Director of the Office of 
    Management and Budget, and the head of the agency which prepared the 
    statement, regarding the results of the review and make any 
    recommendation the Comptroller General considers appropriate; and
        (3) may audit a financial statement prepared under section 3515 
    of this title at the discretion of the Comptroller General or at the 
    request of a committee of the Congress.

An audit the Comptroller General performs under this subsection shall be 
in lieu of the audit otherwise required by subsection (e) of this 
section. Prior to performing such audit, the Comptroller General shall 
consult with the Inspector General of the agency which prepared the 
statement.
    (h) Each financial statement prepared by an executive agency for a 
fiscal year after fiscal year 1991 shall be audited in accordance with 
this section and the plan required by section 3512(a)(3)(B)(viii) of 
this title.

(Pub. L. 97-258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 961; Pub. L. 101-576, title 
III, Sec. 304(a), Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 2852; Pub. L. 103-356, title 
IV, Sec. 405(b), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3416; Pub. L. 104-208, div. A, 
title I, Sec. 101(f) [title VIII, Sec. 805(a)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 
Stat. 3009-314, 3009-392; Pub. L. 106-531, Sec. 4(b), Nov. 22, 2000, 114 
Stat. 2539.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
           Revised Section                   Source (U.S. Code)                
Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
3521(a)..............................  31:44(1st sentence).            June 10,
 1921, ch. 18, Sec.  304(1st par.
                                                                        1st sen
tence), 42 Stat. 24.
                                       31:65b.                         Sept. 12
, 1950, ch. 946, Sec.  119, 64
                                                                        Stat. 8
38.
                                       31:75, 41:21.                   July 31,
 1894, ch. 174, Sec.  22, 28
                                                                        Stat. 2
10.
                                       31:82.                          Aug. 23,
 1912, ch. 350, Sec.  1(last par.
                                                                        under h
eading ``Office of the
                                                                        Comptro
ller of the Treasury''), 37 Stat.
                                                                        375.
3521(b)..............................  31:82b-1(a)(1st sentence words  Aug. 30,
 1964, Pub. L. 88-521, 78 Stat.
                                        before semicolon, last          700; Ja
n. 2, 1975, Pub. L. 93-604, Sec.
                                        sentence).                      101, 88
 Stat. 1959.
3521(c)..............................  31:82b-1(a)(1st sentence words
                                        after semicolon).
3521(d)..............................  31:82b-1(b).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In the section, the word ``audit'' is substituted for 
``examination'', and the word ``official'' is substituted for 
``officer'', for consistency in the revised title and with other titles 
of the United States Code.
    In subsection (a), the words ``Except as otherwise provided'' in 
31:82(words before 5th comma) are omitted as unnecessary. The words ``on 
and after August 23, 1912'' are omitted as executed. The words ``of an 
agency'' are substituted for ``public'' for clarity and consistency. The 
words ``preliminary to their audit by the General Accounting Office . . 
. as contemplated by section 78 of this title'' are omitted as 
unnecessary. The words ``Comptroller General'' are substituted for 
``General Accounting Office'' in 31:75 for consistency. The words 
``prepared and'' in 31:82(words between 5th and 6th commas) are omitted 
as surplus. The words ``by and through the administrative heads of 
divisions and bureaus'' are omitted because of the authority vested in 
the heads of agencies. The words ``and pay rolls'' are omitted as being 
included in ``vouchers''. The text of 31:82(words after 6th comma) is 
omitted as executed. The text of 31:75(1st par.) is omitted as 
unnecessary because of section 321(b) of the revised title. The words 
``head of each agency'' are substituted for ``head of each executive 
agency . . . Provided, That the same authority is conferred upon the 
officers responsible for the administrative examination of accounts for 
legislative and judicial agencies'' in 31:65b and ``heads of the several 
executive departments and of the proper officers of other Government 
establishments, not within the jurisdiction of any executive 
department'' in 31:75 because of sections 101, 102, and 3501 of the 
revised title. The words ``shall prescribe regulations for conducting 
the audit'' are substituted for ``It shall also be the duty of . . . to 
make appropriate rules and regulations to secure a proper administrative 
examination of all accounts sent to them, as required by section 78 of 
this title'' for consistency and to eliminate unnecessary words. The 
words ``and for the execution of other requirements of this chapter 
insofar as the same relate to the several departments or 
establishments'' are omitted as unnecessary. The words ``or places, at 
the seat of government or elsewhere . . . of fiscal officers' accounts'' 
in 31:65b are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b), the words ``the Mayor of the District of 
Columbia'' are omitted as superseded by sections 448(2) and 449 of the 
District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act 
(Pub. L. 93-198, 87 Stat. 802, 803).
    In subsection (c), the words ``made by him'' are omitted as surplus. 
The words ``head of the'' are added for consistency. The words ``to 
recover the illegal, improper, or incorrect payment in accordance with 
procedures'' are omitted as surplus.

                       References in Text

    The Inspector General Act of 1978, referred to in subsec. (e)(1), is 
Pub. L. 95-452, Oct. 12, 1978, 92 Stat. 1101, as amended, which is set 
out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.


                               Amendments

    2000--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 106-531 struck out ``(1)'' before ``For 
each audited'', substituted ``subsection (a)'' for ``subsections (a) and 
(f)'', and struck out par. (2) which read as follows: ``Not later than 
June 30 following the fiscal year for which a financial statement is 
submitted under subsection (g) of section 3515 of this title, the person 
who audits the statement for purpose of subsection (e) of this section 
shall submit a report on the audit to the head of the agency. A report 
under this subsection shall be prepared in accordance with generally 
accepted government auditing standards.''
    1996--Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 104-208 inserted ``and the Controller 
of the Office of Federal Financial Management'' before period at end of 
first sentence.
    1994--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103-356 amended subsec. (f) generally. 
Prior to amendment, subsec. (f) read as follows: ``Not later than June 
30 following the fiscal year for which a financial statement is 
submitted under section 3515 of this title by an agency, the person who 
audits the statement for purpose of subsection (e) shall submit a report 
on the audit to the head of the agency. A report under this subsection 
shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted government 
auditing standards.''
    1990--Subsecs. (e) to (h). Pub. L. 101-576 added subsecs. (e) to 
(h).


                    Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 104-208 effective for fiscal year ending Sept. 
30, 1997, see section 101(f) [title VIII, Sec. 807] of Pub. L. 104-208, 
set out in a Federal Financial Management Improvement note under section 
3512 of this title.


            Audits and Reports of Agency Financial Statements

    Pub. L. 105-206, title I, Sec. 1103(d), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 
709, provided that: ``Subject to section 3521(g) of title 31, United 
States Code--
        ``(1) the Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury 
    shall, subject to paragraph (2)--
            ``(A) audit each financial statement in accordance with 
        section 3521(e) of such title; and
            ``(B) prepare and submit each report required under section 
        3521(f) of such title; and
        ``(2) the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 
    shall--
            ``(A) audit that portion of each financial statement 
        referred to under paragraph (1)(A) that relates to custodial and 
        administrative accounts of the Internal Revenue Service; and
            ``(B) prepare that portion of each report referred to under 
        paragraph (1)(B) that relates to custodial and administrative 
        accounts of the Internal Revenue Service.''


                         Waiver of Requirements

    Section 304(b) of Pub. L. 101-576 provided that: ``The Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget may waive application of subsections 
(e) and (f) of section 3521 of title 31, United States Code, as amended 
by this section, to a financial statement submitted by an agency for 
fiscal years 1990 and 1991.''


             Time Limit for Resolving Pending and New Audits

    Pub. L. 96-304, title III, Sec. 305, July 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 928, 
provided that: ``All unresolved audits currently pending within agencies 
and departments, for which appropriations are made under this Act, shall 
be resolved not later than September 30, 1981. Any new audits, involving 
questioned costs, arising after July 8, 1980, shall be resolved within 6 
months.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 902, 3512 of this title; 
title 7 section 136a-1; title 23 section 104.
