U.S. Department of State Fiscal Year 2019 Agency Financial Report

I n May 2019, the U.S. Department of State received the Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR) from the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) for its Fiscal Year 2018 Agency Financial Report. The CEAR is the highest form of recognition in Federal Government management reporting. The CEAR Program was established by the AGA, in conjunction with the Chief Financial Officers Council, to further performance and accountability reporting. This represents the twelfth time the Department has won the CEAR award. The Department also received a Best-in-Class Award for its comprehensive enterprise risk management program description. In addition, the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) awarded the Department’s AFR the Gold Award for excellence within its industry. The LACP also ranked the AFR in their Top 100 Reports Worldwide (ranking at 42nd overall from more than 6,000 entries). T he U.S. Department of State’s Agency Financial Report (AFR) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 provides an overview of the Department’s financial and performance data to help Congress, the President, and the public assess our stewardship over the resources entrusted to us. This report is available at the Department’s website ( www.state.gov/plans-performance-budget/agency-financial-reports ) and includes sidebars, links, and information that satisfies the reporting requirements contained in the following legislation: ■ ■ Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982, ■ ■ Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990, Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting ■ ■ Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, ■ ■ Government Management Reform Act of 1994, ■ ■ Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996, ■ ■ Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, ■ ■ Improper Payments Information Act of 2002, as amended, and ■ ■ GPRA Modernization Act of 2010. The AFR is the first of a series of two annual financial and performance reports the Department will issue. The reports include: (1) an Agency Financial Report issued in January 2020; and (2) an agency Annual Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report . These reports will be available online at www.state.gov/plans-performance-budget . Note: Throughout this report all use of year indicates fiscal year. About This Report AGENCYFINANCIALREPORT FISCALYEAR2019 Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting ® BEST-IN-CLASS AWARD in theAgency FinancialReport for fiscal year 2018 in recognition of presented to the AnnM.Ebberts,MS,PMP Chief ExecutiveOfficer,AGA Diane L.Dudley,CGFM,CPA Chair,CEARBoard U.S. Department of State comprehensive enterprise riskmanagementprogramdescription Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting ® in recognition of outstanding effort in preparing the Agency FinancialReport for fiscal year2018 presented to the AnnM.Ebberts,MS,PMP Chief ExecutiveOfficer,AGA Diane L.Dudley,CGFM,CPA Chair,CEARBoard U.S. Department of State 2 | U nited S tates D epartment of S tate 2019 A gency F inancial R eport INTRODUCTION | ABOUT THIS REPORT