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

rigor and accountability over the expenditure of Department and taxpayer dollars. O ther R egulatory R equirements The Department is required to comply with a number of other legal and regulatory financial requirements, including the Improper Payment Information Act (IPIA, as amended), the Debt Collection Improvement Act, and the Prompt Payment Act. The Department determined that none of its programs are risk-susceptible for making significant improper payments at or above the threshold levels set by OMB. In addition, the Depart- ment does not refer a substantial amount of debts to Treasury for collection, and has successfully paid vendors timely over 97 percent of the time for the past three fiscal years. A detailed description of these compliance results and improvements is presented in the Other Information section of this report. and Federal Award Identification Numbers, and expanding infrastructure to unite data elements from multiple systems. Quarterly certifications of the Department’s transactions were submitted timely to OMB, with data quality audit results showing consistent improvement. Extensive other internal controls were established including weekly reconciliations to identify actions that were recorded in the Department’s Global Financial Management System but did not have a matching action in the Federal Procurement Data System. Weekly meetings between personnel dedicated to DATA Act development and the Administration bureau take place to routinely discuss issues and opportunities for improvement. The Department reports financial and payment information to the public using USASpending.gov, and continues to work to achieve 100 percent accuracy of this data submitted from all around the world. The Department knows it needs to improve reporting of data for our overseas operations and will continue to make these improvements, while continuing to ensure the The Ethos Award O n November 13, 2019, Secretary Pompeo announced the inaugural recipient of the One Team Award, which recognizes a member of the Department team who embodies the principles laid out in the Department’s Professional Ethos. This year’s recipient is Santiago Burciaga, Assistant Director of the El Paso Passport Agency. In presenting the award, the Secretary praised Mr. Burciaga for his dedication to mission and his co-workers: “Santiago led his team through a tough year despite staffing shortages and a soaring workload. He led by example by regularly pitching in and filling in for managers when needed, inspiring others to do the same. You may remember the active shooter crisis at a Walmart in El Paso earlier this summer. Santiago displayed outstanding leadership by immediately accounting for our El Paso employees. Thankfully, everyone on our team was safe, but for those who knew victims from the shooting, their sense of security was shaken. Santiago arranged for grief counseling and provided materials for dealing with trauma for staff to share with their families. Santiago’s leadership is an embodiment of our Professional Ethos, which calls on us all to show unfailing professionalism in the face of adversity, uncompromising personal and professional integrity, and unstinting respect for colleagues.” Under Secretary for Management Brian Bulatao and Santiago Burciaga pose for a photo with the One Team Award certificate and sculpture. Department of State 2019 A gency F inancial R eport U nited S tates D epartment of S tate | 39 MANAGEMENT ASSURANCES AND OTHER FINANCIAL COMPLIANCES | MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS