U.S. Department of State Fiscal Year 2020 Agency Financial Report

I t is an honor to present the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Financial Statements on behalf of the Department of State. As noted in the Secretary’s message, the FY 2020 Agency Financial Report (AFR) reflects our continuing efforts to earn the trust of the American people as we advance the Country’s long-term interests. It is our key financial accountability document and principal report to the President, Congress, and the American people; illustrating our firm commitment, resolve, and resilience in delivering the highest standard of financial accountability and transparency to the American public. This year’s AFR theme focuses on “Safeguarding Unalienable Rights.” We take pride in knowing strong financial stewardship furthers the Department’s essential foreign policy mission and our founding principles. We understand our stewardship responsibilities and the information contained in this AFR represents the diligence and dedication demonstrated daily by the Department’s professionals – One Team – around the world in some of the most difficult environments and circumstances. The Department’s financial operating setting is indeed complex. We operate in over 270 embassies and consulates, located in more than 180 countries around the world. We conduct business on a 24/7 basis in over 135 currencies through 224 bank accounts around the world; account for more than $77 billion in budgetary resources and nearly $110 billion in assets in over 500 separate fiscal accounts; and manage real and personal property assets with historical costs of more than $40 billion. We provide the shared administrative operating platform for more than 45 other U.S. Government entities overseas; and pay more than 100,000 Foreign and Civil Service, Locally Employed Staff, and Foreign Service annuitants. The Department’s operating context was additionally challenged in 2020 by a Global Pandemic impacting our operations and requiring extraordinary efforts by the Department supporting the U.S. Government’s COVID-19 global response. As part of this support, the Department indirectly and directly facilitated the evacuation and repatriation of more than 100,000 American citizens. Internally, we were confronted with a previously unimaginable task of quickly pivoting to large-scale remote operations. What transpired was a remarkable transformation to ensure the successful continuity of our financial management controls, programs, and services. I am grateful for the partnerships, innovation, and amazing resilience across the Department’s management platform. For the Department’s corporate financial management platform and programs, we continue to strive to prioritize, manage, and implement vital investments in modern, transformative financial systems and operations that improve our global financial operations, reporting, and compliance. These investments provide a standardized and economical enterprise-wide financial business framework for accurate and timely financial data. Further use of data as a resource, enterprise system integration, and robotic process automation will be central to the Department’s Message from the Comptroller Jeffrey C. Mounts, Comptroller FINANCIAL SECTION | PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 42 | U ni ted S tates D epartment of S tate 2020 A gency F inanci al R eport Financial Section SECTION II: