EEOC GETS 'UNQUALIFIED OPINION' ON FY 2004 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FROM INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

                       

Agency Issues Performance and Accountability Report

                                                                       

WASHINGTON -  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released its Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for Fiscal Year 2004, which ended on September 30.  The PAR, which is required by the Office of Management and Budget for federal agencies, highlights the EEOC's efforts to be more customer-centered and results-oriented in accordance with the President's Management Agenda.  The full text of the PAR is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.

   

"This Performance and Accountability Report captures the progress made in FY 2004 and signals the work still to come," said EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez, noting that the report was recently submitted to the Congress.  "We welcome the opportunity to share with the public both our challenges and accomplishments in working toward creating equality of opportunity for all who live and work in the United States."

   

Chief among the annual accomplishments listed in the PAR is an "unqualified opinion" from independent auditors on the EEOC's FY 2004 financial and accounting records after just one prior audit in FY 2003.  The "unqualified opinion" signifies that the auditors have performed an extensive examination of the EEOC's financial records and have no reservations regarding the accuracy and fairness of its presentation, as well as the application of generally accepted accounting principles.  The EEOC is required to prepare and submit audited financial statements by the Accountability of Tax Dollars Act of 2002, which was signed into law by President Bush on November 7, 2002.  Additionally, the Improved Financial Performance component of the President's Management Agenda also requires federal agencies to obtain and sustain clean audit opinions in their financial statements.

   

Commenting on the significance of the independent auditors' "unqualified opinion" on the EEOC's financial statements, the agency's Chief Financial Officer, Jeffrey A. Smith, said, "This achievement is a major success story considering that only three years ago the agency was unable to produce reliable financial statements.  In FY 2005, guided by our Strategic Plan, the EEOC will continue to focus on accountability and results through improved performance metrics, budget planning and financial management."

   

Another highlight of the PAR is the EEOC's implementation of its new Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2004-2009.  The Plan outlines the agency's strategic vision for the future and charts the course of action for the Commission over the next several years  focusing on the central components of EEOC's Five-Point Plan: proactive prevention, proficient resolution, expansion of mediation, strategic enforcement and litigation, and the EEOC as a model workplace.

             

Citing the importance of the new Strategic Plan, Chair Dominguez said, "New times call for new strategies.  It is the EEOC's clear intention to make a real difference in the lives of those we serve and employ."

   

Other notable agency accomplishments contained in the PAR include a significant reduction in its inventory of federal sector discrimination complaints, processing both private and federal sector cases more efficiently, and achieving exemplary resolution rates and settlements, among other things.

   

The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion or national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which protects workers age 40 and older from discrimination based on age; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the federal sector; Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and in state and local governments; and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.