expenditures will have to be compiled and reported as in other Indian cases. Furthermore, reports on five or more other petitions not yet filed, for which jurisdictional acts have been passed, roughly estimated, will consume the following time for their preparation: 12 months for the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska, 24 months for the Indians of Oregon, 18 months for the Chippewas of Wisconsin, 24 months for the Utes, and 8 months for the Chippewas, Red Lake Band. GENERAL In the preceding paragraphs describing the type of transactions handled by the General Accounting Office as claims, attention was called to the fact that all claims before the General Accounting Office for settlement are presumed to emanate from acts of administration and for that reason are invariably referred to the administrative agency concerned for consideration and recommendation before settlement is attempted. The law requires the Comptroller General to furnish the head of each executive department or establishment concerned with a copy of each settlement made. Thus it will be seen that the administrative agency, in the first instance, makes its recommendation as to the allowance or disallowance and receives a copy of the settlement made by the Comptroller General. Volume of Work by the General Accounting Office A REPORT of the work performed by the General Accounting Office, during the fiscal year 1939, is shown in some detail in this chapter. VOLUME OF ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING WORK Warrants, requisitions for disbursing funds, and certificates of settlement approved or countersigned in the name of the Comptroller General during the fiscal year 1939 Appropriation, transfer appropriation, and surplus appropriation warrants returned to the Treasury Department without countersignature during fiscal year 1939 Of the foregoing warrants, 17 were returned upon informal request of the Treasury Department; 12 were returned due to insufficient balances in the accounts involved, and 20 were returned for various reasons, such as proposed extension of fiscal year availability of funds beyond date authorized by law; improper amounts to be credited; appropriation proposed to be charged no longer available; appropriation not available in any event for proposed use; not signed by or for the Secretary of the Treasury; duplication of warrant previously signed; and insufficient evidence to enable proper examination and verification. Thirty-three of said warrants were resubmitted with additional evidence either as originally drawn, or as corrected, or revised, and were then countersigned. Appropriation and receipt accounts: Established, canceled, and changed during fiscal year 1939 VOLUME OF AUDIT WORK At the beginning of the fiscal year 1939 there were 1,701,615 vouchers on hand for audit, and during the year there were received an additional 17,134,593, making a total of 18,836,208 vouchers to be audited. Of this number 14,412,462 were audited during the year leaving a total of 4,423,746 unaudited vouchers on hand. While there were approximately 2,700,000 more vouchers on hand June 30, 1939, than at the close of the fiscal year 1938, there were also received during the fiscal year 1939, approximately 1,850,000 more vouchers than during the preceding fiscal year. The increased inventory at the close of the fiscal year 1939 was caused by (1) the increase in receipts and (2) the change in the rendition of Emergency Relief accounts from a trimonthly to a monthly basis. With the exception of accounts appearing to involve fraud and those requiring special investigation, vouchers covering expenditures and receipts under regular appropriations received prior to December 1, 1938, and 69 percent of the vouchers received between December 1, 1938, and March 1, 1939, were audited by June 30, 1939. The emergency relief accounts are now submitted monthly instead of trimonthly as heretofore, such change being made effective with accounts for the month of September 1938. At the close of the fiscal year 1939, the audit of all emergency appropriation accounts received prior to March 1, 1939, had been completed with slight exception. Also, 134 of the 255 accounts received during the months of March and April, and some of the accounts received in May, had been completed. During the course of the fiscal year 1,247,049 rental and benefit commodity contracts were audited, leaving a balance to be audited of approximately 4,137,250. In connection with the audit of expenditure and collection vouchers 45,932 new and 10,558 revised notices of exceptions were stated, and there was caused to be collected and returned to the Treasury on account of suspensions and disallowances made by the General Accounting Office the amount of $269,764.74, listed by departments and establishments as follows: Vouchers submitted by the various departments and independent establishments of the Government for preaudit were returned to the administrative offices for payment within an average of 3 days after receipt. The field preaudit of payments under various agricultural adjustment programs for the Department of Agriculture was continued during the fiscal year at the following places: The stations at Fort Collins, Colo., and Bozeman, Mont., were closed and the work previously performed at those stations was transferred to Manhattan, Kans., and Fargo, N. Dak. The preaudit of payments for the Northeast and East Central regions was conducted in Washington, D. C. Under these programs 6,094,800 vouchers covering a total expenditure of $626,358,806.64 were preaudited. The preaudit of claims for the proceeds of checks which had been drawn to the order of persons who had died, disappeared, or become incompetent before negotiation thereof, was continued in the field in order that the payment of such claims might be expedited. In addition to discrepancies resulting in collections as above set forth on account of suspensions and disallowances, the audit of public vouchers, during the course of the year, has disclosed many instances of fraud and gross irregularities such as payments to fictitious persons, forged indorsements, and false certifications for services rendered and supplies furnished. Investigation of such cases has effected a return to the Treasury of part of the amounts fraudulently obtained and, in some instances, the prosecution of the offenders. A detailed report of vouchers audited follows: VOUCHERS Volume of post-audit vouchers in disbursing officers' accounts audited during 1939 Total 1,701, 615 17, 134, 593 18, 836, 208 14, 412, 462 Unaudited vouchers remaining on hand June 30, 1939.... 4, 423, 746 Vouchers audited during 1939.. |