WASHINGTON, D.C.—In 2014, Congress passed the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act to make information regarding federal spending more transparent and accessible to the American public. For the first time since its passage, the Forest Service has achieved an unmodified opinion—the highest standard possible—following the evaluation of the first quarter fiscal year 2024 data.

The DATA Act requires financial contracts and awards valued at more than $25,000 to be posted on USAspending.gov for the public to access and review. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget set government-wide standards for reporting spending data associated with federal awards. All data on the website is audited according to those standards to ensure its accuracy and then receives a statement of accountability to confirm the quality of the data, which is intended to maintain public trust.

Chief Financial Officer Robert Velasco credits this achievement to the extremely high level of attention to detail by employees across the Forest Service who understand the importance of accurate and fiscally responsible data management. Achieving an unmodified opinion for the DATA Act Quarterly Report was accomplished, in part, through the application of new tools and processes. A methodology was developed utilizing a risk tolerance approach to accept risks that do not pose a significant financial impact. A robotic process automation was employed to obligate incident response transactions in a timely manner. Lastly, a data quality plan was developed to address completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of award and financial data reported to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The Forest Service’s receipt of an unmodified opinion represents the tireless work by employees across the Washington Office deputy areas and the field, particularly the grants and agreements and contracting communities, as well as multiple directorates and programs from the Chief Financial Officer and State, Private, and Tribal Forestry’s Fire and Aviation Management.  

“Recognizing the interdependencies to success, achieving such a milestone would have been next to impossible without the full efforts of every Forest Service employee who touches part of our finances,” Velasco said. “This historic accomplishment represents the daily efforts of all our employees to care for the land and serve the people.”