Internal Review National Symposium
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District Internal Review (IR) Chief Bert Hervey virtually attends a Dept. of the Army IR symposium in his office at District Headquarters, Aug. 11, 2023. The symposium spanned four days, with topics aimed at improving Regulatory Internal Controls and providing audits and corrective action for deficiencies created by the pandemic. There are four levels of audit opinions; unqualified – a clean “unqualified” opinion is the most common, qualified – if financial statements appear to contain a small deviation from generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) but are otherwise fairly presented, adverse – significant internal control weakness and financial information could not be relied on, and disclaimer – records are insufficient to render an opinion. USACE is the only major Dept. of Defense component holding a “clean” Chief Financial Officer opinion for over 14 years, a significant achievement. Within the Army, IR supports the local commander and their staff by improving programs and operations through independent analytical reviews and studies. The fundamental tenet of Army management philosophy is that commanders at all levels are responsible for accomplishing command missions and for maintaining effective stewardship of command resources. Commanders are responsible for complying with all applicable laws, policies, procedures, and regulations; for achieving program objectives; and for ensuring the accuracy, propriety, legality, and reliability of their actions.