Every six months USAC is directed to submit an Audit Recovery Report to the FCC summarizing the status of all outstanding audit reports. The report submitted this week shows that from 1998 to 2007, nearly 1,100 audits have been performed. USAC has recovered $23.7 million in funds as a result of these audits. However, there is still approximately $142 million in various stages of recovery.
It is important to note that auditors find that most applicants are generally in compliance with the regulations and, in fact, an FCC October 2007 report even indicated that ” ‚Ķcompliance with rules and regulations was generally high (90 percent or more)‚Ķ”.
While USAC will continue to audit E-rate beneficiaries, they have started a new audit program called Payment Quality Assurance Program. Hopefully, this review will be less burdensome than a traditional audit or Selective Review.
