Audit slams DHS financial controls

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The federal agency charged with hunting sanctions busters and human traffickers is in a state of financial crisis.

A report from the outgoing inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security says the situation at Immigration and Customs Enforcement is "critical and ... need(s) immediate attention."

Inspector General Clark Kent Ervin wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge last month, delivering the damning results of an independent financial audit of the department.

The memo to Ridge, released last week on the final day of Ervin's tenure, says that auditors KPMG were unable to certify the department's accounts, in part because Immigration and Customs Enforcement "did not adequately maintain its accounting records during (financial year) 2004."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement "fell seriously behind in basic accounting functions," Ervin chided, saying in effect that the agency did not know how much it was spending. He added that, "a void exists in the financial management infrastructure at (the agency) that likely will continue to jeopardize the integrity" of the whole department's financial reporting.