The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its
audit of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) financial statements
for 2022 and 2023.
According to the GAO, the agency spent $2.75 billion this
year to enhance citizens’ financial education and ensure banks, lenders, and
other financial companies under its supervision comply with consumer protection
laws.
The CFPB’s statements are audited on an annual basis. This
year’s GAO opinion confirmed the statements as reliable, and the bureau’s
controls over financial reporting were effective.
“GAO found the CFPB financial statements as of and for the
fiscal years ended Sept. 30, 2023, and 2022, are presented fairly, in all
material respects, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles; CFPB maintained, in all material respects, effective internal
control over financial reporting as of Sept. 30, 2023; and no reportable
noncompliance for fiscal year 2023 with provisions of applicable laws,
regulations, contracts, and grant agreements GAO tested,” the audit stated.
Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the bureau to
annually prepare these financial statements, and the GAO to audit them.
“I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all
CFPB staff over the past year to accomplish the overall outcomes reflected in
this report,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the bureau’s filing. “The
collective efforts of all CFPB staff help achieve our mandate to monitor market
conditions to spot risks, ensure compliance with existing law, and promote
competition to protect families and honest businesses.”