FRA Uncapitalized Equipment Worth $53M, Audit Finds
Summary
The DOT Office of Inspector General completed an audit of the Federal Railroad Administration's accountable personal property management. FRA's policies had not been updated since 1993 and did not comply with the Federal Personal Property Management Act of 2018. The audit found $53 million in equipment that should have been capitalized but was not, and 21.82 percent of 13,190 property items had inaccurate records in FRA's asset tracking system. The OIG made eight recommendations to improve FRA's property management practices and internal controls.
What changed
The DOT OIG audit found that FRA's personal property management policies and procedures were outdated and ineffective. FRA Order 4601.1E had not been updated since 1993 and did not comply with the Federal Personal Property Management Act of 2018. The FRA Asset and Space Management system contained inaccurate records for 21.82 percent of 13,190 items, and 99.6 percent lacked acquisition documentation. Approximately 69 percent of 681 disposed assets remained marked as active in the system.
FRA management must address eight OIG recommendations to improve property management controls. Affected parties include FRA officials responsible for accountable personal property recording and monitoring. The audit highlights systemic deficiencies in federal property management that could affect the accuracy of Federal financial reports.
What to do next
- Review and update FRA Order 4601.1E to comply with the Federal Personal Property Management Act of 2018
- Improve FASM system capabilities to generate audit trails and support financial account calculations
- Remove disposed assets from active tracking in FASM
Archived snapshot
Apr 16, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Audit Reports
Date
April 14, 2026
FRA Can Improve Its Oversight and Management of Accountable Personal Property
Origin Self-Initiated Project ID FI2026024 File Attachment View PDF Document Our Objective(s)
To assess the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) (1) internal controls related to recording and monitoring of its accountable personal property (APP) records and (2) the accuracy and completeness of FRA’s APP records.
Why This Audit?
We have previously identified issues in the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Operating Administration property management, including incomplete or inaccurate inventory information. Specifically, our prior work found that FRA had not capitalized any of its eligible equipment worth up to $53 million. Effective APP management is crucial to facilitating accurate and complete Federal financial reports.
What We Found
FRA’s policies and procedures for recording and monitoring accountable personal property are outdated and ineffective.
- FRA Order 4601.1E, Personal Property Management, which established policies and procedures for APP management, had not been updated since it was published in 1993 as of the end of fiscal year 2023.
The Order does not comply with the Federal Personal Property Management Act of 2018 because it does not meet its requirements for APP inventories. It also does not provide clear and complete guidance for accurate property management using the FRA Asset and Space Management (FASM) system.
FRA’s records for APP are incomplete and inaccurate.FRA does not record all APP timely and accurately. Of the 1,002 assets associated with FRA’s Automated Track Inspection Program, FRA did not record 250 of these assets in FASM within a year of the system’s inception and did not always correctly record asset location.
FRA’s FASM contains inaccurate records for 21.82 percent of the 13,190 items in our APP universe, and 2.68 percent of the assets in the universe did not have a recorded acquisition date. FASM also does not contain acquisition documentation for 99.6 percent of the 13,190 APP items in our universe with a total value of over $50 million.
FRA’s FASM does not meet Federal Financial Management System Requirements for a property management system. Specifically, the system cannot generate an audit trail, and it does not allow the calculation of the data necessary to support FRA’s financial accounts.
FRA does not always remove its disposed-of APP assets from active asset tracking. Of 681 assets for which FRA provided disposal documentation, 69 percent were not marked as disposed in FASM.
Recommendations
We made 8 recommendations to improve FRA’s management of APP.
Related Library Items
10.07.24
Audit Initiated of FRA’s Management of Accountable Personal Property
09.25.24
DOT’s Internal Controls for Capitalized Equipment Management Are Outdated and Ineffective
01.20.16
FAA Lacks Effective Internal Controls for Oversight of Accountable Personal Property
03.12.14
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