RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released its findings of an audit of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service Schedules of Federal Debt. The findings are:

"In GAO's opinion, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service's (Fiscal Service) Schedules of Federal Debt for fiscal years 2014 and 2013 were fairly presented in all material respects, and Fiscal Service maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt as of September 30, 2014. GAO's tests disclosed no instances of reportable noncompliance for fiscal year 2014 with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements related to the Schedule of Federal Debt.

From fiscal year 1997, the first year of audit, through September 30, 2014, total federal debt managed by Fiscal Service has increased by 230 percent and the debt limit has been raised 15 times, from $5,950 billion to $17,212 billion. During fiscal year 2014, delays in raising the debt limit occurred for a total of 16 business days. Also, the debt limit was suspended for the period October 17, 2013, through February 7, 2014, and again from February 15, 2014, through March 15, 2015."

The entire GAO audit, including debt charts and background on why the audit was conducted, can be found at gao.gov.