CBS Regulatory Compliance & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Anti-Deficiency Act, what happens when a federal agency obligates funds in excess of its appropriation?
- The excess is automatically covered by a continuing resolution
- The responsible officer may face criminal penalties and dismissal (Correct answer)
- The Treasury Department transfers funds from a reserve account
- The agency must submit a supplemental budget request within 30 days
Correct answer: The responsible officer may face criminal penalties and dismissal
The Anti-Deficiency Act imposes administrative and criminal sanctions, including fines, suspension, or dismissal, on officers who obligate or expend funds exceeding appropriated amounts.
Question 2: Which ethical principle requires a budget specialist to disclose financial interests that could influence professional judgments?
- Objectivity
- Confidentiality
- Transparency
- Conflict of interest disclosure (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Conflict of interest disclosure
Conflict of interest disclosure requires professionals to reveal personal financial interests that could impair their impartiality in budget decisions.
Question 3: A Continuing Resolution (CR) typically limits agency spending to what baseline?
- The President's budget request level
- The prior year's enacted appropriation rate (Correct answer)
- The Congressional Budget Office baseline projection
- The Office of Management and Budget allotment
Correct answer: The prior year's enacted appropriation rate
A Continuing Resolution generally allows agencies to operate at the same rate as the prior fiscal year's enacted appropriation until a new appropriation is passed.
Question 4: Which law prohibits federal agencies from accepting voluntary services unless specifically authorized by statute?
- The Federal Acquisition Regulation
- The Anti-Deficiency Act (Correct answer)
- The Prompt Payment Act
- The Economy Act
Correct answer: The Anti-Deficiency Act
The Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits agencies from accepting voluntary services, as they create obligations not backed by appropriations.
Question 5: What does the concept of 'bona fide need' determine in federal budget compliance?
- Whether a program qualifies for mandatory funding
- Whether an expenditure legitimately falls within the current appropriation period (Correct answer)
- Whether a contractor meets small business size standards
- Whether an agency's request merits emergency supplemental funds
Correct answer: Whether an expenditure legitimately falls within the current appropriation period
The bona fide need rule requires that obligations be incurred only for genuine needs of the current appropriation period, preventing agencies from using current-year funds for future-year needs.
Question 6: When a CBS professional discovers a colleague has intentionally misclassified expenses to avoid budget cuts, the most ethical first step is to:
- Ignore it if the dollar amount is immaterial
- Report it immediately to external auditors
- Document findings and report through the organization's internal compliance channels (Correct answer)
- Confront the colleague publicly in a staff meeting
Correct answer: Document findings and report through the organization's internal compliance channels
Ethical standards require reporting misconduct through proper internal channels first, with documentation to support the finding.
Question 7: The OMB Circular A-11 primarily governs which aspect of federal budget operations?
- Audit standards for inspector general offices
- Instructions for preparing, submitting, and executing the federal budget (Correct answer)
- Procurement regulations for contracts over $250,000
- Grant management requirements for state and local governments
Correct answer: Instructions for preparing, submitting, and executing the federal budget
OMB Circular A-11 provides comprehensive instructions to federal agencies on how to prepare, submit, and execute their budget submissions to the President and Congress.
CBS Regulatory Compliance & Ethics 2
Under the Anti-Deficiency Act, what happens when a federal agency obligates funds in excess of its appropriation?