For the seventh consecutive year, the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) financial statements received an unqualified, or "clean," opinion from the Department of Transportation Inspector General.

The results are from an audit conducted on the NTSB's financial statements for Fiscal Year 2009. The opinion comes at a time when the NTSB has realized improvement in several management measurements.

"As proud as I am of the continuing professionalism of the NTSB's accident investigations," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "I am gratified that the agency has demonstrated achievement in its stewardship of taxpayer resources."

Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report finding that the NTSB "has fully implemented or made significant progress in adopting leading management practices in all areas in which GAO made prior recommendations." The GAO also praised the NTSB's continuing improvement of information security. GAO found that the Safety Board was in substantial compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).

"As we work to serve the American people, we must administer our programs as efficiently and economically as possible," said Chairman Hersman. "To do this, we rely on our system of management controls to assure that our financial activities comply with applicable laws, that our items of value are safeguarded, and that our operations are accounted for properly."

The FY 2009-2008 Performance and Accountability Report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2009/SPC0902.htm.