In 2002, the Board of Governors selected Ernst & Young LLP as its independent auditor to perform external auditing services. The competitively awarded five-year contract, with an option for renewal of up to 36 months, has an estimated value of $11.7 million. This contract covers the financial statement audits for fiscal years 2003-2007. As with previous contracts for external audit services, Ernst & Young LLP will not perform consulting work for us for the duration of its contract.

Code of Ethics

     The Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch at 5 CFR §2635 apply to all postal employees. The Standards were issued in 1993 by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, and replaced the individual agency standards then applicable to all employees of the Executive Branch. Our employees are also covered by the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the United States Postal Service at 5 CFR §7001. The Standards and Supplemental Standards are detailed and contain many examples to help employees recognize and resolve ethical issues. We give employees a summary of the Standards, and other ethical conduct materials, at new employee orientation training. We also provide annual ethics training for all employees who file a financial disclosure report. We encourage our employees to seek ethics advice and information from Postal Service ethics officials, and we publicize an ethics phone line and email address they can use for this purpose.