Auditing and Financial Management:

Maintaining Effective Control over Employee Time and Attendance Reporting

GAO-03-352G, Jan 1, 2003

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Technological advances and changes in workplace habits have increasingly affected the operating environment for time and attendance (T&A) reporting in recent years. Perhaps the most significant influence on changes to T&A reporting, however, is advancing technology and the accelerated adoption of automation driven largely by the need for increased efficiency, as promoted by the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA). Although focused on electronic systems that process information obtained from and provided to sources outside the government, GPEA encourages agencies to seek internal applications of paperless systems and use of electronic signatures. This document (1) provides agencies with the flexibility needed to streamline T&A reporting systems and reduce their costs while maintaining adequate internal control, (2) updates the requirements for electronic signature control, and (3) addresses the need for controls over alternative workplace arrangements.