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Fiscal Year 2003 U.S. Government Financial Statements: Sustained Improvement in Federal Financial Management Is Crucial to Addressing Our Nation's Future Fiscal Challenges

GAO-04-477T Published: Mar 03, 2004. Publicly Released: Mar 03, 2004.
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Highlights

GAO is required to audit the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government. Proper accounting and reporting practices are essential in the public sector. The U.S. government is the largest, most diverse, most complex, and arguably the most important entity on earth today. Its services--homeland security, national defense, Social Security, mail delivery, and food inspection, to name a few--directly affect the well-being of almost every American. But sound decisions on the future direction of vital federal government programs and policies are made more difficult without timely, accurate, and useful financial and performance information. Until the problems discussed in GAO's audit report on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements are adequately addressed, they will continue to (1) hamper the federal government's ability to accurately report a significant portion of its assets, liabilities, and costs; (2) affect the federal government's ability to accurately measure the full cost as well as the financial and nonfinancial performance of certain programs while effectively managing related operations; and (3) significantly impair the federal government's ability to adequately safeguard certain significant assets and properly record various transactions.

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AccountabilityAccounting proceduresFederal agenciesFinancial disclosureFinancial managementFinancial management systemsFinancial recordsFinancial statement auditsFinancial statementsInformation disclosureInternal controlsPerformance measuresAudit reportsReporting requirementsGeneral management reviews