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Improper Payments: Agencies' Efforts to Address Improper Payment and Recovery Auditing Requirements Continue

GAO-07-635T Published: Mar 29, 2007. Publicly Released: Mar 29, 2007.
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Highlights

The federal government is accountable for how its agencies and grantees spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars and is responsible for safeguarding those funds against improper payments as well as for recouping those funds when improper payments occur. The Congress enacted the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) and the Recovery Auditing Act to address these issues. Fiscal year 2006 marked the 3rd year that agencies were required to report improper payment and recovery audit information in their Performance and Accountability Reports. GAO was asked to testify on the progress agencies have made in these areas. Specifically, GAO focused on (1) trends in agencies' reporting under IPIA from fiscal years 2004 through 2006, (2) challenges in reporting improper payment information and improving internal control, and (3) agencies' reporting of recovery auditing efforts. This testimony is based on GAO's previous reports on agencies' efforts to implement IPIA requirements for fiscal years 2005 and 2004 and current review of available fiscal year 2006 improper payment and recovery auditing information. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided technical comments that were incorporated as appropriate.

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Topics

AccountabilityAllocation (Government accounting)Erroneous paymentsFinancial managementGovernment collectionsInternal controlsNoncomplianceOverpaymentsRegulatory agenciesReporting requirementsRisk assessment