Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the: (1) accuracy of Department of Defense (DOD) savings data reported to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Circular A-76; and (2) availability of A-76 administrative cost information.

GAO found that DOD: (1) estimates of annual recurring savings and cost estimates were often incomplete or inconsistent; (2) estimated cost savings from individual studies on the basis of standardized assumptions, not on the best available cost data; (3) did not routinely collect and analyze cost information to monitor actual operations after completing cost studies; (4) did not timely correct inaccurate and incomplete savings-related data; (5) instructions for its A-76 reporting system caused nonreporting of some needed data; and (6) had difficulty obtaining reliable information from installations on the hours expended on A-76 studies.