Audits of Government Contracts

The departments and agencies of the Federal Government spend billions of dollars each year to procure by contract property and services for use in their programs and activities. These programs and activities and the related expenditures are authorized by the Congress. One of the control procedures that the Congress has established is the authorization for the GAO, as its agent, to make independent examinations of the affairs of the departments and agencies and of the records of contractors having negotiated contracts and to report significant information resulting from such work. This booklet has been prepared primarily for the information of Government contractors whose contracts are subject to audit by GAO. Its purpose is to explain generally the authority vested in GAO and the policies and practices followed in carrying out and reporting on its examinations.