DOD Problem Disbursements
AIMD-97-36R
Published: Feb 20, 1997. Publicly Released: Feb 20, 1997.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) decision to exclude certain problem disbursements from its monthly report, beginning with the November 1996 problem disbursement report.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) | The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should direct the Director, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, to report in-transit transactions, in accordance with the Department's 60- and 120-day criteria, along with unmatched disbursements and negative unliquidated obligations in the monthly problem disbursement reports. |
Closed – Implemented
Although in-transit disbursements were not included in DOD's monthly problem disbursement report along with unmatched disbursements and negative unliquidated obligations (NULOS), DOD agreed to continue to report in-transit amounts in a separate report. As long as DOD does so in a consistent and accurate manner, GAO considers this action responsive to the recommendation.
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| Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) | The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) should ensure that in-transits are included as problem disbursements in all external reporting, including DOD's annual report to the President and Congress. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD prepares a separate report on in-transit problem disbursements because it considers problem in-transits to be a different type of payment problem than negative unliquidated obligations and unmatched disbursements. In prior years, DOD understated the magnitude of its problem disbursements by excluding problem in-transits from problem disbursement information that it provides to the Congress. Further, in some instances, DOD has reported net rather than the absolute value of problem in-transits. However, DOD's fiscal year 2000 annual report to the President and Congress did not include the dollar value of problem disbursements including in-transits. As of February 2000, DOD's internal reports showed that the absolute value of its problem disbursements totaled $5.6 billion, including $4.4 billion for unmatched disbursements and $1.2 billion for negative unliquidated obligations and separately reported the absolute value of its problem in-transits as $3.8 billion. Together these items totaled $9.4 billion.
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Topics
Accounting proceduresBudget obligationsBudget outlaysDefense appropriationsFederal agency accounting systemsFinancial managementFinancial recordsInternal controlsQuestionable paymentsReporting requirements