General Services Administration Could Better Manage Unexpended Construction Balances and Make Its Budget More Transparent
Highlights
The General Services Administration (GSA) is the federal government's principal real estate agent, with responsibilities including constructing, leasing, and maintaining a variety of facilities--such as office buildings, courthouses, border stations, and laboratories--that it rents to federal agencies. GSA's construction projects, which can span several years, are authorized to carry forward fund balances from year to year in its construction and facility accounts for these projects. GSA is responsible for keeping track of and managing these balances to ensure that any unexpended funds that remain after projects are completed are redirected to other construction project needs within the agency. GSA is required to identify construction projects that are estimated to cost in excess of established thresholds and obtain congressional approval for them. Funding for these projects exists in two accounts: (1) Construction and Acquisition and (2) Repairs and Alterations. For the purposes of this report, we refer to them as GSA's construction accounts. Additionally, the studies required for construction projects are among the items funded in the Building Operations account and we decided to include this account in our review. For purposes of this report, we refer to this as GSA's facility account. Under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative, and as part of a continued effort to assist Congress in overseeing real property management issues, we examined GSA's management of unexpended construction balances in relation to issues raised in our high-risk series. Specifically, we addressed the following question: To what extent does GSA have readily available information about unexpended balances in its construction and facility accounts to effectively manage these funds?
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| General Services Administration | To help strengthen GSA's ability to track and manage unexpended balances and to improve transparency with regard to how they are identifies in its congressional budget justification, the Administrator of the General Services Administration should ensure that project data on unexpended balances identify any such funds that are no longer needed and could be redirected. |
Closed – Implemented
In 2007, GAO found that, in its construction accounts, GSA did not have readily available information about unexpended balances that were no longer needed and could be redirected to other needs. GSA's project information system lacked readily available information to track project status and provide timely and accurate information to GSA management. For example, GSA took almost 2 months to provide corrected data on unexpended balances that were no longer needed and could be redirected. GAO recommended that GSA ensure that project data on unexpended balances identify any such funds that are no longer needed and could be redirected. In response, GSA 1) developed new performance measures to improve reporting and tracking of project obligation rates and financial project performance in the capital program; 2) developed procedures to improve capital program performance, project reporting and tracking, and business processes, including project close-out procedures; and, 3) established a Project Fund Balance Report at the line item project level and developed requirements for implementation and use of the report. As a result, GSA's now has the information it needs to track and manage unexpended balances and better ensure the effective management of these funds.
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| General Services Administration | To help strengthen GSA's ability to track and manage unexpended balances and to improve transparency with regard to how they are identifies in its congressional budget justification, the Administrator of the General Services Administration should strengthen existing policies and procedures to update and keep current its electronic project information system so that completed projects are identified in a timely manner. |
Closed – Implemented
In 2007, GAO found that, in its construction accounts, GSA did not have readily available information about unexpended balances that were no longer needed and could be redirected to other needs. GSA lacked effective policies and procedures for determining when projects are complete and unexpended balances become available for other needs. For example, instead of identifying projects as soon as they are completed, GSA identified construction projects for closure on an ad hoc basis. These issues allowed unexpended balances in completed construction project accounts to accumulate, which could have been made available to support other construction projects. GAO recommended that GSA strengthen existing policies and procedures to update and keep current its electronic project information system so that completed projects are identified in a timely manner. In response, GSA 1) implemented a web-based management tool, Variance Tracking Report; and, 2) developed a comprehensive project management handbook. As a result, GSA now has readily available information on whether unexpended funds from completed projects are available to support other construction projects.
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| General Services Administration | To help strengthen GSA's ability to track and manage unexpended balances and to improve transparency with regard to how they are identifies in its congressional budget justification, the Administrator of the General Services Administration should identify amounts in the Building Operations account estimated for carryover in future congressional budget justification requests to that these funds would be transparent to the Office of Management and Budget and Congress. |
Closed – Implemented
In 2007, GAO noted a lack of transparency in the way GSA treats unexpended balances in its facility account that are used for contingencies. GAO found that almost $70.3 million in unexpended facility management balances were carried over from prior fiscal years to the current fiscal year Building Operations account for contingencies, but these funds were not clearly identified in GSA's congressional budget justification as being available for such a purpose. The absence of such information means that Congress may not have all the pertinent information it needs before making budget decisions. GAO recommended that GSA identify amounts in the Building Operations account estimated for carryover in future congressional budget justification requests so that these funds would be transparent to Office of Management and Budget and Congress. In response, GSA's reported the amount in the Building Operations account estimated for carryover in its Fiscal Year 2012 congressional budget justification request. As a result, GSA improved the transparency of the carryover funds that it holds for contingencies provides the Office of Management and Budget and Congress a more complete picture of GSA's available resources.
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