National Forests: Financial Ability Reviews of Prospective Timber Purchasers Need Improvement
RCED-89-110
Published: Mar 31, 1989. Publicly Released: Mar 31, 1989.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO examined whether Forest Service regional offices performed financial ability reviews of prospective timber purchasers who had previously defaulted on timber sales contracts.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Forest Service | The Chief of the Forest Service should establish a formal mechanism to ensure that information on purchasers who have defaulted on timber sales contracts is available to responsible officials at the forest and regional levels. This could be done by providing contracting officers and regional reviewing officials with default listings and other information that they need to comply with the directive. Also, in an effort to standardize and improve the process, the Forest Service should ensure that appropriate training is provided in conjunction with the issuance of its Financial Analysis Handbook. |
The Forest Service developed a formal information mechanism on defaults and conducted appropriate training of staff.
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Topics
Bidder responsibilityContract terminationFinancial analysisForest productsInteragency relationsInvestigations by federal agenciesNational forestsSales contractsTimber salesForests