https://www.gao.gov Mon, 26 Oct 2020 17:18:10 -0400 GAO /images/gao_logo_rss.gif https://www.gao.gov/ Feed provided by GAO. Click to visit. https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-717SP This report supersedes GAO-06-394SP, GAO's International Protocols, January 2006. This document contains the protocols governing the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) work that has international components or implications. These protocols provide clearly defined and transparent policies and practices on how GAO will interact with U.S. federal departments and agencies, other national governments, and international organizations in its international work. They identify what international organizations and supreme audit institutions (SAI) can expect from GAO. These protocols are intended to cover most situations that arise during the course of GAO's work and are consistent, to the extent applicable, with the protocols that govern GAO's work for the Congress and with U.S. federal agencies. For more information, contact Michael Hix at (202) 512-4707 or spel@gao.gov. Wed, 30 Sep 2020 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-430T Background GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.  We provide nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public, and recommend improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government’s responsibilities. In fiscal year 2019, GAO issued 1,607 new recommendations. Congress used our work extensively to inform its decisions on key fiscal year 2019 and 2020 legislation. Since fiscal year 2000, GAO’s work has resulted in over: $1.16 trillion dollars in financial benefits; and 24,750 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. GAO remains an employer of choice in the public sector. The Partnership for Public Service announced again in 2019 that GAO was one of the top places to work in the federal government, placing third position among mid-size agencies and first for supporting diversity.  In fiscal year (FY) 2019, GAO’s work yielded a record $214.7 billion in financial benefits, a return of about $338 for every dollar invested in GAO. We also identified 1,418 other benefits that led to improved services to the American people, enhanced public safety, and strengthened programs and operations across the government.  In addition, GAO reported on 35 areas designated as high risk due to their vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or because they face economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges. These FY 2019 High Risk Series products alone resulted in 44 testimonies, $170.8 billion in financial benefits, and 710 other benefits. For FY 2021, GAO is requesting $706 million in appropriated funds, an increase of $76 million compared with the FY 2020 enacted level, and authority to use $31.3 million in offsetting receipts and reimbursements. These resources will support 3,250 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions. The additional FTE will primarily bolster the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team and bring on additional appropriations law attorneys. The funding requested will also support priority investments in our information technology and building infrastructure, security requirements, as well as address long deferred needs.  As reported in our FY 2019 financial statements, GAO’s backlog of deferred maintenance on its 69 years old Headquarters Building had grown to over $80 million as of fiscal year end. This level of funding will enable GAO to meet the highest priority needs of the Congress, as we remain committed in helping Congress meet its constitutional responsibilities for the benefit of the American people.  In FY 2019, GAO responded to 671 requests for work from 90 percent of the standing committees of the Congress.  Our senior executives were asked to testify 97 times before 50 different committees or subcommittees on a wide range of issues that touched virtually all major federal agencies. The activities planned for FY 2021 will better position GAO to assist the Congress in meeting its legislative and oversight responsibilities, accomplish our mission objectives and goals, and improve government performance and accountability.  In FY 2021, we will continue to support Congressional oversight across the wide array of government programs and operations.  In particular, the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team will continue to expand our focus on rapidly evolving science and technology issues.  The team focuses on: (1) conducting technology assessments at the request of the Congress; (2) providing technical assistance to Congress on science and technology matters; (3) continuing the development and use of technical guides to assess major federal acquisitions and technology programs in areas such as technology readiness, cost estimating, and schedule planning; (4) supporting Congressional oversight of federal science programs; and (5) advancing GAO’s ability to use data analytics in auditing federal programs. With additional funding we will also bolster our capabilities to review the opportunities and challenges associated with the risks and management needs to address complex and growing cyber security developments; increased investments in the Department of Defense; and rising health care costs. For more information, contact Gene L. Dodaro at (202) 512-5500 or dodarog@gao.gov. Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-429T FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET REQUEST U.S. Government Accountability Office In fiscal year (FY) 2019, GAO’s work yielded a record $214.7 billion in financial benefits, a return of about $338 for every dollar invested in GAO. We also identified 1,418 other benefits that led to improved services to the American people, enhanced public safety, and strengthened programs and operations across the government. In addition, GAO reported on 35 areas designated as high risk due to their vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or because they face economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges. These FY 2019 High Risk Series products alone resulted in 44 testimonies, $170.8 billion in financial benefits, and 710 other benefits. For FY 2021, GAO is requesting $706 million in appropriated funds, an increase of $76 million compared with the FY 2020 enacted level, and authority to use $31.3 million in offsetting receipts and reimbursements. These resources will support 3,250 full-time equivalent positions. The additional FTE will primarily bolster the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team and bring on additional appropriations law attorneys. The funding requested will also support priority investments in our information technology and building infrastructure, security requirements, as well as address long deferred needs. As reported in our FY 2019 financial statements, GAO’s backlog of deferred maintenance on its 69 years old Headquarters Building had grown to over $80 million as of fiscal year end. This level of funding will enable GAO to meet the highest priority needs of the Congress, as we remain committed in helping Congress meet its constitutional responsibilities for the benefit of the American people. In FY 2019, GAO responded to 671 requests for work from 90 percent of the standing committees of the Congress. Our senior executives were asked to testify 97 times before 50 different committees or subcommittees on a wide range of issues that touched virtually all major federal agencies. The activities planned for FY 2021 will better position GAO to assist the Congress in meeting its legislative and oversight responsibilities, accomplish our mission objectives and goals, and improve government performance and accountability. In FY 2021, we will continue to support Congressional oversight across the wide array of government programs and operations. In particular, the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team will continue to expand our focus on rapidly evolving science and technology issues. The team focuses on: (1) conducting technology assessments at the request of the Congress; (2) providing technical assistance to Congress on science and technology matters; (3) continuing the development and use of technical guides to assess major federal acquisitions and technology programs in areas such as technology readiness, cost estimating, and schedule planning; (4) supporting Congressional oversight of federal science programs; and (5) advancing GAO’s ability to use data analytics in auditing federal programs. With additional funding we will also bolster our capabilities to review the opportunities and challenges associated with the risks and management needs to address complex and growing cyber security developments; increased investments in the Department of Defense; and rising health care costs. Background GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We provide nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public, and recommend improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government’s responsibilities. In fiscal year 2019. GAO issued 1,607 new recommendations. Congress used our work extensively to inform its decisions on key fiscal year 2019 and 2020 legislation. Since fiscal year 2000, GAO’s work has resulted in over: $1.16 trillion dollars in financial benefits; and 24,750 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. GAO remains an employer of choice in the public sector. The Partnership for Public Service announced again in 2019 that GAO was one of the top places to work in the federal government, placing third position among mid-size agencies and first for supporting diversity. For more information, contact Gene L. Dodaro at (202) 512-5500 or dodarog@gao.gov. Thu, 27 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-391R What GAO Found GAO began 35 new audits that involved the Department of Defense (DOD) in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. GAO found that DOD generally scheduled entrance conferences within 14 days and held those entrance conferences within 30 days of notification, with the exception of audits for which notifications letters were sent by GAO to DOD in mid-December through the end of the calendar year. Of the 35 requests for entrance conferences, 25 were scheduled within 14 days of notification and 10 were scheduled more than 14 days after notification. Prior to mid-December 2019, two audits exceeded the 14 day scheduling requirement. DOD officials stated that these delays occurred because it was difficult to coordinate the schedules of critical collateral action officers. For audits beginning in mid-December, 8 exceeded the 14 days scheduling notification requirement. DOD officials stated that these audits experienced delays due to the need for additional scheduling time as a result of federal holidays and annual leave plans of DOD and GAO officials. Of the 35 requests for entrance conferences, 23 were held within 30 days of notification and 12 were held more than 30 days after notification. Of the 12 delayed entrance conferences, one was held 34 days after notification due to scheduling conflicts between DOD and GAO officials. For the remaining 11 audits, entrance conferences were held within 33 to 43 days after notification, due to limited DOD and GAO officials' availability during the holiday season. Why GAO Did This Study GAO's agency protocols govern its relationships with audited agencies. These protocols require agencies to schedule an entrance conference with key agency officials within 14 GAO's agency protocols govern its relationships with audited agencies. These protocols require agencies to schedule an entrance conference with key agency officials within 14 days. This initial meeting allows GAO to communicate its audit objectives and enables agencies to assign key personnel to support this work. In past years, DOD has experienced difficulty meeting the protocol target for the timely facilitation of entrance conferences, and a number of entrance conferences and associated audits have been unduly delayed. The ability of the Congress to conduct effective oversight of federal agencies is enhanced through the timely completion of GAO audits. In Senate Report 116-48 accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, the Senate Armed Services Committee included a provision for GAO to review DOD's scheduling of entrance conferences. This report evaluates the extent to which DOD scheduled entrance conferences within 14 days, consistent with GAO's agency protocols, and also held those conferences within 30 days. This is the first of four reports that we will produce on this topic for fiscal year 2020.To address the objective, GAO collected and analyzed data on GAO audits involving DOD that were initiated in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020 (October 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019). Specifically, GAO determined the number of notification letters requesting entrance conferences that were sent to DOD during the time period. GAO determined the number of days between when DOD received the notification letter for each new audit and when DOD scheduled the entrance conference and assessed whether DOD scheduled entrance conferences within 14 days of notification, which is the time frame identified in GAO's agency protocols. GAO also determined the date that each requested entrance conference was held by collecting this information from the relevant GAO team for each audit and assessed whether DOD held entrance conferences for new audits within 30 days of notification, which was the time frame identified in the mandate for this review. For more information, contact Elizabeth Field at 202-512-2775 or fielde1@gao.gov. Wed, 12 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-306T GAO provides a variety of science and technology (S&T) products and services to Congress. Over the decades, GAO has grown its S&T portfolio by adding technology assessments, engineering/project controls best practices guides, and, most recently, the Science & Tech Spotlight series. Together, these products are designed to address key congressional interests on S&T issues by providing foresight on the consequences of advances in S&T, oversight of the federal S&T enterprise and S&T-centric programs and projects, and insight into emerging issues and topics of congressional interest. GAO has the expertise, independence, and access to data to provide authoritative, nonpartisan advice to Congress in a manner that complements other sources of S&T advice. Expertise: GAO’s new Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics(STAA) team has 59 staff members with masters’ degrees and/ordoctorates, as of November 2019. Fifty-six staff members have at least one degree in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics field.GAO’s technology assessments are informed by appropriate S&T expertise, including external experts across academia, think tanks, and industry. GAO integrates subject and policy knowledge from across its 15 mission teams to develop rigorous methodological approaches to expertly analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Independence: GAO has a robust quality assurance framework to help ensure its independence and has congressional protocols to help ensure GAO is responsive to Congress in a nonpartisan manner. Access to data: GAO’s legal authorities grant it unique access to an extensive range of agency information and data, including classified information and other information that is not available to the public. GAO will continue to build its capacity to respond to congressional demand. STAA’s current staff level is about one-half of what was outlined in the April 2019 plan submitted to Congress. GAO’s key S&T activities are shown in the figure below. Key Science and Technology Activities in GAO Background Rapid developments in S&T are transforming multiple sectors of society, including medicine, transportation, communication, defense, and even culture. Like all technological change, each of these developments brings opportunities and potential unintended consequences. The ability of Congress to understand and evaluate such changes will be critical for the United States to remain safe, innovative, and globally competitive. GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. The 2019 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill Conference Report encouraged GAO to reorganize its S&T function by creating a new office. In January 2019, GAO created the STAA team to build on and expand its decades-long work providing Congress with science and technology analysis. This statement discusses (1) GAO’s S&T products and services for Congress; (2) how GAO is structured to provide S&T advice to the Congress; and (3) GAO’s plan to continuously improve its S&T advising capabilities. For more information, contact Timothy M. Persons, Ph.D., Chief Scientist and Managing Director, Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics, at (202) 512-6888 or personst@gao.gov. Thu, 05 Dec 2019 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-1SP Presented is GAO's Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2019. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual report informs the Congress and the American people about what we have achieved on their behalf. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable. This report describes GAO's performance measures, results, and accountability processes for fiscal year 2019. In assessing our performance, we compared actual results against targets and goals that were set in our annual performance plan and performance budget and were developed to help carry out our strategic plan. An overview of our annual measures and targets for 2019 is available here, along with links to a complete set of our strategic planning and performance and accountability reports. This report includes A Fiscal Year 2019 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer, an introduction, four parts, and supplementary appendixes as follows: A Fiscal Year 2019 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer This section provides an overview of GAO's performance and financial information for fiscal year 2019 and outlines GAO's near-term and future work priorities. Introduction This section includes the letter from the Comptroller General and a statement attesting to the completeness and reliability of the performance and financial data in this report and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This section also includes a summary discussion of our mission, strategic planning process, and organizational structure, strategies we use to achieve our goals, and process for assessing our performance. Management's Discussion and Analysis This section discusses our agency-wide performance results and use of resources in fiscal year 2019. It also includes, among other things, information on our internal controls and the management challenges and external factors that affect our performance. Performance Information This section includes details on our performance results by strategic goal in fiscal year 2019 and the targets we are aiming for in fiscal year 2020. Financial Information This section includes details on our finances in fiscal year 2019, including a letter from our Chief Financial Officer, audited financial statements and notes, and the reports from our external auditor and Audit Advisory Committee. This section also includes an explanation of the information each of our financial statements conveys. Inspector General's View of GAO's Management Challenges This section includes our Inspector General's perspective on our agency's management challenges. Appendixes This section provides the report's abbreviations and describes how we ensure the completeness and reliability of the data for each of our performance measures. For more information, contact Timothy Bowling (202) 512-6100 or bowlingt@gao.gov. Tue, 19 Nov 2019 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-267SP This report presents the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2020. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual plan informs the Congress and the American people about what we expect to accomplish on their behalf in the coming fiscal year. It sets forth our plan to make progress toward achieving our strategic goals for serving the Congress and the American people. This framework not only shows the relationship between our strategic goals and strategic objectives, but also show major themes that could potentially affect our work. Wed, 19 Jun 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-451T Since 2014, this Subcommittee has provided funding that has resulted in our work achieving over $340 billion in financial benefits and more than 6,300 other improvements in federal programs and operations for our government. In fiscal year (FY) 2018, GAO's work yielded a record $75.1 billion in financial benefits, a return of about $124 for every dollar invested in GAO. We also identified 1,294 other benefits that led to improved services and public safety for the American people and program and operational improvements across the government. For FY 2020, GAO is requesting $647.6 million in appropriated funds, and authority to use $38.3 million in offsetting receipts and reimbursements, a 9.8 percent increase. These resources will fund 3,250 full-time equivalents (FTE). The funding requested will also allow us to continue to make investments in our information technology and infrastructure, security requirements, as well as address long deferred building maintenance needs. This level of funding will enable GAO to meet the highest priority needs of the Congress, as we remain committed in helping Congress meet its constitutional responsibilities for the benefit of the American people. In FY 2018, for example, we received 786 requests, including hundreds of statutory requirements, for work from 90 percent of the standing committees of Congress supporting a broad range of oversight and legislative priorities. The activities planned for FY 2020 will better position GAO to assist the Congress in meeting its legislative and oversight responsibilities, accomplish our mission objectives and goals, and improve government performance and accountability. In FY 2020, we will continue to support Congressional oversight across the wide array of government programs and operations. We also will continue to increase our capabilities to review the opportunities and challenges associated with evolving science and technology issues; the risks and management needs to address complex and growing cyber security developments; increased investments in the Department of Defense; and rising health care costs. In January, we established a new Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team to continue and expand our focus on rapidly evolving science and technology issues. The team will focus on: (1) conducting technology assessments at the request of the Congress; (2) providing technical assistance to Congress on science and technology matters; (3) continuing to develop and use technical guides to assess major federal acquisitions and technology programs in areas such as cost estimating, schedule planning and technology readiness; (4) supporting Congressional oversight of federal science programs; and (5) advancing GAO's ability to use data analytics in auditing. We also will continue to further enhance our capacity to assess efforts to protect our nation from cyber threats. Specifically, we recently highlighted urgent actions needed to ensure the cybersecurity of our nation. We also renamed our Information Technology team to Information Technology and Cybersecurity in order to better reflect the significant body of work the team does on protecting federal information systems, critical infrastructure, and individual privacy from cyber threats. GAO will also support continued congressional oversight of DOD's efforts to balance current operational deployments with fulfilling the full spectrum of future military needs, as well as the federal government's challenges in effectively and efficiently managing health care programs. Background GAO's mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We provide nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public, and recommend improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government's responsibilities. GAO responded to requests from 90 percent of the standing full committees of the Congress in fiscal year 2018. GAO issued 633 reports, 1,650 new recommendations, and testified before 48 congressional committees 98 times. Congress used our work extensively to inform its decisions on key fiscal year 2018 and 2019 legislation. Since fiscal year 2000, GAO's work has resulted in: nearly $1 trillion dollars in financial benefits; and  over 23,000 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government.  GAO remains an employer of choice in the public sector. The Partnership for Public Service announced again in 2018 that GAO one of the top places to work in the federal government, placing fourth position among mid-size agencies and first for supporting diversity. For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800 or youngc1@gao.gov. Wed, 10 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-403T What GAO Found Since 2014, this Subcommittee has provided funding that has resulted in our work achieving over $340 billion in financial benefits and more than 6,300 other improvements in federal programs and operations for our government. In fiscal year (FY) 2018, GAO’s work yielded a record $75.1 billion in financial benefits, a return of about $124 for every dollar invested in GAO. We also identified 1,294 other benefits that led to improved services and public safety for the American people and program and operational improvements across the government.   For FY 2020, GAO is requesting $647.6 million in appropriated funds, and authority to use $38.3 million in offsetting receipts and reimbursements, a 9.8 percent increase. These resources will fund 3,250 full-time equivalents (FTE). The funding requested will also allow us to continue to make investments in our information technology and infrastructure, security requirements, as well as address long deferred building maintenance needs.   This level of funding will enable GAO to meet the highest priority needs of the Congress, as we remain committed in helping Congress meet its constitutional responsibilities for the benefit of the American people. In FY 2018, for example, we received 786 requests, including hundreds of statutory requirements, for work from 90 percent of the standing committees of Congress supporting a broad range of oversight and legislative priorities. The activities planned for FY 2020 will better position GAO to assist the Congress in meeting its legislative and oversight responsibilities, accomplish our mission objectives and goals, and improve government performance and accountability.   In FY 2020, we will continue to support Congressional oversight across the wide array of government programs and operations. We also will continue to increase our capabilities to review the opportunities and challenges associated with evolving science and technology issues; the risks and management needs to address complex and growing cyber security developments; increased investments in the Department of Defense; and rising health care costs.   In January, we established a new Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team to continue and expand our focus on rapidly evolving science and technology issues. The team will focus on: (1) conducting technology assessments at the request of the Congress; (2) providing technical assistance to Congress on science and technology matters; (3) continuing to develop and use technical guides to assess major federal acquisitions and technology programs in areas such as cost estimating, schedule planning and technology readiness; (4) supporting Congressional oversight of federal science programs; and (5) advancing GAO’s ability to use data analytics in auditing.   We also will continue to further enhance our capacity to assess efforts to protect our nation from cyber threats. Specifically, we recently highlighted urgent actions needed to ensure the cybersecurity of our nation. We also renamed our Information Technology team to Information Technology and Cybersecurity in order to better reflect the significant body of work the team does on protecting federal information systems, critical infrastructure, and individual privacy from cyber threats. GAO will also support continued congressional oversight of DOD’s efforts to balance current operational deployments with fulfilling the full spectrum of future military needs, as well as the federal government’s challenges in effectively and efficiently managing health care programs. Why GAO Did This Study GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We provide nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public, and recommend improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government’s responsibilities.   GAO responded to requests from 90 percent of the standing full committees of the Congress in fiscal year 2018. GAO issued 633 reports, 1,650 new recommendations, and testified before 48 congressional committees 98 times. Congress used our work extensively to inform its decisions on key fiscal year 2018 and 2019 legislation. Since fiscal year 2000, GAO’s work has resulted in:   • nearly $1 trillion dollars in financial benefits; and   • over 23,000 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government.   GAO remains an employer of choice in the public sector. The Partnership for Public Service announced again in 2018 that GAO one of the top places to work in the federal government, placing fourth position among mid-size agencies and first for supporting diversity. For more information, contact Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800 or youngc1@gao.gov.  Wed, 27 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-55G This report supersedes GAO-05-35G, GAO's Agency Protocols. This document contains the updated protocols that govern the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) work with executive branch agencies. The protocols provide clearly defined and transparent policies and practices on how GAO interacts with agencies in performing its work. GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and strives to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. Although our primary client is the Congress and we must maintain our independence from the entities that are the subject of our work, we seek to continue constructive working relationships with the executive branch. In all cases, we seek to conduct our work in a professional, objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, and nonideological manner, in order to help improve government. Mon, 19 Nov 2018 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-1SP Presented is GAO's Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2018. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual report informs the Congress and the American people about what we have achieved on their behalf. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable.   This report describes GAO's performance measures, results, and accountability processes for fiscal year 2018. In assessing our performance, we compared actual results against targets and goals that were set in our annual performance plan and performance budget and were developed to help carry out our strategic plan. An overview of our annual measures and targets for 2018 is available here, along with links to a complete set of our strategic planning and performance and accountability reports.   This report includes A Fiscal Year 2018 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer, an introduction, four parts, and supplementary appendixes as follows:   A Fiscal Year 2018 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer    This section provides an overview of GAO's performance and financial information for fiscal year 2018 and outlines GAO's near-term and future work priorities.   Introduction   This section includes the letter from the Comptroller General and a statement attesting to the completeness and reliability of the performance and financial data in this report and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This section also includes a summary discussion of our mission, strategic planning process, and organizational structure, strategies we use to achieve our goals, and process for assessing our performance.   Management's Discussion and Analysis    This section discusses our agency-wide performance results and use of resources in fiscal year 2018. It also includes information on our internal controls and the management challenges and external factors that affect our performance.   Performance Information   This section includes details on our performance results by strategic goal in fiscal year 2018 and the targets we are aiming for in fiscal year 2019.    Financial Information   This section includes details on our finances in fiscal year 2018, including a letter from our Chief Financial Officer, audited financial statements and notes, and the reports from our external auditor and Audit Advisory Committee. This section also includes an explanation of the information each of our financial statements conveys.    Inspector General's View of GAO's Management Challenges    This section includes our Inspector General's perspective on our agency's management challenges.    Appendixes    This section provides the report's abbreviations, describes how we ensure the completeness and reliability of the data for each of our performance measures, and provides the urls used in the report.   For more information, contact Timothy Bowling (202) 512-6100 or bowlingt@gao.gov.   Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-308SP This report presents the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2019. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual plan informs the Congress and the American people about what we expect to accomplish on their behalf in the coming fiscal year. It sets forth our plan to make progress toward achieving our strategic goals for serving the Congress and the American people. This framework not only shows the relationship between our strategic goals and strategic objectives, but also show major themes that could potentially affect our work. Thu, 31 May 2018 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-581CG This is a Comptroller General Presentation delivered to the 22nd Biennial Forum of Government Auditors in Colorado Springs, CO on May 9, 2018. Major topics of this presentation include: (1) Global Security, (2) Debt and Fiscal Outlook, (3) Economics, Trade, & Connectedness, (4) Education and Employment, (5) Changes in People and Society, (6) Science & Technology, (7) Government and Governance, and (8) Environment and Sustainability. Wed, 09 May 2018 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-426T In fiscal year (FY) 2017, GAO’s work resulted in a return of $128 for every dollar invested in GAO, generating almost $74 billion in financial benefits to the federal government. Implementation of GAO’s recommendations led to 1,280 program and operational improvements across the federal government including many important contributions to enacted appropriations and authorization legislation. GAO reports contained more than 1,400 recommendations across a vast array of areas to foster government efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness on high priority challenges facing Congress and the nation. Congress passed a number of laws that reflect GAO findings and recommendations and used GAO’s work to improve agency operations. These will result in improved program efficiencies and services, including such areas as the acquisition of weapon systems, improved health care and suicide prevention for veterans, and an increased focus on cybersecurity. Agencies also acted on GAO’s recommendations in areas such as addressing the opioid crisis by protecting newborns, improving disaster response, focusing on IT management, and addressing military readiness. GAO is requesting budget authority of $614.8 million for FY 2019. This will fund the necessary activities to continue to meet the highest priority needs of the Congress. The funding will allow us to cover mandatory pay and inflationary cost increases, and achieve increases in our on-board staff. The request includes an appropriation of $578.9 million and $35.9 million in offsetting receipts and reimbursements from program and financial audits, rental income, training fees, bid protest fees, and funds from the disaster supplemental. With the funding enacted for FY 2018, including $10 million in 2-year funding for information technology and building infrastructure projects, GAO revised both our FY 2018 operating plan and our FY 2019 budget request. Additional information technology resources will allow GAO to make strategic investments to modernize its communications, infrastructure, security, and document management systems. GAO will also continue to upgrade key systems that directly support the products and services we provide to the Congress. These enhancements will further improve our effectiveness and efficiency and lower our operating costs in the future. The investments in building infrastructure will allow us to bring in a new tenant and increase our rental revenue. This will allow GAO to put more funds into human capital in the future. The revised plan will put us in a position to achieve 3,100 FTE in FY 2019 without an increase over the FY 2018 appropriation level, moving GAO closer to its optimal staffing level of 3,250 FTE. The resources we received for FY 2018, and request for FY 2019, will allow GAO to continue to respond to Congress on a wide variety of issues covering the full breadth of the federal government’s responsibilities. In addition, with increased staffing we will 1) expand our focus on critical cybersecurity issues and the threats to the nation’s critical infrastructure; 2) continue our focus on a range of rapidly evolving science and technology issues; 3) bolster our reviews of the increased investment in Department of Defense programs; and 4) assess the challenges associated with growing federal health care costs. Background GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We provide nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public, and recommend improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government’s responsibilities. GAO responded to requests from 92 percent of the standing full committees of the Congress in fiscal year 2017. GAO issued 658 reports, 1,414 new recommendations, and testified before congressional committees 99 times. Congress used our work extensively to inform its decisions on key fiscal year 2017 and 2018 legislation. Since fiscal year 2003, GAO’s work has resulted in: over $785 billion dollars in financial benefits; and about 19,500 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. GAO remains an employer of choice in the public sector. The Partnership for Public Service announced again in 2017 that GAO one of the top places to work in the federal government. We improved our scores again in 2017, maintaining our second place position among mid-size agencies. For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800 or youngc1@gao.gov. Wed, 25 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-448T In fiscal year (FY) 2017, GAO's work resulted in a return of $128 for every dollar invested in GAO, generating almost $74 billion in financial benefits to the federal government. Implementation of GAO's recommendations led to 1,280 program and operational improvements across the federal government including many important contributions to enacted appropriations and authorization legislation. GAO reports contained more than 1,400 recommendations across a vast array of areas to foster government efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness on high priority challenges facing Congress and the nation. Congress passed a number of laws that reflect GAO findings and recommendations and used GAO's work to improve agency operations. These will result in improved program efficiencies and services, including such areas as the acquisition of weapon systems, improved health care and suicide prevention for veterans, and an increased focus on cybersecurity. Agencies also acted on GAO's recommendations in areas such as addressing the opioid crisis by protecting newborns, improving disaster response, focusing on IT management, and addressing military readiness. GAO is requesting budget authority of $614.8 million for FY 2019. This will fund the necessary activities to continue to meet the highest priority needs of the Congress. The funding will allow us to cover mandatory pay and inflationary cost increases, and achieve increases in our on-board staff. The request includes an appropriation of $578.9 million and $35.9 million in offsetting receipts and reimbursements from program and financial audits, rental income, training fees, bid protest fees, and funds from the disaster supplemental. With the funding enacted for FY 2018, including $10 million in 2-year funding for information technology and building infrastructure projects, GAO revised both our FY 2018 operating plan and our FY 2019 budget request. Additional information technology resources will allow GAO to make strategic investments to modernize its communications, infrastructure, security, and document management systems. GAO will also continue to upgrade key systems that directly support the products and services we provide to the Congress. These enhancements will further improve our effectiveness and efficiency and lower our operating costs in the future. The investments in building infrastructure will allow us to bring in a new tenant and increase our rental revenue. This will allow GAO to put more funds into human capital in the future. The revised plan will put us in a position to achieve 3,100 FTE in FY 2019 without an increase over the FY 2018 appropriation level, moving GAO closer to its optimal staffing level of 3,250 FTE. The resources we received for FY 2018, and request for FY 2019, will allow GAO to continue to respond to Congress on a wide variety of issues covering the full breadth of the federal government's responsibilities. In addition, with increased staffing we will 1) expand our focus on critical cybersecurity issues and the threats to the nation's critical infrastructure; 2) continue our focus on a range of rapidly evolving science and technology issues; 3) bolster our reviews of the increased investment in Department of Defense programs; and 4) assess the challenges associated with growing federal health care costs. Background GAO's mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We provide nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public, and recommend improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government's responsibilities. GAO responded to requests from 92 percent of the standing full committees of the Congress in fiscal year 2017. GAO issued 658 reports, 1,414 new recommendations, and testified before congressional committees 99 times. Congress used our work extensively to inform its decisions on key fiscal year 2017 and 2018 legislation. Since fiscal year 2003, GAO's work has resulted in: over $785 billion dollars in financial benefits; and  about 19,500 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. GAO remains an employer of choice in the public sector. The Partnership for Public Service announced again in 2017 that GAO one of the top places to work in the federal government. We improved our scores again in 2017, maintaining our second place position among mid-size agencies. For more information contact Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800 or youngc1@gao.gov. Wed, 25 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-151SP What GAO Found GAO identifies five key methodological elements to the baseline structure of an economic analysis: Objective and scope, Methodology, Analysis of effects, Transparency and Documentation. GAO's assessment methodology evaluates each key element and provides an overall assessment based on the assessment of the individual key elements. Why GAO Did This Study We prepared this report to answer the question: What are key methodological elements of an economic analysis that is intended to inform decision-makers and stakeholders? For more information, contact Oliver Richard  at (202) 512-8424 or RichardO@gao.gov. Tue, 10 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-395SP As part of GAO's 2018-2023 Strategic Plan, our Key Efforts denote substantial areas of focus and bodies of work that will contribute to the successful accomplishment of GAO's strategic objectives and performance goals. GAO's Key Efforts are near-term priorities in support of our longer-term mission to provide the Congress with timely and fact-based analyses on the most important national issues. The Key Efforts are provided as an integral part of our strategic plan with a view toward periodically updating them to reflect shifts in congressional priorities and GAO's expected areas of work. GAO maintains an ongoing internal program of annual assessments to establish priority work areas in consultation with the Congress. This program will help inform these periodic updates of Key Efforts. In addition to this document, please see the other two components of GAO's 2018-2023 strategic plan: Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives (GAO-18-1SP) that serves as the foundation of GAO's overall plan and outlines our long-term strategies and goals; Trends Affecting Government and Society (GAO-18-396SP) that provide the strategic context for our plan through an exploration of eight key trends having a major impact on the nation and its government. For more information, contact James-Christian Blockwood at 202-512-4707 or spel@gao.gov. Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-1SP GAO's strategic plan describes our goals and objectives to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to ultimately help improve the safety, security, and well-being of the American people. The plan provides a comprehensive roadmap for increasing accountability across the full range of federal government operations. To carry out its mission, GAO has four overall strategic goals that focus on 1) the well-being and financial security of the American people; 2) threats and challenges associated with national security and global interdependence; 3) transforming the federal government to address national challenges; and 4) maximizing the value of GAO as a leading practices federal agency. In addition to this document, please see the other two components of GAO's 2018-2023 strategic plan: Key Efforts (GAO-18-395SP) that detail the near-term priorities and substantial bodies of work that will contribute to the accomplishment of our performance goals;  Trends Affecting Government and Society (GAO-18-396SP) that provide the strategic context for our plan through an exploration of eight key trends having a major impact on the nation and its government. For more information, contact James-Christian Blockwood at (202) 512-4707 or spel@gao.gov.  Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-396SP We are publishing these trends as part of GAO’s strategic plan for fiscal years 2018-2023 to provide strategic context for our plan. The development of trends for GAO’s strategic plan is a major component of GAO’s foresight activities. By exploring trends, key uncertainties, and their implications, we can better highlight national issues of greatest concern to the Congress and the American people in the years and decades ahead. Taking a longer view also helps us define the strategic context for our work and better address crosscutting and interconnected challenges that will require sustained collaboration and innovation.  The 8 trend areas in GAO’s plan include: Global conditions affecting U.S. and international security The federal government’s long-term unsustainable fiscal path Global responses to challenges posed by divergent economic growth Technological advances and their impact on preparing the workforce of the future Demographic changes and their implications Five emerging technologies and scientific advances that could potentially transform society Increasingly complex governance relationships and practices Balancing competing natural resource and sustainability needs In addition to this document, please see the other two components of GAO’s 2018-2023 strategic plan: Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives (GAO-18-1SP) that serves as the foundation of GAO’s overall plan and outlines our long-term strategies and goals; Key Efforts (GAO-18-395SP) that detail the near-term priorities and substantial bodies of work that will contribute to the accomplishment of our performance goals. For more information, contact James-Christian Blockwood at 202-512-4707 or spel@gao.gov. Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-2SP Presented is GAO's Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2017. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual report informs the Congress and the American people about what we have achieved on their behalf. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable. This report describes GAO's performance measures, results, and accountability processes for fiscal year 2017. In assessing our performance, we compared actual results against targets and goals that were set in our annual performance plan and performance budget and were developed to help carry out our strategic plan. An overview of our annual measures and targets for 2017 is available here, along with links to a complete set of our strategic planning and performance and accountability reports. This report includes A Fiscal Year 2017 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer, an introduction, four parts, and supplementary appendixes as follows: A Fiscal Year 2017 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer  This section provides an overview of GAO's performance and financial information for fiscal year 2017 and outlines GAO's near-term and future work priorities. Introduction This section includes the letter from the Comptroller General and a statement attesting to the completeness and reliability of the performance and financial data in this report and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This section also includes a summary discussion of our mission, strategic planning process, and organizational structure, strategies we use to achieve our goals, and process for assessing our performance. Management's Discussion and Analysis  This section discusses our agency-wide performance results and use of resources in fiscal year 2017. It also includes information on our internal controls and the management challenges and external factors that affect our performance. Performance Information This section includes details on our performance results by strategic goal in fiscal year 2017 and the targets we are aiming for in fiscal year 2018.  Financial Information This section includes details on our finances in fiscal year 2017, including a letter from our Chief Financial Officer, audited financial statements and notes, and the reports from our external auditor and Audit Advisory Committee. This section also includes an explanation of the information each of our financial statements conveys.  Inspector General's View of GAO's Management Challenges  This section includes our Inspector General's perspective on our agency's management challenges.  Appendixes  This section provides the report's abbreviations, describes how we ensure the completeness and reliability of the data for each of our performance measures, and provides the urls used in the report. For more information, contact Timothy Bowling (202) 512-6100 or bowlingt@gao.gov.   Wed, 15 Nov 2017 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-767G This publication supersedes GAO-01-145G, GAO's Congressional Protocols, November 2000, GAO-03-198G, GAO's Congressional Protocols: Addendum I, November 2002, and GAO-04-310G, July 2004, GAO's Congressional Protocols. This document contains updated protocols governing GAO's work for the Congress. Since we implemented the original protocols and the 2004 update, we have identified several areas where changes would enhance our ability to better serve the Congress. The refinements in this edition incorporate feedback from Members of Congress and their staffs. These protocols continue to provide a means of holding GAO accountable for commitments made to the Congress and ensuring that GAO is consistent in dealing with all committees and Members. These revised protocols incorporate name changes of relevant GAO entities; reflect changes to aspects of GAO's process for issuing products; provide the names of the most current GAO contacts; and update methods for receiving information about GAO products. Mon, 17 Jul 2017 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-604T What GAO Found In fiscal year 2016 GAO’s work resulted in a return of $112 for every dollar invested in GAO, generating over $63 billion in financial benefits to the federal government. Implementation of GAO’s recommendations led to 1,234 program and operational improvements across the federal government including many important contributions to enacted budget, appropriations and authorization legislation. GAO reports contained more than 2,000 recommendations across a vast array of areas to foster government efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness on high priority challenges facing Congress and the nation. Congress used GAO’s work to improve agency operations and generate billions in savings. These will result in improved program efficiencies and services through implementation of GAO’s recommendations, including such areas as DOD acquisitions and financial management, services to veterans, management of IT systems, and fraud detection. GAO also continues to draw attention to issues facing Congress and the nation by producing regular updates based on our bodies of work. In February 2017 we issued our biennial high risk report updating Congress on progress made on the 32 areas identified in 2015 and added 3 new areas: (1) Improving Federal Programs that Serve Tribes and their Members; (2) the 2020 Decennial Census; and (3) U.S. Government Environmental Liabilities. In April we issued our seventh annual report on fragmentation, overlap and duplication among federal programs and opportunities to reduce government operations costs or enhance revenues. It identified 79 new actions that Congress and executive branch agencies can take to improve government efficiency and effectiveness. Progress in addressing the 645 actions identified in the six previous years resulted in roughly $136 billion in financial benefits. GAO is requesting a fiscal year 2018 appropriation of $618.2 million to continue to address congressional priorities, and fulfill our mission. This will support a staffing level of 3,100 full-time equivalents (FTE). We expect to offset our funding needs with $27.5 million in reimbursements from program and financial audits, as well as rental income, resulting in a net appropriation request of $590.7 million. In planning fiscal year 2018 resources, GAO recognized several key areas that merit increased attention as additional staffing is made available. Focus in these areas will provide long term benefits to the nation. They include identifying strategies and actions agencies can take to reduce a growing amount, now over $140 billion annually, of improper government payments; finding ways to close the yawning tax gap of over $400 billion dollars annually between taxes owed to the government and total taxes paid; and helping the Congress determine policy implications of increasingly complex and rapidly evolving development of science and technology. Why GAO Did This Study GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We provide nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public, and recommend improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government’s responsibilities. GAO responded to requests from 95 percent of the standing full committees of the Congress in fiscal year 2016. GAO issued 697 reports, 2,071 new recommendations, and testified before congressional committees 119 times. Congress used our work extensively to inform its decisions on key fiscal year 2016 and 2017 legislation. Since fiscal year 2002, GAO’s work has resulted in: • over $750 billion dollars in financial benefits; and • about 19,200 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. GAO remains an employer of choice in the public sector. The Partnership for Public Service announced that GAO is one of the top places to work in the federal government. We improved our scores in 2016, rising to second place among mid-size agencies. We are ranked first for diversity and inclusion. For more information, contact Gene L. Dodaro at (202) 512-5500 or dodarog@gao.gov. Wed, 21 Jun 2017 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/D15599 This document provides a summary of the process and timing of requests to GAO. This quick guide includes information for Congress on making a request, how GAO initiates and designs the audit, preliminary briefings to congressional requesters, agency review, and issuing the report. Fri, 10 Feb 2017 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-2SP This is a summary of GAO's performance and financial information for fiscal year 2016. Mission: The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the Congress, exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We examine the use of public funds; evaluate federal programs and policies; and provide analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help the Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. Organization and Strategic Focus: To fulfill our mission, we organize and manage our resources to support four broad strategic goals. These include three external goals: helping to address challenges to the well-being and financial security of the American people, responding to changing security threats and the challenges of global interdependence, and transforming the federal government to address national challenges. Our fourth strategic goal is an internal goal—to maximize our value by enabling quality, timely service to the Congress and being a leading practices federal agency. Human Capital: We maintain a workforce of highly trained professionals across a breadth of disciplines. In fiscal year 2016, 71 percent of our approximately 3,000 employees were based at our headquarters in Washington, D.C.; the rest were deployed in 11 field offices across the country. Performance: To help determine how well we are meeting the needs of the Congress and the nation and maximizing our value as a leading practices agency, we assess our performance annually using a balanced set of quantitative measures. To establish targets for all of our performance measures, we examine our past performance and the external factors that could influence our future work and discuss with our senior executives what could be accomplished in the upcoming fiscal year. We may adjust these targets after we publish our annual performance plan based on changes in planned work or level of funding. Key annual performance measures that highlight our performance in significant areas related to the implementation of our mission are provided below. Accomplishments: In fiscal year 2016, we met or exceeded the goals we set for all but two of the areas measured. For example, we identified $63.4 billion in financial benefits for the federal government—a return of about $112 for every dollar we spent—and 1,234 improvements in broad program and operational areas across the government. Seventy-three percent of our recommendations were implemented by federal agencies or the Congress (7 percentage points short of our target), and over two-thirds (68 percent) of the products we issued contained recommendations. We testified 119 times before the Congress (our target was 120) on a wide variety of topics, nearly 40 percent of which were on areas considered at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. For people measures, we met one of our targets (retention rate without retirements) and exceeded our targets for the remaining six measures--new hire rate, retention rate with retirements, staff development, staff utilization, effective leadership by supervisors, and organizational climate. Challenges: In fiscal year 2016, we made progress addressing four management challenges—human capital, engagement efficiency, information security, and telework. To address our human capital challenge, we hired staff to fill 221 positions, and reached 2,983 full-time equivalents—making important strides toward meeting our optimal level of 3,250. For engagement efficiency, we continued to streamline engagement processes and systems and conduct outreach with users. For information security, we made upgrades to speed our detection of and response to malicious activity. With regard to telework, we provided staff and managers with thorough telework policies and guidance and mandatory training for managers. Wed, 18 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-1SP Presented is GAO's Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2016. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual report informs the Congress and the American people about what we have achieved on their behalf. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable. This report describes GAO's performance measures, results, and accountability processes for fiscal year 2016. In assessing our performance, we compared actual results against targets and goals that were set in our annual performance plan and performance budget and were developed to help carry out our strategic plan. An overview of our annual measures and targets for 2016 is available here, along with links to a complete set of our strategic planning and performance and accountability reports. This report includes A Fiscal Year 2016 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer, an introduction, four parts, and supplementary appendixes as follows: A Fiscal Year 2016 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer This section provides an overview of GAO's performance and financial information for fiscal year 2016 and outlines GAO's near-term and future work priorities. Introduction This section includes the letter from the Comptroller General and a statement attesting to the completeness and reliability of the performance and financial data in this report and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This section also includes a summary discussion of our mission, strategic planning process, and organizational structure, strategies we use to achieve our goals, and process for assessing our performance. Management's Discussion and Analysis This section discusses our agency-wide performance results and use of resources in fiscal year 2016. It also includes information on our internal controls and the management challenges and external factors that affect our performance. Performance Information This section includes details on our performance results by strategic goal in fiscal year 2016 and the targets we are aiming for in fiscal year 2017. Financial Information This section includes details on our finances in fiscal year 2016, including a letter from our Chief Financial Officer, audited financial statements and notes, and the reports from our external auditor and Audit Advisory Committee. This section also includes an explanation of the information each of our financial statements conveys. Inspector General's View of GAO's Management Challenges This section includes our Inspector General's perspective on our agency's management challenges. Appendixes This section provides the report's abbreviations, describes how we ensure the completeness and reliability of the data for each of our performance measures, and provides the urls used in the report. For more information, contact Timothy Bowling (202) 512-6100 or bowlingt@gao.gov. Tue, 15 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-198CG This is a Comptroller General Presentation delivered to the Northern Illinois University Department of Accountancy Colloquium in DeKalb, IL on October 19, 2016. Major topics of this presentation include: (1) Managing Finances, (2) Leveraging Technology, (3) Adapting to Change, (4) Securing Talent, and (5) Assisting the Upcoming Transition. Wed, 19 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-892CG This is a Comptroller General Presentation delivered to the Midwestern Intergovernmental Audit Forum in Columbus, OH on September 27, 2016. Major topics of this presentation include (1) Managing Finances, (2) Leveraging Technology, (3) Adapting to Change, (4) Securing Talent, and (5) Assisting the Upcoming Transition. Mon, 26 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-533T Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request In fiscal year 2015, GAO's work resulted in an unprecedented return of about $134 for every dollar invested in GAO, generating an estimated $74.7 billion in financial benefits. Implementation of GAO's recommendations also led to 1,286 program and operational improvements across the federal government and many important contributions to budget, appropriations and authorization legislation enacted by the Congress. To address congressional priorities, and fulfill GAO's mission, a talented, diverse, high-performing, knowledgeable workforce is essential. However, a significant proportion of its employees will be retirement eligible by the end of fiscal year 2016, including 42 percent of GAO executive leadership and 25 percent of supervisory analysts. GAO's fiscal year 2017 budget request of $567.8 million in appropriated funds provides the resources to enable GAO to continue rebuilding its staff capacity and make critical investments in its information technology (IT) and security program. GAO expects to offset its costs by $32.4 million in receipts and reimbursements, primarily from financial audits and rental income. This request provides funds to enable GAO to continue rebuilding its staff capacity to achieve a level of 3,100 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in fiscal year 2017 through a robust, targeted recruitment program. GAO plans to bolster entry-level and intern positions to provide a pipeline to help address succession planning and fill critical skill gaps, which will allow GAO to continue to meet the highest congressional priorities and produce financial benefits. GAO also plans to continue addressing succession planning needs through other human capital activities, such as training and development. These efforts will help ensure that GAO is able to recruit and retain a talented, diverse workforce and make progress towards an optimal staffing level of 3,250 FTEs. GAO also plans to make critical investments in its infrastructure operations, by modernizing GAO's aged IT infrastructure in such areas as security, telecommunications, information management systems, and software and hardware, to help improve engagement efficiency, increase staff productivity, enhance access to information, and help reduce operating costs. GAO has again been recognized as an employer of choice. In December 2015, the Partnership for Public Service ranked GAO as one of the best places to work in the federal government. GAO is also ranked number one for its support of diversity, a position GAO has held since 2011. Additional information on the results of GAO's operations and the financial and operational benefits resulting from its work are provided in more detail in GAO's Fiscal Year 2015 Performance and Accountability Report. Background GAO's mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO provides nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public. GAO recommends improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government's responsibilities. GAO continues to provide significant levels of service to the Congress. It responded to requests from 97 percent of the standing full committees, and almost 66 percent of the standing subcommittees of the Congress in fiscal year 2015. GAO issued 688 reports and testified before congressional committees 109 times. Congress used GAO's work in key legislation, including in identifying $30 billion in offsets or revenue enhancements for the fiscal years 2016 and 2017 budget agreement, and in overseeing and reforming government programs in the fiscal year 2016 appropriations bill and numerous authorization bills. Since fiscal year 2003, GAO's work has resulted in: over $600 billion dollars in financial benefits; and over 16,000 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. GAO is requesting a fiscal year 2017 appropriation of $567.8 million to support a staffing level of 3,100 full-time equivalents to rebuild staff capacity, address succession planning, and meet workload needs. For more information contact Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800 or youngc1@gao.gov. Mon, 21 Mar 2016 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-409T Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request In fiscal year 2015, GAO’s work resulted in an unprecedented return of about $134 for every dollar invested in GAO, generating an estimated $74.7 billion in financial benefits. Implementation of GAO’s recommendations also led to 1,286 program and operational improvements across the federal government and many important contributions to budget, appropriations and authorization legislation enacted by the Congress. To address congressional priorities, and fulfill GAO’s mission, a talented, diverse, high-performing, knowledgeable workforce is essential. However, a significant proportion of its employees will be retirement eligible by the end of fiscal year 2016, including 42 percent of GAO executive leadership and 25 percent of supervisory analysts. GAO’s fiscal year 2017 budget request of $567.8 million in appropriated funds provides the resources to enable GAO to continue rebuilding its staff capacity and make critical investments in its information technology (IT) and security program. GAO expects to offset its costs by $32.4 million in receipts and reimbursements, primarily from financial audits and rental income. This request provides funds to enable GAO to continue rebuilding its staff capacity to achieve a level of 3,100 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in fiscal year 2017 through a robust, targeted recruitment program. GAO plans to bolster entry-level and intern positions to provide a pipeline to help address succession planning and fill critical skill gaps, which will allow GAO to continue to meet the highest congressional priorities and produce financial benefits. GAO also plans to continue addressing succession planning needs through other human capital activities, such as training and development. These efforts will help ensure that GAO is able to recruit and retain a talented, diverse workforce and make progress towards an optimal staffing level of 3,250 FTEs. GAO also plans to make critical investments in its infrastructure operations, by modernizing GAO’s aged IT infrastructure in such areas as security, telecommunications, information management systems, and software and hardware, to help improve engagement efficiency, increase staff productivity, enhance access to information, and help reduce operating costs. GAO has again been recognized as an employer of choice. In December 2015, the Partnership for Public Service ranked GAO as one of the best places to work in the federal government. GAO is also ranked number one for its support of diversity, a position GAO has held since 2011. Additional information on the results of GAO’s operations, and the financial and operational benefits resulting from its work, are provided in more detail in GAO’s Fiscal Year 2015 Performance and Accountability Report. Background GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO provides nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public. GAO recommends improvements across the full breadth and scope of the federal government’s responsibilities. GAO continues to provide significant levels of service to the Congress. It responded to requests from 97 percent of the standing full committees, and almost 66 percent of the standing subcommittees of the Congress in fiscal year 2015. GAO issued 688 reports and testified before congressional committees 109 times. Congress used GAO’s work in key legislation, including in identifying $30 billion in offsets or revenue enhancements for the fiscal years 2016 and 2017 budget agreement, and in overseeing and reforming government programs in the fiscal year 2016 appropriations bill and numerous authorization bills. Since fiscal year 2003, GAO’s work has resulted in: over $600 billion dollars in financial benefits; and over 16,000 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. GAO is requesting a fiscal year 2017 appropriation of $567.8 million to support a staffing level of 3,100 full-time equivalents to rebuild staff capacity, address succession planning, and meet workload needs. For more information contact Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800 or youngc1@gao.gov. Tue, 08 Mar 2016 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-4SP This is a summary of GAO's performance and financial information for fiscal year 2015. Mission: The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the Congress, exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We examine the use of public funds; evaluate federal programs and policies; and provide analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help the Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. Organization and Strategic Focus: To fulfill our mission, we organize and manage our resources to support four broad strategic goals. These include three external goals: helping to address challenges to the well-being and financial security of the American people, responding to changing security threats and the challenges of global interdependence, and transforming the federal government to address national challenges. Our fourth strategic goal is an internal goal focused on enhancing our value through improving efficiency, effectiveness, and quality, and resource management. Human Capital: We maintain a workforce of highly trained professionals across a breadth of disciplines. In fiscal year 2015, about 71 percent of our approximately 3,000 employees were based at our headquarters in Washington, D.C.; the rest were deployed in 11 field offices across the country. Performance: To help determine how well we are meeting the needs of the Congress and the nation and maximizing our value as a leading practices agency, we assess our performance annually using a balanced set of quantitative measures. To establish targets for all of our performance measures, we examine our past performance and the external factors that could influence our future work and discuss with our senior executives what could be accomplished in the upcoming fiscal year. We may adjust these targets after we publish our annual performance plan based on changes in planned work or level of funding. Key annual performance measures that highlight our performance in significant areas related to the implementation of our mission are provided below. Accomplishments: In fiscal year 2015, we exceeded the goals we set for all but two of the areas measured. For example, we identified a record high of $74.7 billion in financial benefits for the federal government--a return of about $134 for every dollar we spent--and 1,286 improvements in broad program and operational areas across the government. Seventy-nine percent of our recommendations were implemented by federal agencies or the Congress (1 percentage point short of our target), and about two-thirds (66 percent) of the products we issued contained recommendations. We testified at 109 hearings before the Congress (our target was 130) on a wide variety of topics, nearly a third (29 percent) of which were on areas considered at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. For people measures, we exceeded all 7 of our targets, which include the new hire rate, retention rate (with and without retirements), staff development, staff utilization, effective leadership by supervisors, and organizational climate. Challenges: In fiscal year 2015, we made progress addressing three management challenges--human capital, engagement efficiency, and information security--and added telework as a fourth challenge. In the area of human capital, we recruited for and filled critical positions--primarily hiring new analysts. To improve engagement efficiency, we completed the pilot of our streamlined engagement process and companion new engagement management system and began agency-wide implementation. For information security, we took steps to better protect against inappropriate access to computer resources, including enhanced authentication and updated encryption on mobile devices. Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-417T Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request GAO’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request of $553.1 million supports 3,055 full time equivalent (FTE) staff and continues progress towards achieving an optimal level of 3,250 FTE. The request also provides the resources to maintain current operations and make limited investments in GAO’s information technology (IT) and building infrastructure. Costs will be offset with $33.4 million in reimbursements, primarily from financial audits and rental income. The Congress used GAO’s work extensively in 2014 to identify legislative solutions to emerging problems, achieve cost savings, and find efficiencies in federal agencies and programs. GAO’s work helped Congress achieve some of the billions in savings and revenue enhancements needed to avoid sequestration in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. In addition, GAO’s work was cited repeatedly in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, and contributed to over a dozen key authorizations and reauthorizations, including, among others, the Department of Defense, the Coast Guard, workforce programs, and agriculture programs. GAO’s work also contributed to bills intended to improve veteran’s health care, federal acquisitions of information technology and weapons systems, and transparency of federal programs. In addition to the $54.4 billion in financial benefits from GAO’s work, during fiscal year 2014, we recorded over 1,200 program and operational improvements in numerous areas affecting public safety and security and the efficient and effective functioning of government programs, including: • cybersecurity governance; • oversight of international food aid; • security of diplomatic facilities and personnel overseas; • sharing of terrorism-related information with federal and non-federal partners; and •  the future of nanomanufacturing, including research and development, U.S. competitiveness, and environmental, health, and safety concerns. Workforce and succession planning also remain a priority for GAO. In FY 2015, GAO plans to achieve a staffing level of 3,015 FTEs through a targeted recruiting strategy to address critical skills gaps. This is a positive step forward in rebuilding staff capacity which in recent years had fallen to the lowest level since 1935. The additional staff will help ensure GAO has the resources to assist Congress in improving government performance, effectiveness, and accountability, as well as support GAO’s commitment to service and quality. GAO’s limited investments in IT and building infrastructure will allow GAO to further streamline business operations, increase staff productivity, as well as improve access to information. Implementation will be done through a phased approach to reduce risk and ensure effective implementation. Background GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO provides nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to Congress, federal agencies, and to the public and recommends improvements, when appropriate, across the full breadth and scope of the federal government’s responsibilities. GAO’s work supports a broad range of interests throughout Congress. In fiscal year 2014, GAO received requests for our work from 94 percent of the standing committees of Congress and almost 70 percent of their subcommittees. Additionally, senior GAO officials testified 129 times on a wide range of issues that touched virtually all major federal agencies. GAO remains one of the best investments in the federal government, and GAO’s dedicated staff continues to deliver high quality results. In fiscal year 2014 alone, GAO’s work yielded $54.4 billion in financial benefits – a return of about $100 for every dollar invested in GAO. Since fiscal year 2003, GAO’s work has resulted in: • over ½ trillion dollars in financial benefits; and • about 15,800 program and operational benefits that helped to change laws, improve public services, and promote sound management throughout government. These results are a reflection of the dedication and hard work of GAO’s staff. GAO has again been recognized as an employer of choice, and continues to be ranked near the top on "best places to work" lists. In December 2014 the Partnership for Public Service ranked GAO second among mid-size agencies as one of the best places to work in the federal government. For more information contact Office of Public Affairs at (202) 512-4800 or youngc1@gao.gov Tue, 10 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-2SP This is a summary of GAO’s performance and financial information for fiscal year 2014. Mission: The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the Congress, exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We examine the use of public funds; evaluate federal programs and policies; and provide analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help the Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. Organization and Strategic Focus: To fulfill our mission, we organize and manage our resources to support four broad strategic goals. These include three external goals: helping to address challenges to the well-being and financial security of the American people, responding to changing security threats and the challenges of global interdependence, and transforming the federal government to address national challenges. Our fourth strategic goal is an internal goal focused on enhancing our value through improving efficiency, effectiveness, and quality, and resource management. Human Capital: We maintain a workforce of highly trained professionals across a breadth of disciplines. In fiscal year 2014, about 71 percent of our approximately 3,000 employees were based at our headquarters in Washington, D.C.; the rest were deployed in 11 field offices across the country. Accomplishments: In fiscal year 2014, we exceeded the goals we set for all but two of the areas measured. For example, we identified $54.4 billion in financial benefits for the federal government--a return of about $100 for every dollar we spent--and 1,288 improvements in broad program and operational areas across the government. Seventy-eight percent of our recommendations were implemented by federal agencies or the Congress (2 percentage points short of our target), and about two-thirds (64 percent) of the products we issued contained recommendations. We testified at 129 hearings before the Congress (our target was 130) on a wide variety of topics, a third of which were on areas considered at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. For people measures, we exceeded all 7 of our targets, which include the new hire rate, retention rate (with and without retirements), staff development, staff utilization, effective leadership by supervisors, and organizational climate. Challenges: In fiscal year 2014, we continued to address two management challenges--human capital and engagement efficiency. In the area of human capital, we recruited for and filled critical positions and completed implementation of both our enhanced telework pilots in all 11 field offices and our new performance-based compensation system. In the area of engagement efficiency, we continued to make significant progress to improve how we manage and conduct engagements, use our resources, and communicate the message of our work. To help determine how well we are meeting the needs of the Congress and the nation and maximizing our value as a leading practices agency, we assess our performance annually using a balanced set of quantitative measures. Below are the key annual performance measures that highlight our performance in significant areas related to the implementation of our mission. To establish targets for all of our performance measures, we examine our past performance and the external factors that could influence our future work and discuss with our senior executives what could be accomplished in the upcoming fiscal year. We may adjust these targets after we publish our annual performance plan based on changes in planned work or level of funding. Tue, 17 Feb 2015 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-2SP This is GAO’s summary of the Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2011. Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-1040CG This is a Comptroller General presentation delivered to the Federal Enterprise Risk Management Summit in Arlington, Virginia on September 17, 2012. Major topics of this presentation include mission goals for strategic planning framework, threats confronting U.S. national security interests, cybersecurity, fiscal sustainability and debt challenges, and recession affecting the federal budget. Sun, 16 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-1036CG This is a Comptroller General presentation delivered to the DOD OIG Conference in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2012. Major topics of this presentation include GAO report on the IG community, enhanced IG independence, fiscal sustainability and debt challenges, mandate for GAO duplication reviews, and GAO's high-risk list. Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-988CG This is a Comptroller General Presentation delivered to the American Bar Association in Chicago, IL, on August 4, 2012. Major topics of this presentation include: threats confronting U.S. national security interests, fiscal sustainability and debt challenges, annual report on duplication, overlap, and fragmentation, economic recovery and restored growth, shifting roles in government and governance, and GAO's role in evaluating the implementation of the Modernization Act. Sat, 04 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-456T This testimony discusses the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2013. We very much appreciate the confidence Congress has shown in our efforts to help support the Congress in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve government performance and accountability for the benefit of the American people.GAO is requesting an appropriation of $526.2 million for FY 2013 to support a staffing level of 3,100. This funding level represents a modest increase of 2.9 percent over FY 2012, and is 5.4 percent below our FY 2010 level. The majority of the requested increase represents the first step in rebuilding our staff capacity to a level that will enable us to optimize the benefits we yield for the Congress and the nation.GAO’s work directly contributes to improvements in a broad array of federal programs affecting Americans everywhere and remains one of the best investments across the federal government. With this committee’s support, in FY 2011 GAO provided assistance to every standing congressional committee and about 70 percent of their subcommittees. GAO issues hundreds of products annually in response to congressional requests and mandates. Actions taken related to our findings and recommendations yielded significant results across the government, including financial benefits of $45.7 billion to reduce government expenditures, reallocate funds to more productive areas, or increase revenues. These benefits produced a return on investment of $81 for every dollar invested in GAO.GAO senior officials testified 174 times before the Congress on an array of complex issues including military and veterans disability systems, U.S. Postal Service fiscal sustainability, defense/weapons systems, and Medicare and Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse. Fifty-seven of these hearings were related to high-risk areas and programs highlighted in GAO’s biennial high-risk report. As the Congress and the administration debate ways to improve the federal government’s long-term fiscal outlook, our mission becomes ever more critical to help identify billions of dollars in cost-saving opportunities to tighten federal budgets and identify revenue-enhancement opportunities. GAO seeks both to help position the government to better manage risks that could compromise the nation’s security, health, and solvency, and to identify opportunities for managing government resources wisely for a more sustainable future. GAO will continue to provide high-quality, high-value, and independent support to the Congress in ways that generate material benefits to the nation. GAO’s High-risk Program calls attention to opportunities for cost savings and improvements in federal agency and program management that offer the potential to save billions of dollars, dramatically improve service to the public, and strengthen confidence and trust in the performance and accountability of the U.S. government. In FY 2011, our work also included several products mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act on mortgages, securities markets, financial institutions, the Federal Reserve, and consumer protection. Additionally, our work included many other products related to health-care related reforms.As the Congress and the administration debate ways to improve the federal government’s long-term fiscal outlook, our mission becomes ever more critical to help identify billions of dollars in cost-saving opportunities to tighten federal budgets and identify revenue-enhancement opportunities. GAO seeks both to help position the government to better manage risks that could compromise the nation’s security, health, and solvency, and to identify opportunities for managing government resources wisely for a more sustainable future. GAO will continue to provide high-quality, high-value, and independent support to the Congress in ways that generate material benefits to the nation.GAO’s strategic plan for serving the Congress and the nation, 2010-2015, highlights the broad scope of our efforts to help the institution of the Congress respond to domestic and international challenges, such asaddressing current and emerging challenges to the well-being and financial security of the American people;responding to changing security threats and the challenges of global interdependence;helping transform the federal government to address national challenges; andmaximizing the value of GAO by enabling quality, timely service to the Congress and being a leading practices federal agency. Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-463SP This report presents the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2013. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual plan informs the Congress and the American people about what we expect to accomplish on their behalf in the coming fiscal year. It sets forth our plan to make progress toward achieving our strategic goals for serving the Congress and the American people. This framework not only shows the relationship between our strategic goals and strategic objectives, but also show major themes that could potentially affect our work. Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-455T This testimony discusses the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2013. GAO very much appreciates the confidence Congress has shown in the efforts to help support the Congress in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve government performance and accountability for the benefit of the American people.GAO is requesting an appropriation of $526.2 million for FY 2013 to support a staffing level of 3,100. This funding level represents a modest increase of 2.9 percent over FY 2012, and is 5.4 percent below our FY 2010 level. The majority of the requested increase represents the first step in rebuilding our staff capacity to a level that will enable us to optimize the benefits we yield for the Congress and the nation.We have carefully reviewed every aspect of our operations from a zero base to identify opportunities to reduce costs without sacrificing the quality of our work and preserving our ability to assist the Congress in addressing the most important priorities facing the nation. However, given that staff costs now represent about 81 percent of our budget and the deep reductions already taken in our infrastructure programs, reducing the size of our workforce could not be avoided. By the end of FY 2012, for the first time in over 75 years, GAO’s staffing level will drop below 3,000 staff, resulting in a net reduction of 11 percent in our staff capacity, or 365 people, in only a 2-year period.GAO’s work directly contributes to improvements in a broad array of federal programs affecting Americans everywhere and remains one of the best investments across the federal government. With this committee’s support, in FY 2011, GAO provided assistance to every standing congressional committee and about 70 percent of their subcommittees. GAO issues hundreds of products annually in response to congressional requests and mandates. Our work yielded significant results across the government, including financial benefits of $45.7 billion—a return on investment of $81 for every dollar invested in GAO. Our findings and recommendations produce measurable financial benefits for the federal government, enabled through the actions of Congress and Executive Branch agencies, ultimately making funds available to reduce government expenditures, reallocate funds to more productive areas, or increase revenues. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-5SP This is GAO’s summary of the Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2011. The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the Congress, exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help the Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions.To fulfill our mission, we organize and manage our resources to support four broad strategic goals. These include helping to address challenges to the well-being and financial security of the American people, responding to changing security threats and global interdependence, and transforming the federal government to address national challenges. Strategic goal 4 is an internal goal focused on enhancing GAO’s value through improving its efficiency, effectiveness, and quality, and institutional stewardship and resource management.GAO maintains a workforce of highly trained professionals across a breadth of academic and scientific disciplines. In fiscal year 2011, about three-quarters of the approximately 3,200 employees were based at GAO headquarters in Washington, D.C.; the rest were deployed in 11 field offices across the country.In fiscal year 2011, we met or exceeded 13 of our 15 annual performance targets by, for example, identifying $45.7 billion in financial benefits for the federal government—a return of $81 for every dollar we spent—and 1,318 improvements in broad program and operational areas across the government. The rate at which our recommendations were implemented by federal agencies or the Congress was 80 percent, and over two-thirds of the products issued contained recommendations. We did not meet our testimony target but testified at 174 hearings before the Congress on topics across our body of work, a third of which were on areas considered at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. For people measures, we met or exceeded all but our new hire rate.In fiscal year 2011, we continued to address three management challenges—physical security, information security, and human capital. For example, we made significant progress on design of a new performance management system. For fiscal year 2012, we have removed physical and information security based on progress in those areas, identified several high-priority actions in the human capital area, and identified a new challenge related to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our engagements. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-4SP Presented is GAO's Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2011. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual report informs the Congress and the American people about what we have achieved on their behalf. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable. Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-479CG This is a Comptroller General Presentation delivered to the House Democracy Partnership: Members of Parliament from Indonesia, Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan in Washington, D.C. on March 31, 2011. Major topics of this presentation include: who we are and how we do our work, demand for service and impact of work, and the importance of collaboration and capacity building. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-467T This testimony discusses the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) budget request for fiscal year 2012. In fiscal year 2010, GAO provided assistance to every standing congressional committee and 70 percent of their subcommittees. Our work yielded significant results across the government, including financial benefits of $49.9 billion--a return on investment of $87 for every dollar invested in GAO. In addition, we documented over 1,300 other benefits resulting from our work that helped improve services to the public, promote improved management throughout government and change laws, such as the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010. Recently, we issued two major reports that underscore GAO's continuing value in helping Congress and the Administration reduce costs and improve government, particularly in a time of reduced resources. First, on March 1, 2011, we detailed 81 opportunities to reduce duplication, overlap, or fragmentation. These opportunities span a range of federal government mission areas such as agriculture, defense, economic development, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, and social services. Within and across these missions, our report touches on hundreds of federal programs, affecting virtually all major federal departments and agencies. By reducing or eliminating unnecessary duplication, overlap, or fragmentation and by addressing the other cost-saving and revenue-enhancing opportunities contained in the report, the federal government could save tens of billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services. Second, our High Risk update issued on February 17, 2011 identified 30 federal areas and programs at risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, and those in need of broad-based transformation. Solutions to high-risk problems offer the potential to save billions of dollars, dramatically improve service to the public, and strengthen confidence and trust in the performance and accountability of the U.S. Government.Looking ahead to fiscal year 2012, GAO is acutely aware of our dual responsibilities in a time of fiscal austerity. First, the Congress has rightly come to rely upon GAO to help identify billions of dollars in cost-saving opportunities to tighten federal budgets or to point out revenue enhancement opportunities. We know our mission becomes ever more critical when the nation faces difficult financial times. But second, GAO must also ensure it meets this responsibility while implementing all possible cost savings in its own operations without diminishing our traditionally high-quality work that lays the foundation for critical decision-making and oversight by the Congress. Accordingly, we are seeking only to maintain our fiscal year 2010 funding level of $556.8 million in fiscal year 2012 and plan to maintain our current authorized staffing levels. While operating at this funding level with no increase poses challenges, GAO is committed to reducing our own costs as much as possible in order to absorb the additional demands and increasing costs of the coming year without additional resources. Our budget request attempts to balance tradeoffs and assumes that we will be able to manage at reduced funding levels, and try to maintain our staffing levels to provide insightful analyses on the most important priorities for congressional oversight and decision making. However, if GAO's funding is reduced below the requested level, more drastic measures would be needed, such as reductions in our staff capacity, which would result in increased delays in responding to congressional requests, limit our ability to provide timely responses to support congressional oversight, and reduce the number of requests that we could complete. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-453T This testimony discusses the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) budget request for fiscal year 2012. In fiscal year 2010, GAO provided assistance to every standing congressional committee and 70 percent of their subcommittees. Our work yielded significant results across the government, including financial benefits of $49.9 billion--a return on investment of $87 for every dollar invested in GAO. In addition, we documented over 1,300 other benefits resulting from our work that helped improve services to the public, promote improved management throughout government and change laws, such as the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010.Recently, we issued two major reports that underscore GAO's continuing value in helping Congress and the Administration reduce costs and improve government, particularly in a time of reduced resources. First, on March 1, 2011, we detailed 81 opportunities to reduce duplication, overlap, or fragmentation. These opportunities span a range of federal government mission areas such as agriculture, defense, economic development, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, and social services. Within and across these missions, our report touches on hundreds of federal programs, affecting virtually all major federal departments and agencies. By reducing or eliminating unnecessary duplication, overlap, or fragmentation and by addressing the other cost-saving and revenue-enhancing opportunities contained in the report, the federal government could save tens of billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services. Second, our High Risk update issued on February 17, 2011 identified 30 federal areas and programs at risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, and those in need of broad-based transformation. Solutions to high-risk problems offer the potential to save billions of dollars, dramatically improve service to the public, and strengthen confidence and trust in the performance and accountability of the U. S. Government. Looking ahead to fiscal year 2012, GAO is acutely aware of our dual responsibilities in a time of fiscal austerity. First, the Congress has rightly come to rely upon GAO to help identify billions of dollars in cost-saving opportunities to tighten federal budgets or to point out revenue enhancement opportunities. We know our mission becomes ever more critical when the nation faces difficult financial times. But second, GAO must also ensure it meets this responsibility while implementing all possible cost savings in its own operations without diminishing our traditionally high-quality work that lays the foundation for critical decision-making and oversight by the Congress. Accordingly, we are seeking only to maintain our fiscal year 2010 funding level of $556.8 million in fiscal year 2012 and plan to maintain our current authorized staffing levels. While operating at this funding level with no increase poses challenges, GAO is committed to reducing our own costs as much as possible in order to absorb the additional demands and increasing costs of the coming year without additional resources. Our budget request attempts to balance tradeoffs and assumes that we will be able to manage at reduced funding levels, and try to maintain our staffing levels to provide insightful analyses on the most important priorities for congressional oversight and decision making. However, if GAO's funding is reduced below the requested level, more drastic measures would be needed, such as reductions in our staff capacity, which would result in increased delays in responding to congressional requests, limit our ability to provide timely responses to support congressional oversight, and reduce the number of requests that we could complete. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-343SP This report presents the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2012. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual plan informs the Congress and the American people about what we expect to accomplish on their behalf in the coming fiscal year. It sets forth our plan to make progress toward achieving our strategic goals for serving the Congress and the American people. This framework not only shows the relationship between our strategic goals and strategic objectives, but also show major themes that could potentially affect our work. Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-3SP This report presents the highlights of GAO's fiscal year 2010 Performance and Accountability Report. The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the Congress, exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help the Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. To fulfill its mission, GAO organizes and manages its resources to support four broad strategic goals. These include helping to address challenges to the well-being and financial security of the American people, responding to changing security threats and global interdependence, and transforming the federal government to address national challenges. Strategic goal 4 is an internal goal focused on enhancing GAO's value through improving its efficiency, effectiveness, and quality, and institutional stewardship and resource management. GAO maintains a workforce of highly trained professionals across a breadth of academic and scientific disciplines. About three-quarters of the approximately 3,200 employees are based at GAO headquarters in Washington, D.C.; the rest are deployed in 11 field offices across the country.In fiscal year 2010, GAO met or exceeded 14 of its 15 annual performance targets by, for example, identifying $49.9 billion in financial benefits--a return of $87 for every dollar GAO spent--and 1,361 improvements in laws and government programs and operations. The rate at which GAO's recommendations were implemented by federal agencies or the Congress was 82 percent, and over two-thirds of the products issued contained recommendations. GAO did not meet its testimony target but testified at 192 hearings before the Congress on a variety of topics across its body of work, over a third of which were on areas considered at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. Results for people measures, such as staff development and organizational climate, also met or exceeded targets. Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-2SP Presented is GAO's performance and accountability report for fiscal year 2010. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual report informs the Congress and the American people about what we have achieved on their behalf. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable. Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-746R The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) mandates GAO to review states' and localities' use of funds made available under the act. Since April 2009, GAO has published bimonthly reports on our findings related to federal, state, and local implementation of the Recovery Act. Currently, we are examining the efforts of selected states and local educational agencies (LEA) to ensure appropriate uses of Recovery Act funds. In North Carolina, we have been reviewing efforts undertaken by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and selected LEAs to administer and oversee the use of Recovery Act funds under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) education stabilization funds; Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA Title I), as amended; and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); as amended. As part of this effort, we met with various DPI staff and, from February 1 through 3, 2010, we visited Avery County Schools (ACS) to review and test the adequacy of controls and procedures in place pertaining to Recovery Act funds for these three federal programs. During our visit, we interviewed finance and program officials regarding internal controls, procurement procedures, and use of Recovery Act education funds. We also reviewed a nonstatistical sample of 13 expenditures of Recovery Act funds for goods and services under these three programs. As of January 27, 2010, ACS spent about $755,000 in Recovery Act funds. We primarily focused our work on two expenditures in our sample that ACS officials reported as their largest Recovery Act nonsalary expenditures. These two expenditures totaled nearly $105,000. We conducted our work from February 1, 2010, to April 20, 2010, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. The purpose of this report is to bring to the attention of DPI our findings related to ACS.In the course of our work, we observed that ACS has an internal control system in place for processing purchasing documents and payments of invoices. However, we found a weakness in the procurement processes related to the Recovery Act expenditures that we reviewed. Specifically, we found the following: For its two largest Recovery Act purchases, ACS staff could not provide documentation to show that the district obtained multiple bids or price quotes for contracts for goods and services. ACS's two largest purchases with Recovery Act funds were for student assessment software and handheld computer devices entitled "Wireless Generation" that were purchased with ESEA Title I and IDEA Part B Recovery Act funds for $91,058.98 and a teacher planning software and professional development package entitled "Rubicon" for which the district used $13,680.00 of its ESEA Title I Recovery Act funds. Regarding both purchases, ACS officials acknowledged that their procurement processes were not in compliance with state management directives for Recovery Act funds or with ACS's purchasing policy, at the time, to solicit bids or obtain price quotes for purchases costing $10,000 or more. For these two contracts, ACS officials did not maintain documentation of multiple bids or price quotes for contracts purchased with Recovery Act funds. ACS officials provided what appeared to be two conflicting justifications for electing not to follow the above-referenced state management directives. Officials said that one reason they did not obtain multiple price bids or quotes was that they considered aspects of the contracts to be "purchased services" (i.e., software subscriptions), which are not required to be competed under the LEA's purchasing policy. However, ACS officials also said that the district did not obtain multiple price quotes for the equipment associated with the "Wireless Generation" purchase because they believed that only one vendor could provide the service and equipment. Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-747R The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) mandates GAO to review states' and localities' use of funds made available under the act. Currently, we are examining the efforts of selected states and local educational agencies (LEA) to ensure appropriate uses of Recovery Act funds. In North Carolina, we have been reviewing efforts undertaken by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and selected LEAs to administer and oversee the use of Recovery Act funds under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) education stabilization funds; Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA Title I), as amended; and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended. According to Education regulations, grant funds may only be used for allowable costs and reasonable fees or profit to cost-type contractors, and state and local governments must follow the cost principles set out in OMB Circular No. A-87 for determining allowable costs. North Carolina's Office of Economic Recovery & Investment (OERI) issued management directives regarding the use of Recovery Act funds for procurement of goods and services. According to state officials, OERI directives require recipients of Recovery Act funds to advertise contracts for $5,000 or more and obtain multiple bids or price quotes for Recovery Act procurements.Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS) expended $38,400 of ESEA Title I funds on a program that included some expenses that appeared to constitute entertainment, a potentially unallowable use of these funds. WSFCS officials told us that the LEA paid ESEA Title I Recovery Act funds to the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem (HAWS) for a 2009 summer educational program for students entitled the "Summer Teaching Enrichment Program" (STEP). According to STEP officials, the ESEA Title I funds comprised the majority of STEP's 2009 budget, which also included funding from a local corporation and the local police department. WSFCS and STEP officials described the program as providing remedial academic assistance in reading, math, science, and technology to help students retain educational gains over the summer months. Furthermore, the WSFCS Superintendent said that the district's arrangement with the STEP program was to use district funds to pay only for teachers' salaries, and that other sources of funds would be used to pay for noneducational activities. HAWS officials said that they were instructed by a WSFCS official to make sure that all of the children enrolled in the program attended ESEA Title I schools and that they obtained confirmation from the district that all of the children did so. In our review of documents, we found evidence that in addition to paying teachers a total of $17,270 in salaries, HAWS also used ESEA Title I funds to pay for STEP activities that included other salaries and field trip-related expenses, including tickets for movies, a water park, fast food, and other entertainment. The invoice that HAWS provided to WSFCS lacked supporting documentation for the full range of activities paid with ESEA Title I funds. Instead, payment was made at a rate of $800 per child attending the program, but no attendance records were provided in support of the invoice. WSFCS staff could not provide documentation to show that the district obtained multiple bids or price quotes for contracts for goods and services. WSFCS officials also could not provide us with documentation of the district having obtained multiple bids or price quotes for contracts for services. WSFCS officials also acknowledged that for at least one contract, they were not in compliance with WSFCS's purchasing policy to solicit bids/price quotes for purchases of items costing more than $5,000 but less than $90,000. Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-811SP As required by section 11 of the GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2004 (Pub. L. No. 108-271), GAO is providing its final report not later than 6 years after the date of the Act's enactment. This report provides, as required by the Act, (1) a summary of the information included in GAO's annual reports for the fiscal year 2005 through 2009 reporting cycle for sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10; (2) recommendations for any legislative changes to sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10; and (3) any assessment furnished by the GAO Personnel Appeals Board or any interested groups or associations representing officers and employees of GAO. Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400