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By positively confirming identifications and linking relevant records of arrests and prosecutions, fingerprint analysis provides a basis for making fundamental criminal justice decisions regarding detention, charging, bail, and sentencing. In 1999, the FBI implemented the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS)--a computerized system for storing, comparing, and exchanging fingerprint data in a digital format. The FBI's goal under IAFIS is to ultimately achieve paperless processing and to provide a response within 2 hours to users who submit criminal fingerprints electronically. Maximizing the benefits of rapid responses under IAFIS depends largely on how quickly criminal fingerprints are submitted by local and state law enforcement agencies. Concerns have been raised that, after arrests are made by some local or state law enforcement agencies, periods of up to 6 months may elapse before the criminal fingerprints are submitted for entry into IAFIS. GAO examined (1) the importance of IAFIS processing to local and state law enforcement agencies, (2) the progress these agencies have made toward the goal of paperless fingerprint processing, and (3) efforts being made to improve the timeliness of criminal fingerprint submissions. IAFIS processing of criminal fingerprints is important to local and state law enforcement not only for updating national databases but also for obtaining an individual's criminal history and, at times, for obtaining positive identification of arrestees. For a recent 8-month period (October 2002 through May 2003) that GAO reviewed, law enforcement agencies wanted a response from the FBI for 78 percent of the approximately 5.3 million sets of criminal fingerprints submitted to IAFIS. The extent to which these responses were used to either positively identify arrestees or obtain criminal history records is unknown. However, the FBI provided GAO with examples of how IAFIS responses prevented the premature release of individuals who had used false names at arrest and were wanted in other jurisdictions. Law enforcement agencies have made progress toward the FBI's goal of paperless processing of criminal fingerprints, although there is room for substantial improvement. The percentage of criminal fingerprints submitted electronically by state repositories to the FBI increased from 45 percent in 1999 to 70 percent in 2003. Also, for the recent 8-month period GAO reviewed, the overall average submission time for criminal fingerprints was 40 days (an average that encompasses both paper and electronic submissions)--whereas, before IAFIS, average submission times were much higher (e.g., 118 days in 1997). Although much progress has been made, many jurisdictions lack automation and have backlogs of paper fingerprint cards to be processed, in part because of competing priorities and resource constraints. Numerous efforts have been made to help improve the timeliness of criminal fingerprint submissions to IAFIS. To facilitate electronic processing, federal technical and financial assistance has encouraged law enforcement agencies to purchase optical scanning (Livescan) equipment for taking fingerprints and to establish automated systems compatible with FBI standards. GAO noted that the need for quick, fingerprint-based identifications--positively linking individuals to relevant criminal history records--is becoming increasingly important. Reasons for such importance are the mobility of criminals (many of whom have multistate records), the growing incidence of identity theft or identity fraud, the significance of homeland security concerns, and increasing demands stemming from background checksrequired for employment or other noncriminal justice purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the tax filing season, millions of taxpayers file their returns and seek assistance by calling or visiting IRS's offices or Web site. GAO was asked to assess IRS's 2003 filing season performance in five areas: processing returns, refunds and remittances; electronic filing; telephone service; walk-in assistance, and Web site. We assessed for each of those five areas (1) IRS's performance in 2003, including any factors that helped or impeded its efforts, (2) any new initiatives that were intended to improve IRS's performance in 2003, and (3) IRS's performance over past filing seasons. Available data for each of five key filing season activities indicates that IRS's performance showed some improvements in 2003 compared to 2002 and IRS met or exceeded many of its 2003 performance goals. IRS processed returns and issued refunds more timely and accurately and increased the rate of electronic filing, although not at a rate that would allow IRS to meet its long-term goal. While IRS provided significantly more accessible telephone service, the accuracy rate of IRS responses declined. The accuracy of tax law assistance provided at walk-in sites improved, although the number of taxpayers assisted at IRS's walk-in sites declined, in part because taxpayers made greater use of the return-preparation assistance offered by volunteer organizations. In addition, IRS did not consolidate or disseminate data on how long taxpayers waited for walk-in assistance, making it difficult to balance quality and service. Finally, IRS's Web site performed well and was more user friendly than last year. IRS attributes improved performance, in part, to (1) fewer tax law changes that affected taxpayers and (2) continued emphasis on performance measures, a key part of IRS's strategy to improve its performance in processing returns and providing taxpayer assistance. IRS implemented initiatives in 2003 intended to improve filing season performance. For example, IRS entered into an agreement with a consortium of 17 tax preparation companies to offer free on-line tax preparation, established new toll-free telephone numbers to better target different taxpayers, and began certifying walk-in staff to answer tax law questions. Over a longer period of time, available data, although limited in some areas, also show that IRS's filing season performance has improved. Since the mid-1990s, the growth of electronic filing has allowed IRS to close one paper processing center and the accuracy and accessibility of telephone assistance has improved. While the Congress and taxpayers expect further progress, the improvements to date are a payoff from IRS's ongoing modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ineffective oversight and management of the Department of Defense's (DOD) travel card program, which GAO previously reported on, have led to concerns about airline tickets DOD purchased but did not use and for which it did not claim refunds. GAO was asked to (1) determine whether, and to what extent, airline tickets purchased through the centrally billed accounts were unused and not refunded and (2) determine whether DOD's internal controls provided reasonable assurance that all unused tickets were identified and submitted for refunds. Control breakdowns over the centrally billed accounts resulted in DOD paying for airline tickets that were not used and not processed for refund. DOD was not aware of this problem before our audit and did not maintain data on unused tickets. We determined, based on airline data, that DOD had purchased--primarily in fiscal years 2001 and 2002--about 58,000 tickets with a residual (unused) value of more than $21 million that remained unused and not refunded as of October 2003. We also identified more than 81,000 partially unused airline tickets with a purchase price of about $62 million that will require additional analysis to determine the residual value. Based on further analysis of the limited data, it is possible that DOD purchased at least $100 million in airline tickets that it did not use and for which it did not claim refunds from fiscal years 1997 through 2003. Although GAO asked DOD's five most frequently used airlines for fiscal year 2001 and 2002 unused ticket data, the airlines did not provide uniform, complete, or consistent responses. For example, one airline did not provide partially unused ticket data, another airline's fiscal year 2001 data covered only September 2001, while yet another airline provided data on electronic tickets dating back to November 1998. Although additional data on unused tickets may be available from the airlines' archives, our attempts to obtain additional information were unsuccessful. DOD's unused ticket problems were caused by a flawed process that relied extensively on DOD personnel to report unused tickets to the travel offices. Although it appears that many unused tickets were processed for a refund, the internal controls DOD had in place did not detect millions of dollars of unused airline tickets. Specifically, DOD did not systematically implement compensating procedures to identify instances in which DOD personnel did not report unused tickets, or reconcile the centrally billed accounts to travel claims to determine whether airline tickets were used. Although some units had instituted a process by fiscal year 2002 to more systematically identify instances of unused tickets, the process was not implemented DOD-wide, DOD did not verify that units were consistently implementing the process, and the process could only identify unused electronic--not paper--tickets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 1997, the United States and 37 other nations adopted the Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. They agreed in principle to significantly reduce their future greenhouse gas emissions. The advice of and consent of the Senate would be needed to commit the United States to the emissions reductions. Whether the Senate should take that step has been widely debated, mainly because the reductions could be costly to the U.S. economy and their effectiveness in addressing the problem of global climate change has been questioned. GAO convened a panel of experts in December 1998 to discuss the issues surrounding the Kyoto Protocol. GAO also prepared a background paper on ensuring compliance with international environmental agreements. GAO is publishing that background paper as a staff study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers the federal crop insurance program in partnership with private insurers. In 2006, the program cost $3.5 billion, including millions in losses from fraud, waste, and abuse, according to USDA. The Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 granted RMA authority to renegotiate the terms of RMA's standard reinsurance agreement with companies once over 5 years. This testimony is based on GAO's 2005 report, Crop Insurance: Actions Needed to Reduce Program's Vulnerability to Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, and May 2007 testimony, Crop Insurance: Continuing Efforts Are Needed to Improve Program Integrity and Ensure Program Costs Are Reasonable. GAO discusses (1) USDA's processes to address fraud, waste, and abuse; (2) extent the program's design makes it vulnerable to abuse; and (3) reasonableness of underwriting gains and other expenses. USDA agreed with most of GAO's 2005 recommendations to improve program integrity. GAO reported that RMA did not use all available tools to reduce the crop insurance program's vulnerability to fraud, waste, and abuse. RMA has since taken some steps to improve its procedures. In particular: (1) USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) inspections during the growing season were not being used to maximum effect. Between 2001 and 2004, FSA conducted only 64 percent of the inspections RMA requested. Without inspections, farmers may falsely claim crop losses. However, FSA said it could not conduct all requested inspections, as GAO recommended, because of insufficient resources. RMA now provides information more frequently so FSA can conduct timelier inspections. (2) RMA's data analysis of the largest farming operations was incomplete. In 2003, about 21,000 of the largest farming operations did not report all of the individuals or entities with an ownership interest in these operations, as required. Therefore, RMA was unaware of ownership interests that could help it prevent potential program abuse. FSA and RMA started sharing information to identify such individuals or entities, but have stopped temporarily to resolve producer privacy issues. USDA should recover up to $74 million in improper payments made during 2003. (3) RMA was not effectively overseeing insurance companies' efforts to control program abuse. According to GAO's review of 120 cases, companies did not complete all the required quality assurance reviews of claims, and those that were conducted were largely paper exercises. RMA agreed to improve oversight of their reviews, but GAO has not followed up to examine its implementation. RMA's regulations to implement the crop insurance program, as well as some statutory requirements, create design problems that hinder its efforts to reduce abuse. For example, the regulations allow farmers to insure fields individually rather than together. As such, farmers can "switch" reporting of yield among fields to make false claims or build up a... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently began a 6-year, $425 million program called Sentinel to replace and expand on both its failed Virtual Case File (VCF) project and its antiquated, paper-based, legacy system for supporting mission-critical intelligence analysis and investigative case management activities. Because of the FBI's experience with VCF and the importance of Sentinel, GAO was requested to address a number of program management issues associated with acquiring Sentinel via a prime development contractor. This report focuses on one of these issues: whether the FBI is adequately providing for the program's human capital needs. The findings are based on GAO's review of relevant program documentation, interviews with program officials, and human capital management guidance. To its credit, the FBI has moved quickly to staff its Sentinel program office. During the last year, it created a staffing plan for Sentinel, which defines the positions needed for the program, and it has filled most of the positions in the plan, primarily by using contract staff (77 percent). However, a few key program management positions remain to be filled. More importantly, the Sentinel staffing plan addresses only the program office's immediate staffing needs. It does not provide for the kind of strategic human capital management focus that GAO's research and evaluations have shown to be essential to the success of any organizational entity. For example, the staffing plan was not derived using a documented, data-driven methodology and does not provide for inventorying the knowledge and skills of existing staff, forecasting future knowledge and skill needs, analyzing gaps in capabilities between the existing staff and future workforce needs, (including consideration of expected succession needs), and formulating strategies for filling expected gaps. Exacerbating this situation is that the FBI is not proactively managing Sentinel human capital availability as a program risk; it has not included human capital in the program's risk inventory nor has it developed and implemented a proactive risk mitigation strategy, even though program documents cite human capital as both a challenge and a risk. According to program officials, they plan to manage their human capital needs in the same way as when they initially staffed the program office, in part because the bureau's IT system life cycle management policies and procedures do not require them to do otherwise. Unless the FBI adopts a more strategic approach to managing human capital for the Sentinel program and treats human capital as a program risk, the chances of delivering required intelligence and investigative support capabilities in a timely and cost-effective manner are reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rigorous planning is key to a successful census as it helps ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency. The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) estimates the 2010 Census will cost around $11.3 billion, which would make it the most expensive census in our country's history, even after adjusting for inflation. GAO was asked to testify on (1) the Bureau's progress in preparing for the 2010 Census, (2) the challenges that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita might pose for the Bureau's future activities, and, (3) more broadly, the importance of planning for a range of events that could severely disrupt the census. The Bureau's preparations for the 2010 Census are making progress along several fronts. Of particular note is (1) the re-engineered design of the census, which holds promise for controlling costs and maintaining accuracy; (2) the Bureau's early planning process which was more rigorous than for the 2000 Census; and (3) the Bureau's greater willingness to outsource key census-taking operations that would be difficult for it to carry out on its own. At the same time, it will be important for the Bureau to resolve issues that pose a risk to a successful census. For example, the Bureau plans to use hand-held mobile computing devices (MCD) to develop the census address list and collect data from millions of households that do not respond to the initial census questionnaire. The MCDs are an important step forward because they are designed to replace many of the paper questionnaires and maps that were used in past censuses, and are a key element of the Bureau's Field Data Collection Automation program. The Bureau has never before used the devices in a decennial. In tests held in 2004 and 2006 to date, census workers found the MCDs easy to use, but sometimes unreliable, which reduced efficiency. Some workers also deviated from prescribed procedures which points to the need for better training. The Bureau has taken steps to address these issues and future tests will help determine the effectiveness of the Bureau's actions. The Bureau also faces a possible brain drain, as 45 percent of its workforce will be eligible to retire by 2010. Although the Bureau has taken preventative measures, it could improve those efforts by, among other actions, strengthening the monitoring of its mission-critical workforce. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita highlight the importance of contingency planning and examining whether the Bureau's existing operations are adequate for capturing the demographic and physical changes that have occurred along the Gulf Coast. Overall, as the Bureau's preparations for 2010 continue, it will be important for Congress to monitor the Bureau's progress in (1) identifying and diagnosing problems, (2) devising solutions, and (3) integrating refinements in time to be evaluated during the Census Dress Rehearsal scheduled for 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation of the Government Printing Office (GPO) is under way. This report captures the results of our efforts over the past year to assess and help strengthen GPO's transformation and strategic planning efforts. It is the final part of GAO's response to both a mandate requiring GAO to examine the current state of printing and dissemination of public government information and a congressional request that we conduct a general management review of GPO focusing on that GPO's transformation and management. Federal government printing and dissemination are changing due to the underlying changes to the technological environment. The Public Printer and his leadership team understand the effects of this technological change on GPO and have begun an ambitious effort to transform GPO and reexamine its mission. Federal agencies are publishing more documents directly to the Web and are doing more of their printing and dissemination of information without using GPO services. At the same time, the public is obtaining government information from government Web sites such as GPO Access rather than purchasing paper copies. As a result, GPO has seen declines in its printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales. To assist in the transformation process under way at GPO, GAO convened a panel of printing and information dissemination experts, who developed a series of options for GPO to consider in its strategic planning. The panel suggested that GPO (1) develop a business plan to focus its mission on information dissemination as its primary goal, rather than printing; (2) demonstrate to its customers the value it can provide; (3) improve and extend partnerships with agencies to help establish itself as an information disseminator; and (4) ensure that its internal operations are adequate for efficient and effective management of core business functions and for service to its customers. GPO can also use other key practices that GAO identified to help agencies successfully transform, such as involving employees to obtain their ideas and gain their ownership for the transformation. GPO fully applied one of these practices, related to ensuring that top management drives the transformation, and has partially implemented each of the remaining eight practices. To fully implement the remaining practices, GPO needs to take actions including establishing its mission and strategic goals and developing a documented plan for its transformation. GPO has taken some initial steps to adopt the best practices of other public and private sector organizations, most notably with respect to human capital management. GPO is actively implementing the recommendations GAO made in October 2003. For example, GPO reorganized the human capital office into customer-focused teams devoted to meeting the human capital needs of GPO's operating units. Continued leadership attention is needed to build on the initial progress made in information technology and financial management. For example, GPO should implement an information technology investment management process to help management choose, monitor, and evaluate projects, and GPO should train its line managers to effectively use financial data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This testimony summarizes previous GAO work that identified gaps in information needed to reconcile Individual Indian Moneys (IIM) trust accounts, and the rationale that led GAO to suggest that the Department of the Interior seek alternatives to reconciliation, such as a negotiated agreement. Congress established an Indian trust fund account reconciliation requirement in the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1987 in response to tribal concerns that (1) Interior had not consistently provided them with statements on their account balances, (2) their trust fund accounts had never been reconciled, and (3) Interior planned to contract with a third party for management of trust fund accounts. There are many obstacles that will complicate Interior's ability to document the amount and source of funds deposited to, managed in, and disbursed from their IIM accounts. Interior's July 2002 report enumerates among those obstacles known discrepancies in the balances, at the trust fund level, reported by Treasury and Interior, as well as the potential for (1) errors in the electronic accounting system data, (2) missing paper transaction records, and (3) missing land ownership information and revenue instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government Paperwork Elimination Act requires federal agencies to give the public the option by October 2003 of submitting, maintaining, and disclosing required information in electronic rather than paper format. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for overseeing executive branch efforts to comply with the act. Although the October 2000 implementation plans contained much useful information, GAO also found omissions and inconsistencies. Electronic options for many activities are not planned until 2003 at the earliest, and electronic options for other activities are not scheduled at all. As a result, many agencies are at risk of failing the meet the act's deadlines. The October 2000 implementation plans did not provide enough information on agencies' strategic actions, such as prioritizing conversions on the basis of achievability and net benefit, that would minimize the risk of noncompliance. Given these shortcomings, OMB's oversight efforts will be challenging. Without better information, agency progress in achieving the act's goals cannot be accurately assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO found serious and pervasive problems that essentially render the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) agencywide information security program ineffective. Current security program planning and management is largely a paper exercise that has done little to identify, evaluate, and mitigate risks to the agency's data and computer systems. Moreover, on the basis of its tests of computer-based controls, GAO concludes that the computer operating systems and the agencywide computer network that support most of EPA's mission-related and financial operations are riddled with security weaknesses. Of particular concern is that many of the most serious weaknesses GAO identified--those related to inadequate protection from intrusions via the Internet and poor security planning--had been reported to EPA management in 1997 by the agency's Inspector General. The repercussions of such weaknesses are illustrated by EPA's own records, which show several serious computer security incidents in the last two years that have damaged and disrupted agency operations. GAO has also identified shortcomings in EPA's incident detection and handling capabilities that call into questions the agency's ability to fully understand and assess the nature of or damage due to its computer security breaches. The result is that EPA's computer systems are highly vulnerable to tampering, disruption, and misuse, and EPA cannot guarantee the protection of sensitive business and financial data kept on its larger computer systems or supported by its agencywide network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the fiscal year (FY) 2000 performance plan for the Department of State, which was submitted to Congress as required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, focusing on: (1) assessing the usefulness of the agency's plan for decisionmaking; and (2) identifying the degree of improvement the agency's FY 2000 performance plan represents over its FY 1999 plan. GAO noted that: (1) State's FY 2000 annual performance plan provides a partial picture of: (a) intended performance across the agency; (b) the strategies and resources that will be used to achieve the performance goals; and (c) the methods it will employ to ensure the credibility of the information used to assess agency performance; (2) for example, State's strategic goal of opening foreign markets has two areas of emphasis; (3) however, the plan provides performance information for only one of them; (4) State's FY 2000 performance plan represents a moderate improvement over the FY 1999 plan in that it shows some progress in addressing the weaknesses GAO identified in its assessment of that plan; (5) in reviewing the FY 1999 plan, GAO observed that: (a) many of the goals were not clearly stated or extended beyond State's span of control; (b) the plan did not have baselines and targets for each performance indicator; and (c) crosscutting issues and data limitations were not addressed; and (6) among improvements in the FY 2000 plan are the addition of baselines, targets, and quantifiable measures to gauge performance, and results-oriented goals that better capture what State can accomplish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to the U.S. Congressial Committee on tax returns in 2012. As per the report the GAO assesses the performance of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in processing returns. The GAO recommends the IRS to form taxpayer service strategy to collect due taxes from taxpayers.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) are engaged in ongoing efforts to share medical information, which is important in helping to ensure high-quality health care for active-duty military personnel and veterans. These efforts include a long-term program to develop modernized health information systems based on computable data: that is, data in a format that a computer application can act on--for example, to provide alerts to clinicians of drug allergies. In addition, the departments are engaged in short-term initiatives involving existing systems. GAO was asked to summarize its recent testimony on the history and current status of these long- and short-term efforts to share health information. To develop that testimony, GAO reviewed its previous work, analyzed documents, and interviewed VA and DOD officials about current status and future plans. For almost a decade, VA and DOD have been pursuing ways to share health information and create comprehensive electronic medical records. However, they have faced considerable challenges in these efforts, leading to repeated changes in the focus of their initiatives and target dates. In prior reviews of the departments' efforts, GAO noted management weaknesses, including the lack of a detailed project management plan to guide their efforts. Currently, the two departments are pursuing both long- and short-term initiatives to share health information. Under their long-term initiative, the modern health information systems being developed by each department are to share standardized computable data through an interface between data repositories associated with each system. The repositories have now been developed, and the departments have begun to populate them with limited types of health information. In addition, the interface between the repositories has been implemented at seven VA and DOD sites, allowing computable outpatient pharmacy and drug allergy data to be exchanged. Implementing this interface is a milestone toward the departments' long-term goal, but more remains to be done. Besides extending the current capability throughout VA and DOD, the departments must still agree to standards for the remaining categories of medical information, populate the data repositories with this information, complete the development of the two modernized health information systems, and transition from their existing systems. While pursuing their long-term effort to develop modernized systems, the two departments have also been working to share information in their existing systems. Among various short-term initiatives are a completed effort to allow the one-way transfer of health information from DOD to VA when service members leave the military, as well as ongoing demonstration projects to exchange limited data at selected sites. One of these projects, building on the one-way transfer capability, developed an interface between certain existing systems that... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government produces billions of coins and currency notes each year. Coins are made by the U.S. Mint and issued by the Treasury Department. Currency notes are made by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and issued by the Federal Reserve System (Fed). The Fed buys coins from the Mint at face value but pays the Bureau only the costs of printing currency. Coins on the books of the Fed are assets that are issued by the Mint, and notes are liabilities of the Federal Reserve Banks. In recent years congressional hearings have highlighted the confusion over differences in the budgetary and accounting treatment of coins and currency. In addition, the Treasury Inspector General and others have reported problems with Mint and Bureau operations. GAO was asked to review (1) how the costs and earnings from coins and currency are budgeted and accounted for and (2) whether any operational problems at the Mint and Bureau need further action. The earnings from issuing both coins and currency reduce government borrowing costs; however, how these earnings are budgeted and accounted for differs. Production costs of coins and currency are generally treated the same in the budget and accounting statements. The difference between the face value of coins and the costs of minting them results in earnings, called seigniorage, which is shown in the budget as a reduction in needed borrowing for the government, after the deficit or surplus for the year is calculated. The budgetary impact of seigniorage is interest avoided from the borrowing it displaces and is not visible because it is neither quantified nor shown in the budget. The government also generates earnings by issuing currency, but it is handled differently. The difference between the face value of currency issued and its production cost goes to the Fed. The Fed buys collateral, usually Treasury securities, to back up the currency issued. The interest collected on those Treasury securities is used to pay for Fed costs, and the remainder is returned to Treasury. The budgetary impact of issuing currency comes from the interest returned by the Fed, which is shown as a budgetary receipt and counted in the calculation of the deficit or surplus. Production costs of both coins and currency are shown as costs of operations in Treasury's financial statements. According to the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, seigniorage should be shown as a source of financing in Treasury's statement of changes in net position, whereas interest returned by the Fed for currency is shown as revenue in Treasury's statement of custodial activity. Treasury has not been reporting seigniorage this way but made the correction beginning with its fiscal year 2003 financial statements. Both the Mint and the Bureau have had operational problems in recent years in contracting and acquiring property and equipment. The Mint has also had problems with forecasting demand, monitoring costs, and reporting to Congress. The Mint and Bureau have generally taken or started to take actions to address the problems. The Mint has clarified its first quarterly report for 2004 to include more information on how retained funds will be used. However, the Mint is still not explicitly stating whether the retained amounts are in excess of the estimated operating costs for the following year and, if so, it is not explaining how the retained earnings will be used, as required by law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Non Commissioned Officers Association, Incorporated, for the years ended December 31, 1997 and 1996, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) nothing came to GAO's attention that would cause it to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; (2) the corporation reported that its liabilities exceeded its assets by approximately $882,000 and $462,000 at the end of 1996 and 1997, respectively; and (3) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, Incorporated, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 1997, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) nothing came to GAO's attention that would cause it to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; and (2) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were fairly presented on a modified cash basis of accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists for the fiscal year ended February 28, 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) nothing came to GAO's attention that would cause it to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; and (2) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Ski Patrol System, Incorporated, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) nothing came to GAO's attention that would cause it to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; and (2) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were fairly presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Jewish War Veterans, U.S.A., National Memorial, Incorporated, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) nothing came to GAO's attention that would cause it to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; and (2) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complete and thorough testing for the Year 2000 computing problem is essential to ensuring that new or modified systems process dates correctly and will not jeopardize an organization's ability to perform core business operations after the millennium. Moreover, because the Year 2000 problem is so widespread, potentially affecting, among other things, an organization's software, hardware, databases, telecommunications, and external interfaces, the requisite testing is extensive and expensive. To be effective, this testing should be planned and carried out in a structured and disciplined fashion. This guide presents a step-by-step framework for managing, and a checklist for assessing, all Year 2000 testing activities, including those associated with computer systems or their components, such as embedded processors, that are vendor supported. GAO describes five phases of Year 2000 testing efforts, beginning first with establishing an organizational testing infrastructure, followed by designing, conducting, and reporting on four incremental levels of system-related testing (software unit testing, software integration testing, system acceptance testing, and end-to-end testing). To support these five phases, the guide also describes test oversight and control activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Italian-American War Veterans of the United States, Incorporated, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 1997, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) nothing came to GAO's attention that would cause it to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; and (2) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented on the basis of cash receipts and disbursements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Legion of Valor of the United States of America, Incorporated, for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1997, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) nothing came to GAO's attention that would cause it to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; and (2) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document describes proposed changes to Government Auditing Standards, commonly known as the "yellow book." These changes add a field work standard and amend a reporting standard for financial statement audits to improve auditor communication concerning the auditor's work on compliance with laws and regulations and internal controls over financial reporting with the auditee and users of the auditor's reports. GAO describes the process followed in revising the standards, discusses the proposed changes, outlines the format of this exposure draft, and requests comments from interested parties on these proposed revisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Fleet Reserve Association for fiscal year ended September 30, 1997, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) during its review, nothing came to its attention that would cause GAO to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; and (2) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the United States Capitol Historical Society for fiscal year ended January 31, 1997, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO noted that: (1) during its review, nothing came to its attention that would cause GAO to believe that the financial reporting requirements of the law have not been met; and (2) the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines that deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting and other limitations on scope of GAO work resulted in conditions that prevented GAO from expressing opinion on the Schedules of the General Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020. Topics include reports that Fiscal Service was unable to provide sufficient appropriate evidence to support certain information reported in the accompanying Schedules of the General Fund.

GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. for fiscal year 2001. GAO did not review the auditors' working papers, and therefore did not render an opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America for fiscal years ended September 30, 1997 and 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO noted that the: (1) review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance; and (2) audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the statement of Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the U.S. in a testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget on March 12, 2020. Among the issues he discussed include the fiscal conditions and long-term fiscal path of the U.S. government, the need for action to address the fiscal future aimed to support economic growth and security and social challenges, and the financial challenges and fiscal risks that are straining the budget and contributes to debt.

The article offers the information on the organizational placement options for the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Protective Service (FPS). The article mentions about the eight agencies GAO selected met all the key organizational placement criteria; and Physical security and law enforcement activities of Selected agencies; and the United States Marshals Service (Marshals) could provide benefits because they currently coordinate.

The article presents a performance and accountability report on the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) for fiscal year 2018. Topics covered include the extensive use of GAO by the U.S. Congress to identify legislative solutions to emerging problems, financial benefits recorded by GAO, and future challenges and priorities. The core values and organizational structure of GAO are also discussed.

The article discusses a report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) with respect to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) licensing programs for radioactive materials called agreement states. The report examined the steps NRS and agreement states have undertaken to ensure that radioactive materials licenses are granted only to legitimate organizations and made recommendations to NRC including for NRC to take steps to include category 3 quantities of radioactive materials.

GAO reviews the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Former Member of Congress for fiscal years 2001 and 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Disabled American Veterans, for fiscal years 2002, and 2001. GAO's review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance with the financial reporting requirements of the law. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, National Memorial Inc., for fiscal year 2001. GAO's review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance with the financial reporting requirements of the law. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of The Foundation of the Federal Bar Association, for fiscal years 2001 and 2000. GAO found no instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States of America, for fiscal years 2002, 2001, and 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corportation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Gold Star Wives of America, Incorporated, for fiscal year 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statement of the corporation was presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, for fiscal years 2002, 2001 and 2000. GAO's review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance with the financial reporting requirements of the law. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Former Members of Congress for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with general accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum for fiscal year 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with general accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the National Academy of Public Administration for fiscal year 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed audit reports covering the financial statements of the American National Theater and Academy for fiscal years 2000, 1999, and 1998 to determine if the audit reports complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Former Members of Congress for 1999 and 1998. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States of America for 1999 to determine whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly on a modified cash basis of accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Fund for Medical Education for 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, for 1999 and 1998. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the 82nd Airborne Division Association, Incorporated, for 1999 and 1998. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]