Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-07-162G, Government Auditing Standards: January 2007 Revision. This is the Government Auditing Standards 2003 revision. This document outlines standards that contain requirements for auditor reporting on internal control. The revision supersedes the 1994 revision."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-04-546G, Human Capital: A Guide for Assessing Strategic Training and Development Efforts in the Federal Government, March 2004. This guide introduces a framework, consisting of a set of principles and key questions that federal agencies can use to ensure that their training and development investments are targeted strategically and are not wasted on efforts that are irrelevant, duplicative, or ineffective. Effective training and development programs are an integral part of a learning environment that can enhance the federal government's ability to attract and retain employees with the skills and competencies needed to achieve results for the benefit of the American people. Training and developing new and current staff to fill new roles and work in different waqys will be a crucial part of a federal government's endeavors to meet its transformation challenges. Ways that employees learn and achieve results will also continue to transform how agencies do business and engage employees in further innovation and improvements."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-04-87G, Audit Guide: Auditing and Investigating the Internal Control of Government Purchase Card Programs, November 2003. The federal government of the United States--the largest and most complex organization in the world--expended approximately $15 billion through federal organizations' purchase card programs in fiscal year 2002. As the steward of taxpayer dollars, federal agencies are accountable for how purchase cards are used and how the funds are spent. To that end, federal agencies are responsible for establishing and maintaining internal control to provide reasonable assurance that (1) the goals and objectives of the purchase card program are met and (2) safeguards against fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are adequate. Recent congressional testimony and Inspector General and GAO reports show that some federal agencies do not have adequate internal control over their purchase card programs. Without effective internal control, management has little assurance that fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are being prevented or, if occurring, are being promptly detected with appropriate corrective actions taken. A key element of internal control is monitoring that assesses the quality of performance over time and ensures that the findings …

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Floods have been, and continue to be, the most destructive natural hazard in terms of economic loss to the nation. The National Flood Insurance Program is a key component of the federal government's efforts to minimize the damage and financial impact of floods. The program identifies flood-prone areas of the country, makes flood insurance available in the nearly 20,000 communities that participate in the program, and encourages flood-plain management efforts. Since its inception in 1969, the National Flood Insurance has provided $12 billion in insurance claims to owners of flood-damaged properties, and its building standards are estimated to save $1 billion annually. The program has been managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but along with other activities of the agency, it was recently placed into the Department of Homeland Security. GAO has issued a number of reports on the flood insurance program and was asked to discuss the current challenges to the widespread success of the program."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) provides about 45 percent of all electric power consumed in the Pacific Northwest--Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The power that BPA markets and distributes is generated in large part at hydroelectric projects including dams in the Federal Columbia River Power System. BPA also owns and operates about 75 percent of the region's services. Under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980, BPA is responsible for ensuring an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply for the Pacific Northwest. To do so, BPA balances the needs of its customers against the highly variable water resources available for generating electricity. In maintaining this balance, BPA sometimes buys and sells or otherwise exchanges power with utilities with entities within and outside the Pacific Northwest. In addition to providing power, BPA is required under the 1980 act, various other laws, treaties and court cases, to "protect, mitigate, and enhance" fish and wildlife resources. Recently, BPA has witnessed a substantial deterioration in its financial condition. For example, BPA's cash reserves of $811 million at the end of fiscal year 2000 had fallen $188 million …

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In July 2001, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) issued the GAO/PCIE Financial Audit Manual (FAM). In April 2003, we issued an update to the FAM. The FAM provides guidance for performing financial statement audits of federal entities. The FAM is a key tool for enhancing accountability over taxpayer-provided resources. GAO and the PCIE are committed to keeping the FAM current. With this goal in mind,we are now requesting comments on an exposure draft that will revise the Checklist for Reports Prepared Under the CFO Act (CFO Checklist). This update will replace the current CFO Checklist in the FAM Volume II, Section 1004. Once finalized,the updated CFO Checklist will be designated in the FAM Volume II at section 1050."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On December 13, 2002, in response to growing concern that a terrorist or hostile regime might have access to the smallpox virus and attempt to use it against the American people, the President announced the formation of the National Smallpox Vaccination Program. The program has two components--one responsible for vaccinating civilians and another responsible for vaccinating military personnel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is responsible for implementing the civilian component of the National Smallpox Vaccination Program. The Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for implementing the military component of the program. Because the National Smallpox Vaccination Program is the nation's first large-scale bioterrorism defense program, Congress asked us to assess the implementation of the program in order to aid the development of future programs. In April 2003, we reported on the implementation of the civilian component of the National Smallpox Vaccination Program. In this report, we describe (1) how DOD implemented its smallpox vaccination program and (2) the steps DOD took to facilitate the implementation of the program."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-04-650G, Acquisition/Financial Systems Interface Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, June 2004. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management system requirements. These requirements are described in detail in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) guidance and in the Federal Financial Management System Requirements series issued by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP). JFMIP intends for its requirements series to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems that support program and financial managers, and to describe specific requirements of financial management systems."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-02-762G, Benefit System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, September 2002. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires, among other things, that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management system requirements. These requirements are detailed in the Federal Financial Management System Requirements series issued by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) and in the guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Circular A-127, Financial Management Systems, and the January 4, 2001, Revised Implementation Guidance for the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) of 1996. JFMIP intends for the requirements to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems to support program and financial managers, and to describe specific requirements of financial management systems. We are issuing this checklist, which reflects JFMIP's Benefit System (JFMIP-SR-01-01, September 2001), to assist (1) agencies in implementing and monitoring their benefit systems and (2) managers and auditors in reviewing their benefit systems to determine if they substantially comply …

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-03-678G, Audit Guide: Auditing and Investigating the Internal Control of Government Purchase Card Programs, May 2003. The federal government of the United States--the largest and most complex organization in the world--expended approximately $15 billion through federal organizations' purchase card programs in fiscal year 2002. As the steward of taxpayer dollars, federal agencies are accountable for how purchase cards are used and how the funds are spent. To that end, federal agencies are responsible for establishing and maintaining internal control to provide reasonable assurance that (1) the goals and objectives of the purchase card program are met and (2) safeguards against fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are adequate. Recent congressional testimony and inspector general and GAO reports show that some federal agencies do not have adequate internal control over their purchase card programs. Without effective internal control, management has little assurance that fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are being prevented or, if occurring, are being promptly detected with appropriate corrective actions taken. A key element of internal control is monitoring that assesses the quality of performance over time and ensures that the findings of audits and …

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Technological advances and changes in workplace habits have increasingly affected the operating environment for time and attendance (T&A) reporting in recent years. Perhaps the most significant influence on changes to T&A reporting, however, is advancing technology and the accelerated adoption of automation driven largely by the need for increased efficiency, as promoted by the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA). Although focused on electronic systems that process information obtained from and provided to sources outside the government, GPEA encourages agencies to seek internal applications of paperless systems and use of electronic signatures. This document (1) provides agencies with the flexibility needed to streamline T&A reporting systems and reduce their costs while maintaining adequate internal control, (2) updates the requirements for electronic signature control, and (3) addresses the need for controls over alternative workplace arrangements."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling the requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, GAO audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2002 and 2001. As part of these audits, GAO performed a review of the general and application computer controls over key BPD financial systems."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication is superseded by GAO-10-846G, Organizational Transformation: A Framework for Assessing and Improving Enterprise Architecture Management (Version 2.0), August 2010. Effective use of enterprise architectures is a recognized hallmark of successful public and private organizations. For over a decade, GAO has promoted the use of architectures, recognizing them as a crucial means to a challenging goal: agency operational structures that are optimally defined, in both business and technological environments. The alternative, as GAO's work has shown, is perpetuation of the kinds of operational environments that saddle most agencies today, in which lack of integration among business operations and supporting information technology (IT) resources leads to inefficiencies and duplication. Why are enterprise architectures so important? Metaphorically, an enterprise architecture is to an organization's operations and systems as a set of blue prints is to a building. That is, building blueprints provide those who own, construct, and maintain the building with a clear and understandable picture of the building's uses, features, functions, and supporting systems, including relevant building standards. Further, the building blueprints capture the relationships among building components and govern the construction process. Enterprise architectures provide to people …

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In July 2001, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) issued the GAO/PCIE Financial Audit Manual (FAM). The FAM provides guidance for financial audits conducted by the Inspector General community, GAO, and their contractors. The FAM is a key part in enhancing accountability over taxpayer-provided resources. GAO and the PCIE are committed to keeping the FAM current and intend to prepare updates as needed. With this goal in mind, a GAO/PCIE task force prepared this update to volume II of the FAM, which provides tools to assist the auditor in complying with audit standards ."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government faces longstanding problems with excess and underutilized real property, deteriorating facilities, unreliable real property data, and costly space. These problems have multibillion-dollar cost implications and can seriously jeopardize agencies' missions. In addition, federal agencies face many challenges securing real property due to the threat of terrorism. This testimony discusses long-standing, complex problems in the federal real property area and what actions are needed to address them."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has faced persistent challenges in managing its grants, which, at about $4 billion annually constitute over one-half of the agency's total budget. EPA awards grants to thousands of recipients to implement its programs to protect human health and the environment. Given the size and diversity of EPA's programs, its ability to efficiently and effectively accomplish its mission largely depends on how well it manages its grant resources and builds accountability into its efforts. In our comprehensive report on EPA's management of its grants, released last week, we found that EPA continues to face four key grants management challenges despite past efforts to address them--(1) selecting the most qualified grant applicants, (2) effectively overseeing grantees, (3) measuring the results of grants, and (4) effectively managing its grant staff and resources. The report also discusses EPA's latest competition and oversight policies and its new 5-year plan to improve the management of its grants. This testimony, based on our report, focuses on the extent to which EPA's latest policies and plan address (1) awarding grants competitively, (2) improving oversight of grantees, and (3) holding staff and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Jenkins Act requires any person who sells and ships cigarettes across a state line to a buyer, other than a licensed distributor, to report the sale to the buyer's state tobacco tax administrator. The act establishes misdemeanor penalties for violating the act. Compliance with this federal law by cigarette sellers enables states to collect cigarette excise taxes from consumers. However, some state and federal officials are concerned that as Internet cigarette sales continue to grow, particularly as states' cigarette taxes increase, so will the amount of lost state tax revenue due to noncompliance with the Jenkins Act. One research firm estimated that Internet tobacco sales in the United States will exceed $5 billion in 2005 and that the states will lose about $1.4 billion in tax revenue from these sales."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the role of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Disaster Loan Program in responding to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, general performance measures for the program, and the effects of SBA's program to sell loans to private investors on disaster loans and their borrowers. In reviewing SBA's loan sales program, which includes disaster loans, we identified three areas needing improvement: tracking borrower inquiries and complaints; sales budgeting and accounting which affect the reliability of SBA financial statements and budget information; and reporting on the operational benefits of the loans sales. This testimony focuses on SBA's (1) response to the September 11 terrorist attacks; (2) performance plans and measures for its Disaster Loan program; and (3) loan assets sales program, which involves selling disaster and other loans."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "There is widespread agreement that the basic approach to federal pay is broken and that it needs to be more market- and performance-based. Doing so will be essential if the federal government is to maximize its performance and assure accountability for the benefit of the American people. While there will be debate and disagreement about the merits of individual reform proposals, all should be able to agree that a performance management system with adequate safeguards, including reasonable transparency and appropriate accountability mechanisms in place, must serve as the fundamental underpinning of any fair, effective, and appropriate pay reform. At the request of the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, House Committee on Government Reform, GAO discussed the key practices for effective performance management that federal agencies should consider as they develop and implement performance management systems as part of any pay reform."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) was enacted in 1993, federal agencies increasingly have been expected to link strategic plans and budget structures with program results. The current administration has taken several steps to strengthen and further the performance-resource linkage by making budget and performance integration one of its five management initiatives included in the President's Management Agenda. GAO has reported and testified numerous times on agencies' progress in making clearer connections between resources and results and how this information can inform budget deliberations. The administration's use of the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) for the fiscal year 2004 President's budget and further efforts in fiscal year 2005 to make these connections more explicit, have prompted our examination of what can and cannot be expected from performance budgeting."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Leading public organizations here and abroad recognize that a more strategic approach to human capital management is essential for change initiatives that are intended to transform their cultures. To that end, organizations are looking for ways to identify and develop the leaders, managers, and workforce necessary to face the array of challenges that will confront government in the 21st century. The Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, House Committee on Government Reform, requested GAO to identify how agencies in four countries--Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom--are adopting a more strategic approach to managing the succession of senior executives and other public sector employees with critical skills."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Computerized control systems perform vital functions across many of our nation's critical infrastructures. For example, in natural gas distribution, they can monitor and control the pressure and flow of gas through pipelines; in the electric power industry, they can monitor and control the current and voltage of electricity through relays and circuit breakers; and in water treatment facilities, they can monitor and adjust water levels, pressure, and chemicals used for purification. In October 1997, the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection emphasized the increasing vulnerability of control systems to cyber attacks. The House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Census asked GAO to testify on potential cyber vulnerabilities. GAO's testimony focused on (1) significant cybersecurity risks associated with control systems; (2) potential and reported cyber attacks against these systems; (3) key challenges to securing control systems; and (4) steps that can be taken to strengthen the security of control systems, including current federal and private-sector initiatives."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony focuses on the factors that have contributed to the recent increases in insurance premium rates and the differences in rates among states that have passed varying levels of tort reform laws. Our findings are based on two reports we recently issued addressing various aspects of the recent increases in medical malpractice insurance rates. Recognizing that the medical malpractice market varies considerably across states, as part of these reviews we judgmentally selected a number of states and conducted more in-depth reviews in each of those states. Both our analyses and our conclusions are based in part on data and information we received from the states we visited and in part on analyses of national data from various sources."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Presented are highlights of GAO's performance and accountability report for fiscal 2002. 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. Importantly, GAO received a clean opinion from independent auditors on our financial statements for the 16th consecutive year. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable."