Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Some U.S.-based multinational companies have found that the effective tax rate on income earned from foreign sources can be reduced if they are incorporated in countries that either do not tax corporate income at all or tax the income at a lower rate than the U.S. corporate tax rate. Consequently, some U.S.-based companies incorporate from the outset in these so-called "tax haven" countries. In addition, some companies that were incorporated in the United States have reincorporated in tax haven countries through "corporate inversion transactions." According to the Department of the Treasury, the term "inversion" is used to describe a transaction through which a U.S.-based multinational company restructures its corporate group so that after the transaction the ultimate parent of the corporate group is a foreign corporation. After an inversion transaction, shareholders of the former U.S. parent company hold stock of the newly formed foreign parent, and the operations of the company are unchanged. Treasury also noted that there has been a marked increase recently in the frequency, size, and profile of inversion transactions. Four of the top 100 federal contractors that are publicly traded corporations are incorporated in …

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-08-585G, Financial Audit Manual: Volume 1, July 2008. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) maintain the GAO/PCIE Financial Audit Manual (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."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S.-led Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) are designed to help improve stability in Afghanistan and Iraq by increasing the host nation's capacity to govern; enhancing economic viability; and strengthening local governments' ability to deliver public services, such as security and health care. PRTs are a means of coordinating interagency diplomatic, economic, reconstruction, and counterinsurgency efforts among various U.S. agencies in Afghanistan and Iraq. PRTs are intended to be interim structures; after a PRT has achieved its goal of improving stability, it may be dismantled to allow traditional development efforts to occur. In Afghanistan, the first PRTs were created in 2002 with the mission of facilitating security and reconstruction by helping the central government extend its authority to the provinces. Since then, PRTs have expanded their purpose to include strengthening local governance and community development. In Iraq, PRTs were initiated in 2005 with the mission to increase the capacity of provincial and local governments to govern effectively and, for newer embedded PRTs (ePRT), to support moderates and assist in the military's counterinsurgency efforts. To accomplish their missions, PRTs engage in and fund a variety of activities, such as developing the …

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-01-703G, Strategies to Manage Improper Payments: Learning From Public and Private Sector Organizations (Exposure Draft), May 2001. Improper payments are a significant problem in both government and the private sector. In the private sector, improper payments are generally an internal problem that threatens profitability. In the public sector, improper payments can result in wasteful spending, a higher tax burden, and fewer people receiving services. Despite increased scrutiny, most improper payments associated with federal programs still go undetected. Improper payments are more likely in programs with complex criteria for computing payments, a high volume of transactions, or an emphasis on speedy payments. This report highlights strategic actions taken by study participants to reduce improper payments."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes AIMD-21.2.5, Seized Property and Forfeited Assets System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems Under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (Exposure Draft), April 2000. GAO published a guide to help agencies and internal auditors maintain their financial management systems in compliance with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996. This checklist is intended to assist: (1) agencies in implementing and monitoring their seized property and forfeited systems, and (2) managers and auditors in reviewing agency seized property and forfeited systems to determine if they substantially comply with the act."

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."

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-08-586G, Financial Audit Manual: Volume 2, July 2008. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) maintain the GAO/PCIE Financial Audit Manual (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."

A staff study issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's physical infrastructure consists of a broad array of systems and facilities, including transportation networks, such as roads, airports, rail, and mass transit; housing; federal buildings including postal facilities; and telecommunications services. In the 21st century, the following trends are likely to influence the nation's need for interconnected infrastructure systems and services: (1) the total population of the United States is expected to increase by nearly 50 million people, or about 17 percent; (2) the number of Americans aged 55 and over is expected to increase by about 60 percent; and (3) the suburbanization of population and employment will continue. The steps that the nation takes to anticipate these trends in infrastructure policy and investments will have a direct effect on America's economy and quality of life. To better understand these connections, GAO sponsored a conference in June 2001 to consider infrastructure issues from a crosscutting perspective. This report discusses the findings and conclusions of that conference."

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 has been superseded by GAO-09-680G, Assessing the Reliability of Computer-Processed Data, July 2009. GAO published a guide to assist its auditing staff in ensuring the reliability of computer-based data. The guidance provides a flexible, risk-based framework for data reliability assessments that can be geared to the specific circumstances of each engagement. The framework is built on (1) making use of all existing information about the data; (2) performing at least a minimal level of data testing; (3) doing only the amount of work necessary to determine whether the data are reliable enough for GAO's purposes; (4) maximizing professional judgment; and (5) bringing the appropriate people, including management, to the table at key decision points."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published a functional requirements document for property management systems. This document is intended for financial analysts, systems accountants, systems developers, property managers, program managers, and others who design, develop, implement, operate, and maintain or audit financial management systems."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the General Accounting Office's (GAO) Performance Plans for Fiscal Year 2007. 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."

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 Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the key recommendations from the two reports we recently released, which include (1) the need for a fully developed strategic framework for the reform process that includes outcome-focused performance measures to show progress and (2) more transparency in annually reporting to Congress on the timeliness and quality of the clearance process. This testimony is based on our review of the Joint Reform Team's plans, as well as our work on DOD's security clearance process, which includes reviews of clearance-related files and interviews of senior officials at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), DOD, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and OPM. In addition, this statement is based on key practices and implementation steps for mergers and organizational transformations. We conducted our work on both reports between March 2008 and May 2009 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings …

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 "This testimony discusses the temporary cessation of funding for new information technology (IT) infrastructure and business system investments related to the proposed Department of Homeland Security. Integrating the diverse communication and information systems of the myriad of organizations that would be part of the proposed Department of Homeland Security would be an enormous undertaking. Among the near-term challenges that would have to be addressed to successfully tackle this task is developing an enterprise architecture. Managed properly, enterprise architectures can clarify and help optimize the interdependencies and interrelationships among related enterprise operations and the underlying IT infrastructure and applications that support them. Another long-term challenge is establishing and enforcing a disciplined IT investment management process. Well managed IT investments that are carefully selected and focused on meeting mission needs can propel an organization forward, dramatically improving performance while reducing costs. To help tackle these challenges, in July the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two memoranda to selected agencies telling them to "cease temporarily" and report on new IT infrastructure an business systems investments above $500,000, which are to be reviewed by IT infrastructure and business system investments …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) believes it is increasingly likely that an adversary of the United States will use chemical or biological weapons against U.S. forces to degrade superior U.S. conventional warfare capabilities, placing service members' lives and effective military operations at risk. During the past 6 years, GAO has identified many problems with DOD's capabilities to defend against chemical and biological weapons and sustain operations in the midst of their use. Although GAO has found that DOD has made some improvements--in equipment, training, and reporting, and in the coordination of research and development activities--it has continuing concerns in each of these areas. One particular issue is the supply of chemical protective clothing and the way associated risk is assessed. Due to the upcoming expiration of existing protective suits, the slower rate at which new suits are entering the inventory, and DOD's method of assessing risk for individual items rather than complete protective ensembles, GAO believes that the risk for protective clothing shortages may increase dramatically from now through 2007. GAO is also concerned that certain management weaknesses, such as program organizational complexity and prolonged vacancies in key …

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."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This journal of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) includes articles concerning: (1) auditing in the Iceland; (2) improving public service; (3) news in brief; (4) the audit directorate of Bahrain; (5) reports in print; and (6) activities within INTOSAI."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This Spanish-language edition of the Journal of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) includes articles concerning: (1) auditing in Iceland; (2) improving public service;(3) news in brief; (4) the audit directorate of Bahrain; (5) reports in print; and (6) activities within INTOSAI."

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 Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "By preparing their families and property before an event, individuals can reduce a disaster's impact on them and their need for first responder assistance, particularly in the first 72 hours following a disaster. By law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is to develop a national preparedness system (NPS)--FEMA includes community preparedness programs as part of the NPS. FEMA's budget to operate these programs made up less than one half of 1 percent of its $7.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2009. These programs include the Citizen Corps program and its partner programs, such as Fire Corps, and rely on volunteers to coordinate efforts and assist first responders in local communities. DHS's Ready Campaign promotes preparedness through mass media. This testimony provides preliminary observations on (1) challenges FEMA faces in measuring the performance of Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign and (2) actions FEMA has taken to develop a strategy to encompass how Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign operate within the context of the NPS. This testimony is based on work conducted from …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This French-language edition of the Journal of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) includes articles concerning: (1) auditing in the Iceland; (2) improving public service; (3) news in brief; (4) the audit directorate of Bahrain; (5) reports in print; and (6) activities within INTOSAI."

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."