A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has identified the Department of Defense's (DOD) management of its inventory as a high-risk area since 1990 due to ineffective and inefficient inventory systems and practices. Management of inventory acquisition lead times is important in maintaining cost-effective inventories, budgeting, and having material available when needed, as lead times are DOD's best estimate of when an item will be received. Under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative, GAO analyzed the extent to which (1) DOD's estimated lead times varied from actual lead times, and (2) current management actions and initiatives have reduced lead times as compared to past years. To address these objectives, GAO computed the difference between the components' actual and estimated lead times, and compared component initiatives to reduce lead times for 1994-2002 to 2002-2005."

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "FISCAM presents a methodology for performing information system (IS) control audits of federal and other governmental entities in accordance with professional standards. This version supersedes the prior version, Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual: Volume I Financial Statement Audits, AIMD-12.19.6, January 1, 2001. The FISCAM is designed to be used primarily on financial and performance audits and attestation engagements performed in accordance with GAGAS, as presented in Government Auditing Standards (also know as the "Yellow Book"). The FISCAM is consistent with the GAO/PCIE Financial Audit Manual (FAM). Also, FISCAM control activities are consistent with NIST Special Publication 800-53 and all SP800-53 controls have been mapped to the FISCAM. The FISCAM, which is consistent with NIST and other criteria, is organized to facilitate effective and efficient IS control audits. Specifically, the methodology in the FISCAM incorporates the following: (1) A top-down, risk-based approach that considers materiality and significance in determining effective and efficient audit procedures; (2) Evaluation of entitywide controls and their effect on audit risk; (3) Evaluation of general controls and their pervasive impact on business process application controls; (4) Evaluation of security management at all levels (entitywide, …

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerned with the time, money, and resources that the federal government expends servicing its vehicle and engine fleet, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works asked GAO to compile information on the government's use of engine lubricating oil. GAO was asked to determine: (1) how much engine lubricating oil the federal government bought in fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001; (2) what costs are incurred for the disposal and recycling of engine lubricating oil; (3) what costs are incurred for changing motor oil in military and civilian fleets; (4) what logistical implications exist for the transport of engine lubricating oil during recent military operations; and (5) what options exist for reducing purchase, maintenance, and disposal costs for engine lubricating oil. To conduct its study, GAO focused on three agencies that account for 79 percent of all non-tactical vehicles owned or leased by the U.S. government: the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the General Services Administration (GSA). It compiled information only on engine lubricating oil used in ground vehicles and equipment and not in aircraft and ships."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the carry over balances in the Department of Commerce's Advanced Technology Program (ATP), focusing on: (1) balances in the program for fiscal years 1995 through 1999; and (2) any balances that might exist at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2000 that could be used as offsets for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) programs in the FY 2001 budget."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has recorded billions of dollars of disbursements and collections in suspense accounts because the proper appropriation accounts could not be identified and charged. DOD has also been unable to resolve discrepancies between its and Treasury's records of checks issued by DOD. Because documentation that would allow for resolution of these payment recording problems could not be found after so many years, DOD requested and received legislative authority to write off certain aged suspense transactions and check payment differences. The conference report (H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 107-772) that accompanied the legislation (Pub. L. No. 107-314) required GAO to review and report on DOD's use of this write-off authority."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2000, the U.S. government has provided a total of $3.3 billion to Colombia, making it the fifth largest recipient of U.S. assistance. Part of this funding has gone toward nonmilitary assistance to Colombia, including programs to (1) promote legitimate economic alternatives to coca and opium poppy; (2) assist Colombia's vulnerable groups, particularly internally displaced persons; and (3) strengthen the country's democratic, legal, and security institutional capabilities. GAO examined these programs' objectives, reported accomplishments, and identified the factors, if any, that limit project implementation and sustainability. We also examined the challenges faced by Colombia and the United States in continuing to support these programs."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Military Order of the World Wars for the fiscal years ended June 30, 1998 and 1999, focusing on whether the audit reports complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, about 2.5 million people file claims with the Social Security Administration (SSA) for disability benefits. If the claim is denied at the initial level, the claimant may appeal to the hearings level. The hearings level has allowed more than half of all appealed claims, an allowance rate that has raised concerns about the consistency of decisions made at the two levels. To help ensure consistency, SSA began a "process unification" initiative in 1994 and recently announced a new proposal to strengthen its disability programs. This report examines (1) the status of SSA's process unification initiative, (2) SSA's assessments of possible inconsistencies in decisions between adjudication levels, and (3) whether SSA's new proposal incorporates changes to improve consistency in decisions between adjudication levels."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provides assistance for combating HIV/AIDS in 15 focus countries and elsewhere, with global targets for prevention, treatment, and care. The U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Act of 2003, which authorizes the $15 billion program, contains directives to guide the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator's (OGAC) allocation of this funding. The act expires in September 2008. The President announced his intention to ask Congress to authorize $30 billion for these efforts for the next 5 years. In 2007, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended eliminating the directives. GAO was asked to describe (1) the views of HIV/AIDS experts on these directives, (2) an alternative approach to allocating funds, and (3) potential challenges related to this approach. GAO interviewed 22 experts, surveyed PEPFAR officials in the 15 focus countries, and reviewed pertinent documentation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government supports numerous data programs that assemble and analyze quantitative measures of the nation's environmental conditions and trends (known as indicators). A substantial number of these data programs are housed in several federal agencies, and provide various types of data used routinely by decision makers from the private sector and all levels of government. As federal agencies take actions to improve the coverage and usefulness of these programs, it is equally important that the quality and availability of existing data generated by these programs do not erode overtime. In this regard, periodic uninterrupted monitoring to determine conditions and trends is important to accurately describe the extent or seriousness of environmental problems, or conversely, improvements in environmental conditions. GAO reviewed 20 data programs to determine whether federal agencies responsible for the programs anticipate that changes during fiscal years 2005 and 2006 related to funding, shifting priorities, or other factors will affect the ability of the programs to (1) continue to generate data comparable with data from past years, and (2) continue providing data used in a nationwide ecological indicator study by the H. John Heinz …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On November 14, 2008, we issued our opinion on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) fiscal years 2008 and 2007 financial statements. We also issued our opinion on the effectiveness of SEC's internal control over financial reporting (including safeguarding of assets) and over compliance as of September 30, 2008, and our evaluation of SEC's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations during fiscal year 2008. The purpose of this report is to present issues identified during our fiscal year 2008 audit of SEC's internal controls and accounting procedures and to recommend actions to address these issues. Accordingly, in this report we are making 19 recommendations to SEC to strengthen internal controls and accounting procedures. These recommendations are in addition to 24 remaining recommendations included in prior year audits of SEC's financial statements that still need to be fully addressed."

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This statement discusses ongoing efforts by the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of State (State), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to track information on contractor personnel and contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reliable, meaningful data on contractors and the services they provide are necessary to inform agency decisions on when and how to effectively use contractors, provide support services to contractors, and ensure that contractors are properly managed and overseen. The importance of such data is heightened by the unprecedented reliance on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan and the evolving U.S. presence in the two countries. The statement focuses on (1) how information on contractor personnel and contracts can assist agencies in managing and overseeing their use of contractors and (2) the status of DOD, State, and USAID's efforts to track statutorily-required information on contractor personnel and contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as our recent recommendations to address the shortcomings we identified in their efforts. This statement is drawn from our October 2009 report on contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, which was mandated by section 863 of the National …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, a series of press articles alleged that financial firms were marketing expensive and potentially unnecessary insurance or other financial products to members of the military. To assess whether military service members were adequately protected from inappropriate product sales, GAO examined (1) features and marketing of certain insurance products being sold to military members, (2) features and marketing of certain securities products being sold to military members, and (3) how financial regulators and the Department of Defense (DOD) were overseeing the sales of insurance and securities products to military members."

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-07-1134SP, Cost Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Estimating and Managing Program Costs--Exposure Draft, July 2007. The U.S. Government Accountability Office is responsible for, among other things, assisting the Congress in its oversight of the federal government, including agencies' stewardship of public funds. To use public funds effectively, the government must meet the demands of today's changing world by employing effective management practices and processes, including the measurement of government program performance. In addition, legislators, government officials, and the public want to know whether government programs are achieving their goals and what their costs are. To make those evaluations, reliable cost information is required and federal standards have been issued for the cost accounting that is needed to prepare that information. We developed the Cost Guide in order to establish a consistent methodology that is based on best practices and that can be used across the federal government for developing, managing, and evaluating capital program cost estimates."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Established in 1964, Job Corps is the nation's largest residential, educational, and career training program for economically disadvantaged youths. Administered by the Department of Labor (Labor), Job Corps received about $1.6 billion in program year 2007 and served about 60,000 students. Some have expressed concern that Job Corps centers are not meeting planned enrollment goals, particularly for women. To address these concerns, GAO reviewed the (1) extent to which Job Corps centers are operating at or near capacity for residential students; (2) major factors that affect the recruitment and retention of residential students, particularly females; and (3) steps, if any, Labor has taken to address the recruitment and retention of residential students. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed Labor's enrollment data, surveyed Job Corps recruiters and center directors, and visited seven Job Corps centers."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "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."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We have performed the procedures contained in the enclosure to this report, which we agreed to perform and with which the Department of Transportation (DOT) concurred, solely to assist DOT's office in ascertaining whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, is supported by the underlying records. As agreed with DOT's office, we evaluated fiscal year 2007 activity affecting distributions to the AATF. In performing the agreed-upon procedures, we conducted our work in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, which incorporate financial audit and attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. These standards also provide guidance for performing and reporting the results of agreed-upon procedures. The adequacy of the procedures to meet your objectives is your responsibility, and we make no representation in that respect. The procedures we agreed to perform were related to (1) transactions that represent the underlying basis of amounts distributed to the AATF, (2) the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) quarterly AATF receipt certifications, (3) the Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service adjustments …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report has been superseded by GAO-05-35G, GAO's Agency Protocols. This document contains GAO's Agency Protocols that GAO is launching in a pilot phase starting in December 2002. These protocols are intended to govern GAO's work with executive branch agencies and to provide clearly defined and transparent policies and practices on how GAO will interact with agencies in the performance of its work."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The sooner our nation acts to address Social Security's long-term financial challenges, the easier it will be to successfully meet them. Once explained, the choices we face are not difficult to understand, but they are difficult to make. They affect both how much Americans pay for Social Security and how much they receive from the program. They require changes that not only will affect us but have implications for future generations. They also are difficult because they involve deeply felt values, such as community, individualism, fairness, and human dignity. This guide tries to boil down the complexities of Social Security and the implications of reform to the basic choices we face as a nation."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "With the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA '87), Congress responded to growing concerns about the quality of care that nursing home residents received by requiring reforms in the federal certification and oversight of nursing homes. These reforms included revising care requirements that homes must meet to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs, modifying the survey process for certifying a home's compliance with federal standards, and introducing additional sanctions and decertification procedures for noncompliant homes. GAO's testimony addresses its work in evaluating the quality of nursing home care and the enforcement and oversight functions intended to ensure high-quality care, the progress made in each of these areas since the passage of OBRA '87, and the challenges that remain. GAO's testimony is based on its prior work; analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) On-Line Survey, Certification, and Reporting system (OSCAR), which compiles the results of state nursing home surveys; and evaluation of federal comparative surveys for selected states (2005-2007). Federal comparative surveys are conducted at nursing homes recently surveyed by each state to assess the adequacy of the state's surveys."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP)--originally established in 1998 within the Department of Justice to help state and local first responders acquire specialized training and equipment needed to respond to terrorist incidents--was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security upon its creation in March 2003. After September 11, 2001, the scope and size of ODP's grant programs expanded. For example, from fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2003, ODP grants awarded to states and some urban areas grew from about $91 million to about $2.7 billion. This growth raised questions about the ability of ODP and states to ensure that the domestic preparedness grant programs--including statewide and urban area grants--are managed effectively and efficiently. GAO addressed (1) how statewide and urban area grants were administered in fiscal years 2002 and 2003 so that ODP could ensure that grant funds were spent in accordance with grant guidance and state preparedness planning and (2) what time frames Congress and ODP established for awarding and distributing grants, and how time frames affected the grant cycle."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) authority to award severable service contracts in fiscal years 1998 and 1999 under section 801 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998, focusing on: (1) the extent to which DOD used the authority in the last month of the fiscal year; and (2) whether contracts reportedly valued at about $1 million or more and whose work was performed entirely in the following fiscal year were abuses of section 801."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relies heavily on information technology (IT) to carry out its responsibility for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of certain consumer products. Recognizing limitations in its IT capabilities that had been previously identified in studies by FDA and others, the agency has begun various initiatives to modernize its IT systems. GAO was asked to (1) evaluate the agency's overall plans for modernizing its IT systems, including the extent to which the plans address identified limitations or inadequacies in the agency's capabilities, and (2) assess to what extent the agency has put in place key IT management policies and processes to guide the implementation of its modernization projects. GAO analyzed FDA's plans to determine whether they followed best practices and addressed capability limitations, reviewed key management policies and processes, and interviewed agency officials."

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication is superceded by GAO-12-331G, Government Auditing Standards: December 2011 Revision. This is the Government Auditing Standards 2007 version. This document outlines standards that contain requirements for auditor reporting on internal control. This revision supersedes the 2003 revision."