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Category Archives: Auditing and Financial Management
Did You Know the Government Gets Audited, Too?
Tax season has many people diligently filing their returns to avoid being audited. While the federal government is not a tax-paying entity, it actually undergoes an audit of its financial statements every year. How do we know? Because we perform … Continue reading
Saving Dollar Bills: Reducing Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication in Federal Programs
We released our latest report today on fragmentation, overlap, and duplication in the federal government. Since 2011, we’ve been reporting on ways the government can be more efficient and save taxpayers’ money by looking for programs that work on the … Continue reading
GAO’s 2017 Performance and Accountability Report—More than $73 Billion in Financial Benefits
It’s that time of year again, the time we like to share the results of our work with you, the taxpayer. This year our audit work produced over $73 billion in financial benefits. In other words, for every $1 Congress … Continue reading
The DATA Act – Working Towards Federal Spending Transparency
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 requires federal agencies to prepare and submit standardized, accurate information about the roughly $3.7 trillion they spend each year. The Office of Management and Budget and the Department of the Treasury are … Continue reading
IRS: Taxpayer Tips Can Turn Into Cash
The Internal Revenue Service helps keep the federal government funded by enforcing tax laws and working to ensure that everybody pays their share. Nevertheless, every year some taxpayers—intentionally or inadvertently—overstate deductions, understate income, and don’t pay what they owe. The … Continue reading
GAO’s 2016 Performance and Accountability Report—Over $63 Billion in Financial Benefits
Once a year we like to share the results of our work with you, the taxpayer. This year our audit work produced over $63 billion in financial benefits. In other words, for every $1 Congress invested in us, we returned … Continue reading
Following the Money: The Audit Trail
You may remember from your elementary school civics class (or our previous Watchblog posts) that Congress allocates the money that executive branch agencies use to carry out their work. But who makes sure these agencies are spending this money correctly? … Continue reading
Working toward Implementing the DATA Act
Federal agencies spend more than $3.7 trillion a year. But it’s not always easy to get reliable, useful, and consistent information about this spending—information that can help improve oversight, decision making, and transparency. So, Congress passed the Digital Accountability and … Continue reading
When the Federal Government Makes Improper Payments (podcast)
Federal government agencies made an estimated $137 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2015. These were payments that shouldn’t have been made at all or were sent in the wrong amount. Here is Beryl Davis, a director in our … Continue reading
Updating Government Auditing Standards – The 2017 Yellow Book Exposure Draft
Today we issued an exposure draft containing proposed updates to Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards, also known as the “Yellow Book.” We invite your comments on the proposed changes, which reflect developments in the accounting and auditing profession.