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Thursday, June 28, 2012

Recent GAO Publications

Management Report: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Preparation of the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements.
GAO-12-529, June 27.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-529
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591936.pdf


DOD Financial Management: Improvements Needed in Prompt Payment Monitoring and Reporting.
GAO-12-662R, June 26.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-662R

Managing for Results: A Guide for Using the GPRA Modernization Act to Help Inform Congressional Decision Making.
GAO-12-621SP, June 15.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-621SP

Recovery Act: Housing Programs Met Spending Milestones, but Asset Management Information Needs Evaluation.
GAO-12-634, June 18.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-634
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591681.pdf

Federal Real Property: National Strategy and Better Data Needed to Improve Management of Excess and Underutilized Property.
GAO-12-645, June 20.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-645
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591752.pdf

Health Center Program: Improved Oversight Needed to Ensure Grantee Compliance with Requirements.
GAO-12-546, May 29.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-546
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591178.pdf

Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Controls and Operating Effectiveness.
GAO-12-683R, June 25.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-683R

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

OMB not enamored of House-passed data transparency measure

The DATA Act, the government spending transparency bill that passed the House in April, has ruffled some feathers at the Office of Management and Budget, signs of which were on display Tuesday at a panel discussion of lessons learned from implementation of the 2009 Recovery Act.


Controller Danny Werfel, addressing a workshop put on by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and sponsored by Grant Thornton LLP, clashed with Obama administration colleague Earl Devaney, recently retired as chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, over whether new legislation is needed to advance their shared goals of improving transparency and accountability in agency spending.

The legislation known as the DATA Act (H.R. 2146), which is pending in the Senate, would impose a universal reporting requirement for recipients of federal grants, loans and contracts. It would require all agencies to use the same formats to publicly share their internal and external obligations and expenditures. A five-member Federal Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission would oversee the measure’s implementation.

Its components were heavily influenced by the online reporting and data consistency tools the Recovery Board pioneered during the financial crisis, and Devaney calls himself the DATA Act’s biggest fan.

-Charles S. Clark, GovExec.com
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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

OMB directs agencies to use evidence-based budgeting

The White House wants agency budgets to be based on evidence showing programs actually work.


That means agencies will have to show a return on the investment on their programs, with more successful programs being more likely to receive funding.

In a memo last month, OMB Acting Director Jeff Zeints directed agencies to use evidence and "rigorous evaluation" in submitting their 2014 budgets.

The prioritization of programs is even more crucial because OMB has told agencies it must cut their budgets by 5 percent for their 2014 requests.


The budget agency is encouraging agencies to use administrative data or new technology and to expand evaluation efforts.

-Jolie Lee, FederalNewsRadio.com
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Friday, June 01, 2012

Today's GAO Publications

Inspectors General: HUD Office of Inspector General Resources and Results.
GAO-12-618, May 31.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-618
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591273.pdf

Managing for Results: GAO's Work Related to the Interim Crosscutting Priority Goals under the GPRA Modernization Act.
GAO-12-620R, May 31.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-620R

OMB touts progress on reducing federal property footprint

The White House on Thursday announced new progress in the Obama administration’s effort to save money by consolidating and selling off unneeded federal real estate.


Through the first quarter of fiscal 2012, agencies saved $5.6 billion in property costs and were “on track” to exceed President Obama’s goal of saving $8 billion by year’s end, Controller Danny Werfel said in a blog post.

Congress is mulling bills to reform the property sale process. The Office of Management and Budget has proposed legislation to create an outside board of property experts who would bundle properties for sale after congressional approval, much like the Defense Department’s Base Closure and Realignment Commission. A bill with some similar provisions introduced by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., cleared the House in February but is stalled in the Senate.


-Charles S. Clark, GovExec.com
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