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GAO-07-146SP 1 (2006-10-01)

handle is hein.gao/gaobabmhn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO'S PERFORMANCE PLANS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007 About GAO GAO is an independent, nonpartisan, professional services agency in the legislative branch of the federal government. Commonly known as the audit and investigative arm of the Congress or the congressional watchdog, we examine how taxpayer dollars are spent and advise lawmakers and agency heads on ways to make government work better. As a legislative branch agency, we are exempt from many laws that apply to the executive branch agencies. However, we generally hold ourselves to the spirit of many of the laws, including 31 U.S.C. 3512 (commonly referred to as the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act), the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, and the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996.1 GAO's History The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 required the President to issue an annual federal budget and established GAO as an independent agency to investigate how federal dollars are spent. In the early years, we mainly audited vouchers, but after World War 11 we started to perform more comprehensive financial audits that examined the economy and efficiency of government operations. By the 1960s, GAO had begun to perform the type of work we are noted for today-program evaluation-which examines whether government programs are meeting their objectives. Our new name, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, reflects our people, our work, and our reputation. GAO's Mission Our mission is to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We accomplish our mission by providing reliable information and informed analysis to the Congress, to federal agencies, and to the public; and we recommend improvements, when appropriate, on a wide variety of issues. Three core values-accountability, integrity, and reliability-form the basis for all of our work, regardless of its origin. How GAO Supports the Congress and Serves the American People Our efforts to support the Congress and inform the general public include * engaging in a range of oversight, insight, and foresight activities that span the full breadth and scope of federal programs, policies, operations, and performance; * overseeing government operations through financial and other performance audits to determine whether public funds are being spent efficiently and effectively; * providing legal opinions to determine whether agencies are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; * investigating whether illegal or improper activities are occurring; * analyzing the financing for government activities; * conducting a range of constructive engagements in which we work proactively with agencies, when appropriate, to help guide their efforts toward achieving positive results; 1 The Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act requires ongoing evaluations and annual reports on the adequacy of the systems of internal accounting and administrative control of each agency. The Government Performance and Results Act seeks to improve public confidence in federal agency performance by requiring that federally funded agencies develop and implement an accountability system based on performance measurement, including setting goals and objectives and measuring progress toward achieving them. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act emphasizes the need to improve federal financial management by requiring that federal agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that comply with federal financial management systems requirements, applicable federal accounting standards, and the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger at the transaction level. GAO-07-146SP GAO's Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2007

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