Gene L. Dodaro

Acting Comptroller General of the United States

The Role of the U.S. GovernmeAccountability Office

House Democracy Assistance CommissionMembers of Parliament from Afghanistan, Liberia & Timor-LesteWashington, D.C.September 18, 2008

GAO-08-1171CG
Presentation Outlin

• Who we are and how we do o• Demand for service and imp• The importance of collabora

capacity building

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Who We Are an

How We Do Our W

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GAO’s Role & Missi

GAO’s role is to support the Concarrying out its constitutional resand to help improve the performassure accountability of governmbenefit of the American people.

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Key Approaches

GAO carries out its mission in four funways:Oversight–preventing and detecting 

abuse, and mismanagement Insight–making government more eff

effective Foresight–identifying emerging issue

Adjudication–resolving bid protests a

legal opinions

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Core Values

Accountability Help the Congress oversee federal progrand operations to ensure accountability to peopleIntegrityEnsure that our work is professional, objefact-based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fbalancedReliabilityProvide high-quality, timely, accurate, usecandid information

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GAO’s Mission Team

• Acquisitions and 

Sourcing Management

• Applied Research and 

Methods

• Defense Capabilities 

Management

• Education, Workforce, 

and Income Security

• Financial Management 

Assurance

• Financial Markets and 

Community Investments

• Health Ca• Homeland 

Justice

• Informatio• Internation

Trade

• Natural Re

the Enviro

• Physical In• Strategic I

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GAO’s Workforce

• 3,100 FTE—75% in D.C., 25% in f• Workforce consists primarily of ana

specialists, auditors, attorneys, and 

• GAO has technical chiefs for accou

actuarial science, economics, statiand technology

• 80% of GAO’s resources spent on 

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Chicago

Dallas

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Seattle

Denver

Huntsville

GAO’s Field Of

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ITNRE

EWISFMCIIAT

HSJNREPI

EWISFMCI

HCPI

DCMFMAHSJ

ITNREPI

ASM

DCMEWISFMAHC

NRESI

IATPI

Source: GAO.

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GAO’s Independen

The Comptroller General (CG) is the h

• confirmed through a joint selection

process involving the Congress aPresident

• serves a 15 year term of office• can only be removed by impeachm

resolution of Congress for specifie

GAO staff at all levels are civil servantappointees

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GAO’s Protocols

Congressional ProtocolsGovern GAO’s interactions with our client, thAgency ProtocolsGovern GAO’s interactions with executive bInternational ProtocolsGovern GAO’s work that has international cimplications

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Congressional Protoc

• GAO considers various criteria 

accepting requests

• GAO prioritizes its work• GAO makes certain commitme

congressional requesters

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Agency Protocols

• GAO makes certain commitments to agen

• notifies them of new work• coordinates entrance and exit conference• solicits agency comments on drafts

• GAO expects certain commitments from a

• promptly schedules entrance and exit con

makes appropriate officials available

• complies with GAO’s request for access to • comments on GAO’s draft reports • informs GAO of plans to implement report 

recommendations 

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International Protoc

International protocols in place fo• U.S. federal agencies with program

overseas

• International organizations• Foreign government ministries and • Supreme Audit Institutions• International and national accounta

organizations

• International development organiza

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Types of Engageme

GAO Conducts

• Performance audits evaluating federal 

agency performance, and actions need

• program effectiveness and results audits • economy and efficiency audits • internal control assessments • prospective analyses to 

• assess program or policy alternatives• advantages or disadvantages of proposals• best practices

• Financial audits and attestation engag

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Types of Engageme

GAO Conducts (con

• Non-audit services include:

• best practice guides• budget justification reviews• training, such as on audit standard• briefings• legal opinions • bid protest adjudications • technical assistance• investigations

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GAO’s Engagement Pr

Phase One: AcceptancePhase Two: Planning and DesignPhase Three: Data Gathering and AnalysiPhase Four: Product Development and DPhase Five: Results

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GAO’s Risk Based Engag

Management Proces

RequestsMandatesCGA starts

DCCDA

r

O

a

EAM

AuthorityIndependenceRisk Level 

CostComplexityControversy

PriorityInternal ControlsStakeholders

HIGH

MEDIUM

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One Quality Assurance S

• While GAO undertakes a wide variety of engagements—

approaches and methodologies and a range of specializone quality assurance system

• GAO’s quality assurance system is composed of a com

clearly-defined, well-documented, and transparent standprocedures

• Quality Assurance System—Framework and Policy Man

compliance with Government Auditing Standards and co

• GAO’s Quality Assurance System provides reasonable 

GAO’s:

• work is professional, independent, and objectively d• evidence is complete and reliable • conclusions and products are fair and balanced • recommendations are sound

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Standards

• Government Auditing Standar• Other generally accepted prac

• surveys• statistical sampling• other applicable industry standards, 

for engineering and actuarial work

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Monitoring and Revi

• Annual audit by external auditors• Audit Advisory Committee• GAO’s Inspector General review• Annual internal assessments of i

controls

• Annual internal inspection progra• External peer review every 3 yea

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Demand for Service

Impact of Work

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Demand High for GAO As

• Over 1,200 requests received in • 1,176 requests received to date • Over 160 new mandates for GA

were embedded into law

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Increasing Demand for GAO 

• GAO witnesses testifying at rec

• 276 testimonies in FY ’07 • Nearly 280 to date in FY ‘08

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Fiscal Year 2007

Performance 

Timeliness (based on client feedback) 9Recommendations implemented 8Products with recommendations 6Testimonies 1

Other benefits 1

Financial benefits (in billions) $4

FY 

Ta

Measures

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Impact of GAO’s Wo

In FY ’07, GAO delivered hundreds of reporto aid congressional oversight and decision there are many examples showing the impaFinancial Benefits Example

• Increased the collection of delinquent 

fines 

Other Benefits Example

• Helped Congress create a center to be

children after national disasters

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The Importance of Colla

and Capacity Build

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The Importance of Collab

To strengthen accountability on a dominternational basis, GAO coordinates way with:

• The National Intergovernmental A• The Domestic Working Group• The International Organization of 

Audit Institutions

• The Global Working Group

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GAO in the International Co

• GAO is a member of the International Or

Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI)

• GAO’s Comptroller General sits on the IN

Governing Board

• GAO facilitates an international auditor fe

training program

• GAO participates in international peer re• Partnerships are a key enabler of change 

leverage available resources

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Evolving Challenge

for Supreme Audit Instit

Public expectations of government are 

• Zero tolerance for corruption• Desire for enhanced results and improv

responsiveness 

• Selected trends and challenges that ha

• Debt finance and financial markets• Changing security threats• Global interdependence• Climate change• Science and technology• governance

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Looking Inward: Build

GAO’s Institutional Cap

GAO, like other audit entities, must stand retain employees with the proper order to deal effectively with current achallenges. Along these line, GAO:

• Implemented core leadership tra• Grows faculty from within (“adjun• Contracts with the National Acad

Sciences (NAS), when needed

• Hired a Chief Scientist• Designed a state of the art comp

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Growing Expectations o

Accountability Profes

To face current and emerging challenaccountability profession must:

• Identify problem spots before cris• Recognize problems often need 

organizations to work together

• Provide more detailed recommen• Add value by providing timely sp• Cope with constrained resources

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Accountability Organiz

Maturity Model

Facilitating

Foresight

Increasing Insight

Enhancing Economy

Efficiency, Ethics, Equity, 

and Effectiveness

Assuring Accountability

Combating Corruption

Source: GAO.

Promoting Transparency

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Ways to Strengthen 

Accountability Profes

• Focusing on strategic planning• Modernizing professional standard• Leading the way on fiscal stewards• Helping identify needed transforma• Building audit capacity

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Gene L. Dodaro

Acting Comptroller General of the United States

The Role of the U.S. GovernmeAccountability Office

House Democracy Assistance CommissionMembers of Parliament from Afghanistan, Liberia & Timor-LesteWashington, D.C.September 18, 2008

GAO-08-1171CG
On the Web

Web site: www.gao.gov/cghome.htm

Contact

Chuck Young, Managing Director, Public AffairsYoungC1@gao.gov (202) 512-4800 

U.S. Government Accountability Office441 G Street NW, Room 7149Washington, D.C. 20548

Copyright

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not sucopyright protection in the United States. The pubmay be reproduced and distributed in its entirety wpermission from GAO. However, because this worcopyrighted images or other material, permission fcopyright holder may be necessary if you wish to rematerial separately. 

GAO-08-1171CG