Performance and

Accountability Report

Fiscal Year 2020

SERVING CONGRESS AND THE NATION
Source: Eyewire. | GAO-21-4SP

SERVING THE CONGRESS

M i s s i o n 

GAO exists 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.

Treated Fairly

Valued

Respected

Integrity

Reliability

Accountability

Core Values

MISSION VALUES: PEOPLE VALUES:

Accountability 

Enhance the economy, efficiency, 

effectiveness, and credibility of 

the federal government

Integrity 

Conduct professional, objective, 

fact-based, non-partisan, nonideological, fair, and balanced work

Reliability 

Produce timely, accurate, useful, 

clear, and candid products

Valued

Seek out and appreciate

each person’s perspectives

Respected

Treat everyone with dignity

Treated Fairly

Foster a work environment that 

provides opportunities for all

Source: GAO. | www.gao.gov

S c o p e o f Wo r k 

GAO performs a range of oversight-, insight-, and 

foresight-related engagements, a vast majority of which 

are conducted in response to congressional mandates or 

requests. GAO’s engagements include evaluations of federal 

programs and performance, financial and management 

audits, policy analyses, legal opinions, bid protest 

adjudications, and investigations.
GAO-21-4SP Contents i

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Source: Photodisc. | GAO-21-4SP

Contents .................................................... i

How to Use This Report ................................ ii

A Fiscal Year 2020 Performance and Financial 

Snapshot for the American Taxpayer .............iii

Introduction................................................1

From the Comptroller General ........................2

Management Assurance Statements ................ 11

About GAO.............................................. 13

Mission ............................................... 14

Core Values.......................................... 14

Strategic Goals...................................... 14

Organizational Structure .......................... 14

Strategic Planning and Foresight................. 18

How We Measure Our Performance.............. 22

Setting Performance Targets ..................... 24

Part I: Management’s Discussion and Analysis* ... 26

Assisting the Congress and Benefiting the Nation 

During Challenging Times ......................... 26

Overall Performance Toward Our Goals......... 27

Financial Benefits............................ 30

Other Benefits................................ 33

Other Measures of Our Results ............ 36

Other Ways GAO Served the Congress and the 

American People ................................. 45

Strategic Partnerships ............................ 50

Managing Our Resources........................... 53

Management Challenges ........................... 58

Part II: Performance Information.................... 67

Performance Information by Strategic Goal ...... 67

Strategic Goal 1: Address Current and 

Emerging Challenges to the Well-being 

and Financial Security of the American 

People.............................................. 68

Financial Benefits............................ 70

Other Benefits................................ 71

Testimonies ................................... 71

Strategic Goal 2: Respond to Changing 

Security Threats and the Challenges of 

Global Interdependence ......................... 75

Financial Benefits............................ 78

Other Benefits................................ 78

Testimonies ................................... 78

Strategic Goal 3: Help Transform the 

Federal Government to Address National 

Challenges ......................................... 82

Financial Benefits............................ 84

Other Benefits................................ 84

Testimonies ................................... 85

Strategic Goal 4: Maximize the Value of 

GAO by Enabling Quality, Timely Service 

to the Congress and by Being a Leading 

Practices Federal Agency........................ 89

Part III: Financial Information ........................ 94

From the Chief Financial Officer .................... 94

Audit Advisory Committee’s Report ................ 96

Independent Auditors’ Report....................... 97

Financial Statements................................. 103

Notes to Financial Statements......................107

Deferred Maintenance and Repairs* ............... 120

Part IV: Inspector General’s View of GAO’s 

Management Challenges ...........................123

Inspector General’s Statement .................... 124

Part V: Appendixes .................................... 125

Appendix I: Abbreviations .......................... 126

Appendix II: Data Quality............................ 129

Verifying and Validating Performance Data.... 129

Image Sources .......................................... 139

Providing Comments on This Report............... 139

Obtaining Copies of GAO Documents .............. 139

Connect with GAO ..................................... 139

*Note: Considered Required Supplementary Information.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

How to Use This Report

This report describes for the Congress and the American taxpayer the United States 

(U.S.) Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) performance measures, results, and 

accountability processes for fiscal year 2020 (October 1, 2019 through September 30, 

2020). In assessing our performance, we compared actual results against targets and 

goals that were set in our annual performance plan and performance budget and 

were developed to help carry out our strategic plan. Our complete set of strategic 

planning and performance and accountability reports is available on our website at 

https://www.gao.gov/about/performanceaccountabilityreport/overview.

This report has an introduction, four parts, 

and supplementary appendixes as follows:

Introduction

This section includes the letter from the 

Comptroller General and a statement 

attesting to the completeness and 

reliability of the performance and financial 

data in this report and the effectiveness 

of our internal control over financial 

reporting. This section also includes 

a summary discussion of our mission, 

strategic planning process, organizational 

structure, strategies we use to achieve 

our goals, and process for assessing our 

performance. 

Management’s Discussion and 

Analysis

This section discusses our agency-wide 

performance results and use of resources 

in fiscal year 2020. It also includes 

information on our internal controls and 

the management challenges and external 

factors that affect our performance. 

Performance Information

This section includes details on our 

performance results by strategic goal 

in fiscal year 2020 and the targets we 

are aiming for in fiscal year 2021. It also 

includes a summary of our program 

evaluation for fiscal year 2020. 

Financial Information

This section includes details on our 

finances in fiscal year 2020, including 

a letter from our Chief Financial 

Officer, audited financial statements 

and notes, and the reports from our 

external auditor and Audit Advisory 

Committee. This section also includes 

an explanation of the information each 

of our financial statements conveys. 

Inspector General’s View 

of GAO’s Management 

Challenges

This section includes our Inspector 

General’s perspective of our agency’s 

management challenges. 

Appendixes

This section provides the report’s 

abbreviations and describes how we 

ensure the completeness and reliability 

of the data for each of our performance 

measures.

ii GAO-21-4SP How to Use This Report
Did you know?

In fiscal year 2020: 

—The Congress used GAO’s work extensively 

to identify legislative solutions to emerging 

problems, achieve cost savings, and enhance 

efficiencies in federal agencies and programs. 

—GAO’s work yielded about $77.6 billion in 

financial benefits—a return of about $114 for 

every dollar invested in GAO.

—GAO also identified 1,332 other benefits—those 

that cannot be measured in dollars, but led to 

program and operational improvements across 

the government. 

—GAO reported on 35 areas previously 

designated as high risk due to vulnerabilities 

to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement 

or because they face economy, efficiency, or 

effectiveness challenges. This work yielded 168 

reports, 26 testimonies, $54.2 billion in financial 

benefits, and 606 other benefits.

—GAO received requests for work from 90 

percent of the standing committees of the 

Congress. 

—Senior GAO officials were asked to testify 59 

times on a wide range of issues that touched 

virtually all major federal agencies.

—GAO was again recognized as one of the best 

places to work in the federal government. In 

December 2019, the Partnership for Public 

Service ranked GAO as third among mid-size 

federal agencies as a “best place to work” and 

first for diversity efforts. 

GAO’s Fiscal Year 2020 Snapshot 

A Fiscal Year 2020 Performance and Financial 

Snapshot for the American Taxpayer

Accountability  Integrity  Reliability

GAO-21-4SP 2020 Performance and Accountability Report iii

Government Accountability Office

Who We Are: GAO is an independent, 

nonpartisan professional services agency 

in the legislative branch of the federal 

government. It was created in 1921 to 

investigate how federal dollars are spent. 

What We Do: Commonly known as the 

investigative arm of the Congress or the 

“congressional watchdog,” we examine how 

taxpayer dollars are spent and develop 

nonpartisan, objective, and reliable 

information to advise lawmakers and agency 

heads on ways to make government work 

better. 

Our Results: Since 2002, GAO’s work has 

resulted in nearly $1.2 trillion dollars in 

financial benefits and more than 24,000 

program and operational benefits that helped 

change laws, improve public safety and other 

services, and promote better management 

throughout the government. 
iv 2020 Performance and Accountability Report GAO-21-4SP

GAO’s Fiscal Year 2020 Snapshot 

Figure 4: Percentage of New Products with 

Recommendations

Percentage

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

63% 64% 64% 64% 60%

66% 68%

Figure 5: Testimonies

0

50

100

150

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

Number

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

119 120

109

59

99 98 97

Figure 6: Timeliness

Percentage of products on time

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

95% 90% 93% 98% 94% 96% 97%

0

20

40

60

80

100

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

Figure 1: Financial Benefits GAO Recorded

Dollars in billions

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

0

50

100

150

200

250

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

$50.0 $63.4 $74.7 

$214.7

$73.9 $75.1 $77.6

Figure 2: Other Benefits

0

300

600

900

1200

1500

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

Number

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

1,234 1,200 1,286

1,418 1,332 1,280 1,294

Figure 3: Percentage of Past 

Recommendations Implemented

Four-year implementation rate

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

80%

73%

79% 76% 77% 77% 77%

Note: See Part I for further details on these results, and Part V for detailed information on data sources used to assess each 

measure, steps taken by independent reviewers, and steps taken to verify and validate the data. 
GAO-21-4SP 2020 Performance and Accountability Report v

GAO’s Fiscal Year 2020 Snapshot 

Table 1: GAO Reporting Summary

Fiscal 

Year 

2020

Fiscal 

Year 

2019

Clean opinion on financial statements Yes Yes

Clean opinion on internal control over 

financial reporting Yes Yes

Timely and accurate GTAS reporting Yes Yes

Material weaknesses in internal control None None

Significant internal control deficiencies None None

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Note: GTAS is a system used by agencies to report budget execution information and proprietary financial reporting information to the Department of the Treasury.

Table 2: GAO’s Financial Summary (Dollars in millions) 

Fiscal Year 2020 Fiscal Year 2019

Total Assets $189.1 $161.7

Total Liabilities $99.2 $89.8

Total Net Position $89.9 $71.9

Net Cost of Operations by Goal

Goal 1: Well-being / Financial Security of American People $257.5 $230.3

Goal 2: Changing Security Threats / Challenges of Global 

Interdependence 173.5 196.3

Goal 3: Help Transform the Federal Government to Address 

National Challenges 160.7 148.6

Goal 4: Maximize the Value of GAO 12.6 14.0

Other Costs in Support of the Congress 64.7 62.0

Reimbursable services not attributable to above cost 

categories (13.0) (13.1)

Total Net Cost of Operations $656.0 $638.1

Actual full-time equivalents (FTE) 3,178 3,161

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Figure 7: Use of Fiscal Year 2020 Funds by 

Category 

Percentage of total costs

Facilities

Salary 

and benefits

7.8%

84.0%

IT services

and equipment

3.3%

Contract services 

(non-IT)

Other 1.9%

3.0%

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

More information on GAO’s performance is included in Part I and Part II of this report. Detailed 

information on GAO’s financials are included in Part III. Part V provides details on how we set and 

calculate our performance measures. 
vi 2020 Performance and Accountability Report GAO-21-4SP

GAO’s Fiscal Year 2020 Snapshot

research, and U.S. competitiveness in high 

performance computing. 

The team’s innovation lab will prototype 

advanced analytics and emerging technologies to 

increase the sophistication of the data analytics 

we use to audit federal programs through its 

state-of-the-art computational environment.

Addressing Cyber-based Threats to the Nation’s 

Systems and Critical Infrastructure 

Escalating cybersecurity threats, including new 

and more destructive attacks from around the 

globe, highlight the critical and persistent need 

for effective information security. Our work will 

continue to include (1) the security of federal 

information systems, such as the ability of 

key agencies to detect, prevent, and address 

security incidents; (2) the cybersecurity of 

critical infrastructure, such as transportation 

systems, communications, financial services, 

and the electric grid; and (3) the security of 

taxpayer information. 

We will also continue to assist the Congress with:

(1) Overseeing the Department of Defense’s 

efforts to balance current operational 

deployments with fulfilling the full spectrum of 

future military needs—focusing on the key areas of 

interest to congressional defense committees; and 

(2) Improving the federal government’s 

management and delivery of healthcare services 

across the spectrum of recipients—focusing on 

key congressional priorities, such as reducing 

improper payments made by Medicare and 

Medicaid, which reached $104 billion in 2019. 

In 2021 and beyond, GAO looks forward to 

assisting the Congress with addressing the 

nation’s most important challenges.

What’s Next? Future Challenges 

and Priorities 

Source: Comstock. | GAO-21-4SP

The federal government faced an unsustainable 

long-term fiscal path even before the complications 

brought about by COVID-19. This resulted from an 

imbalance between revenue and spending built into 

the structure of current law. The Congress and the 

administration have taken necessary actions—which 

totaled $2.6 trillion—to respond to COVID-19 and 

the subsequent severe economic downturn. Once 

public health goals are attained and the economy 

has substantially recovered, the Congress and the 

administration should swiftly implement a broad 

plan to address the long-term fiscal outlook.

In the interim, we will continue to monitor the 

nation’s fiscal health; oversee the federal response 

to COVID-19 and report bimonthly to the Congress, 

per the CARES Act; and undertake work in several 

other key areas, based on congressional interest. 

Impacts of Evolving Science and Technology 

The importance of keeping pace with emerging 

and rapidly evolving scientific and technological 

advances was brought into sharp relief this year 

by COVID-19. Such advances are transforming 

multiple sectors of society, including medicine, 

transportation, communication, and defense. 

Each development brings both opportunities and 

potential unintended consequences. The ability 

of the Congress to understand and evaluate such 

developments will be critical for the U.S. to remain 

safe, innovative, and globally competitive. 

Our Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics 

team (established in 2019) is well-positioned to 

assist with this challenge. Its growing portfolio of 

ongoing and future work includes (1) technology 

assessments on quantum computing, blockchain 

and distributed ledger technologies, and the use of 

artificial intelligence (AI) in medical diagnostics; and 

(2) performance audits on foreign conflicts in federal 
Introduction 

Source: Comstock (columns, eagle, and flag). | GAO-21-4SP

SERVING CONGRESS AND THE NATION
2 GAO-21-4SP From the Comptroller General

Source: Photodisc. | GAO-21-4SP

November 16, 2020

I am pleased to present GAO’s Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for fiscal 

year 2020. GAO’s 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. 

The COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19) has had far-reaching and devastating consequences 

for the nation, including public health and the economy. It has also fundamentally 

changed our basic ways of life and of work. As outlined later in this letter, GAO rose 

to the challenge of meeting its statutory obligations to oversee and evaluate $2.6 

trillion in spending in response to COVID-19—the largest rescue package in U.S. history. 

Collectively, these events galvanized GAO’s commitment to the full breadth of our 

mission. Our results reflect this commitment. 

Financial Benefits: In fiscal year 2020, we documented $77.6 billion in financial benefits 

for the government—a return of about $114 for every dollar invested in us. Our average 

return on investment for the past 5 years is $165 to $1. We also reached a return on 

investment of at least $100 to $1 for 8 of the past 9 years. Examples of our financial 

benefits for this year included contributing to (1) revisions to spending limits for 

Medicaid demonstration projects ($29.4 billion) and (2) termination of the Department 

of Energy’s (DOE) Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX) project to dispose of 

plutonium (about $13.0 billion). These examples are discussed further in Part 1. 

Legislative Impacts: In fiscal year 2020, the Congress used GAO’s work extensively to 

inform key legislative decisions. Examples linked directly to GAO’s work include: 

 The Appropriations Act of 2020 (and accompanying House and Senate reports): 

The Congress required agencies to submit progress reports on implementing 

GAO’s recommendations: 

From the Comptroller General
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 3 From the Comptroller General

— The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to implement 

our recommendations to improve (1) recruitment and retention initiatives for 

healthcare providers in rural and highly rural areas; (2) practices used to prescribe 

drugs to veterans, including opioids; (3) and methods used to credential health 

providers who treat veterans, to help prevent disqualified providers from delivering 

patient care. 

— The Department of Education (Education) is to (1) simplify and increase 

transparency and outreach for a student loan forgiveness program, and (2) evaluate 

a program that offers Pell grants to about 8,000 incarcerated students. It also 

directed the Secretary of Education to create and execute an outreach plan to 

increase participation by Historically Black Colleges and Universities in its Capital 

Financing Program. 

 The National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 (and committee reports): Consistent 

with our work 

— The Congress included the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, which requires 

federal agencies and the energy industry to develop a national plan to protect the 

electric grid from cyber threats. 

— The Congress directed the Secretaries of Labor and Defense to implement several 

of our recommendations related to (1) defense contracting, (2) TRICARE improper 

payments, and (3) the Department of Defense (DOD) whistleblower protection. 

— The Congress directed the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National 

Intelligence to implement our recommendations for improving the onboarding of 

Intelligence Community (IC) personnel.

Also consistent with our work 

 The Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act: The 

Congress directed Education to obtain Internal Revenue Service (IRS) taxpayer data 

to verify student-loan borrower income information—estimated to save about $1.8 

billion over 5 years.

 The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (March 2020): The Congress codified 

and enhanced existing improper payments law by requiring (1) more guidance 

on agency risk assessments and improper payment estimates; (2) the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to report an annual government-wide estimate, and 

create a process to improve reporting by programs that do not comply with improper 

payments criteria. 

 The Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence 

Act: The Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to 

consider our findings on combating the use of fake caller identification information 

when it creates rules to help protect subscribers from receiving such unwanted calls 

or text messages. 

 The Building Blocks of STEM Act: The Congress (1) modified the National Science 

Foundation (NSF) grant programs that support Science, Technology, Engineering, 

and Math (STEM) education to improve its focus on research and development for 

early childhood education, and (2) specified how to increase the participation of 

underrepresented populations in STEM fields. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

4 GAO-21-4SP From the Comptroller General

Other Benefits: Many other benefits resulting from our work cannot be measured 

in dollars but lead to program and operational improvements. In fiscal year 2020, 

we recorded 1,332 of these other benefits. For example, our work on public 

safety and security:

 Prompted the Congress to include a provision in the Setting Every Community Up 

for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (December), which expands access to 

retirement plans for millions of long-term, part-time employees who previously were 

not eligible to save and invest in their employer-based retirement savings plans; 

 Led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take steps to improve its oversight 

of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or “drones”)—to prevent these systems 

from endangering life and property—through better communication with its law 

enforcement partners about the information it needs on unsafe UAS operations; and 

 Led several federal agencies to take steps to more fully establish key elements of a 

cybersecurity risk management program and/or conduct an agency-wide assessment 

of cyber risks to better safeguard their agencies from the growing number of cyber 

threats. These actions included updating key policies and procedures to ensure that 

they are identifying, assessing, and responding to cyber risks.

Similarly, our work related to vulnerable populations:

 Prompted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to improve 

the services it provides to disaster survivors with disabilities by (1) using new 

registration-intake questions to better identify their needs, (2) establishing related 

objectives in its 2019-2022 Strategic Plan, and (3) seeking feedback on its new 

approach to service delivery; 

 Led to agreement by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to improve the (1) guidance 

it uses to process and track family separations at the southwest border, and (2) 

oversight mechanisms for delivering medical care to those in its custody; and 

 Led DOD and VA to develop a joint plan to provide updated information on VA’s 

website about where Agent Orange had been tested and stored in the Vietnam 

War era to help veterans determine their potential exposure and eligibility 

for disability compensation. 

Furthermore, our work in the area of agency operations:

 Helped inform congressional decision makers on the financial viability of the U.S. 

Postal Service (USPS). For over a decade, we have reported that the business 

model used by USPS is financially unsustainable due to declining mail volumes and 

rising costs, and that it needs to work with the Congress and other stakeholders to 

reassess the nation’s postal needs and how to fund them; 

 Led to agreement by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to 

develop a solid business case for its mission to return U.S astronauts to the moon by 

2024, and include a comprehensive plan and full cost estimate for this mission; and 

 Helped inform Senate legislation to build on progress made under the Chief Financial 

Officers Act of 1990 to further improve federal financial management, such as 

preparing financial management plans and better linking cost to performance. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 5 From the Comptroller General

Building Bodies of Knowledge: Through the products issued this year, we continued to 

build on bodies of work related to our three broad strategic goals to (1) address current 

and emerging challenges to the well-being and financial security of the American 

people, (2) help the Congress respond to changing security threats and the challenges 

of global interdependence, and (3) help transform the federal government to address 

national challenges. Examples include:

 Protection of children and students. We reported on the need to (1) update or 

replace the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in about 

36,000 K-12 public schools, which is of heightened importance given COVID-19; 

and (2) address the physical barriers, such as accessible door hardware and steep 

ramps, that make it challenging for students, teachers, and others with disabilities 

to use public schools facilities.

 Veterans. We reported on the need for (1) VA to improve how it tracks and 

analyzes the data on veteran suicides that occur on its campuses, such as medical 

facilities, to better understand and prevent such suicides; (2) VA to strengthen its 

oversight of the quality of state veterans homes, which provide skilled nursing and 

personal care to about half of eligible veterans—especially given COVID-19; and 

(3) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and agencies to better leverage 

data to improve the retention of veterans in federal jobs, which is lower than the 

retention of similar non-veterans. 

 Health care. We reported on the need to (1) address infection control deficiencies 

in nursing homes to help safeguard residents from outbreaks like COVID-19; 

(2) determine more precisely the magnitude of antibiotic resistance—which sickens 

about 2.8 million people annually—and strengthen federal efforts to minimize its 

effects; and (3) improve oversight of two Medicaid drug discount programs to help 

ensure that duplicate discounts for the same drug are not permitted. 

 Technology and science. At the behest of the Congress, we created a new Science, 

Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) team in 2019 by (1) consolidating 

our existing science and technology expertise, (2) growing that expertise, and 

(3) expanding our portfolio of work per client demand. This year, we continued to 

bolster our expertise through targeted hiring in areas including aerospace, medical, 

and mechanical engineering; financial analytics; financial crime; and applied industrial 

mathematics—reaching a total of 97 staff against a target of 100 by year end. 

We expanded our use of Science and Tech Spotlights, which distill complex issues 

into a 2-page summary. We issued 15 such products. Topics included (1) CRISPR 

gene editing; (2) 5G wireless technologies; (3) quantum technologies; and 

(4) COVID-19—Coronaviruses, Social Distancing During Pandemics, COVID-19 Modeling, 

COVID-19 Testing, COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Herd Immunity, and Contact 

Tracing Applications. 

We also issued in-depth Technology Assessments on (1) the use of Artificial 

Intelligence to deliver health care services; (2) data quality considerations for 

modeling and analysis of COVID-19; (3) algorithms used in forensic science for federal 

law enforcement, such as DNA, fingerprints, and facial recognition; and (4) irrigated 

agriculture technologies, practices, and implications for water scarcity. In addition, 

we reported on federal agencies’ use of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

6 GAO-21-4SP From the Comptroller General

technologies, convened a CG Forum on Artificial Intelligence, and our Innovation Lab 

received approval to prototype advanced analytics and emerging technologies.

 COVID-19 Response and Recovery. Four relief laws, including the CARES Act, were 

enacted as of September 2020. These laws appropriated $2.6 trillion across the 

government to address the public health and economic threats posed by COVID-19. 

The CARES Act includes a provision for GAO to conduct monitoring and oversight 

of the federal government’s efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from 

the COVID-19 pandemic, and to report on a bimonthly basis until March 2021 and 

periodically thereafter. We are to report on, among other things, the effect of the 

pandemic on the public health, economy, and public and private institutions.

We issued our first three bimonthly reports in June, August, and late September, 

with a total of 19 recommendations and 3 Matters for Congressional Consideration 

(Matters). Our September report outlined the many steps that the administration 

and the Congress have taken to address COVID-19, and issues still requiring attention. 

We made 16 new recommendations for action to enhance the nation’s response to 

remaining challenges: 

Medical Supply Chain. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), FEMA, 

and DOD have taken many steps to mitigate medical supply shortages and expand the 

medical supply chain—including coordinating the delivery of supplies to nursing homes 

and using Defense Production Act authorities to increase the domestic production of 

supplies. However, shortages of certain types of personal protective equipment and 

testing supplies persist due to a supply chain with limited domestic production and 

high global demand. We made three recommendations to HHS and one to FEMA to 

address medical supply shortages and improve the medical supply chain. 

Vaccines and therapeutics. In mid-September, we made one recommendation for 

HHS, with DOD’s support, to establish a time frame for documenting and sharing a 

national plan to distribute and administer a vaccine. After HHS and DOD commented 

on our draft report, they issued two documents outlining a strategy for distributing 

a COVID-19 vaccine. We will evaluate these documents and include our findings in 

future reports. 

COVID-19 data. Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC), suggests a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and 

deaths among racial and ethnic minority groups and nursing home residents. We 

made three recommendations to CDC and one to HHS, in consultation with the 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to improve data collection on 

COVID-19 to better understand health outcomes by race and ethnicity and capture 

more complete data on nursing home residents.

Economic Impact Payments. The Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) IRS took 

action on several challenges we identified in our June report. One resulting policy 

change should allow some eligible recipients to receive supplemental payments 

for qualifying children sooner than expected. However, Treasury and IRS still lack 

updated information on the number of eligible recipients who have not yet received 

payments. We made two recommendations to Treasury, in coordination with IRS, to 

update its estimate of the number of eligible recipients who have not yet received 

these payments—potentially millions—and provide it to outreach partners. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 7 From the Comptroller General

Coronavirus Relief Fund. Auditors need additional guidance from OMB and Treasury 

in order to issue consistent and timely audit reports on COVID-19 related programs. We 

recommended that OMB, in consultation with Treasury, promptly issue this guidance.

Guidance for K-12 Schools. Parts of CDC’s guidance on reopening K-12 schools are 

inconsistent, and some federal guidance appears misaligned with CDC’s risk-based 

approach. We made one recommendation to CDC to ensure that its federal guidance 

on reassessing schools’ operating status is cogent, clear, and internally consistent. 

Tracking Contract Obligations. Federal agencies are tracking contract actions and 

associated obligations in response to COVID-19 using a National Interest Action (NIA) 

code in the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation. We have identified 

inconsistencies in creating and closing these codes following previous emergencies 

and remain concerned about the criteria the Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) and DOD rely on to determine whether to extend or close a code and whether 

the code meets long-term needs. We made two recommendations—one to DHS and 

one to DOD—to ensure that the criteria for extending or closing the NIA code reflect 

government-wide needs for tracking contract actions in longer-term emergencies, 

like a pandemic.

Cybersecurity Weaknesses. We have identified numerous cybersecurity weaknesses 

at multiple HHS component agencies, including CMS, CDC, and the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA), over the last 6 years. Due to imminent cybersecurity threats, we 

urged HHS to expedite implementation of our prior recommendations on cybersecurity 

weaknesses at these agencies. We made one comprehensive recommendation. 

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans 

(EIDL). The Small Business Administration (SBA) provided about $729 billion to 

small businesses hurt by COVID-19 through the PPP and EIDL programs. Given the 

immediate need for relief, SBA quickly streamlined these programs to expedite the 

distribution of funding. However, streamlining efforts, such as allowing lenders to 

rely on borrowers to self-certify eligibility for and planned use of loan funds, may 

have increased susceptibility to fraud. In June, we recommended that SBA develop 

and implement plans to identify and respond to risks in the PPP to help ensure 

program integrity, achieve program effectiveness, and address potential fraud, 

including in loans of $2 million or less. As of September 30, 2020, SBA had begun 

developing PPP oversight plans, but had not yet finalized or implemented them. 

We also issued a wide range of other COVID-19-related products on topics, including 

the challenges of inspecting foreign drug manufacturers; federal contracting in 

response to the pandemic; COVID-19 response and strains on VA’s supply chain; 

FEMA’s role in the response to COVID-19 and related challenges; air travel and 

communicable diseases; and key considerations for federal agencies returning 

employees to workplaces during pandemics. We issued a total of 24 COVID-19-related 

products and had 121 related audits underway at year end. 

Moreover, we actively coordinated with our domestic and international counterparts. 

Domestically, our outreach focused on the Pandemic Response Accountability 

Committee and state and local auditors. Internationally, our outreach included 

rapidly deploying a website for our national audit office counterparts, with 

resources to support their continuity of operations during the pandemic. We also 

led development of a pandemic lessons learned document with these national 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

8 GAO-21-4SP From the Comptroller General

offices to help governments better prepare for, respond to, and oversee future 

pandemics. Outreach on this document is planned with external parties, such as the 

World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the International Civil Aviation 

Organization Council. 

 Disaster Preparedness, Recovery, and Resilience. In fiscal year 2020, we 

issued 32 products and made 56 recommendations in four key areas: (1) National 

preparedness, including the need for FEMA to address national emergency 

management capabilities based on information known about states’ and territories’ 

response and recovery capabilities; (2) FEMA workforce, including its efforts to 

assess how it deploys its disaster workforce to meet mission needs; (3) Disaster 

loans, including the need to mitigate and identify risk—such as extended power 

outages—to disaster loan processing, and, (4) Survivor assistance, such as the 

need for FEMA to better explain its program information and eligibility decisions 

to applicants. We also issued a Disaster Resilience Framework to help the federal 

government promote resilience to natural disasters. 

Between fiscal years 2018 and 2020, we made three Matters for the Congress to 

consider and 117 disaster-related recommendations to 15 agencies, including FEMA, 

the U.S. Department of House and Urban Development (HUD), and SBA. By year end, 

26 percent of these recommendations were implemented. Since implementing our 

recommendations, FEMA can better (1) identify survivors’ disability-related needs; 

(2) estimate the number of staff needed to administer Public Assistance recovery 

efforts; and (3) help ensure that its contracting personnel know to reach out to state 

and local governments to create and use contacts before disasters hit. 

While none of our Matters had been fully implemented by year end, we did provide 

the Congress with technical assistance on draft legislation in five areas: (1) potential 

reforms to the National Response Framework, (2) possible creation of a national 

disaster safety board, (3) loans to fund disaster resilience efforts, (4) reforms 

to federal advance contracts, and (5) permanently authorizing the Community 

Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program. At year end, we had 23 

disaster-related audits underway. 

 High risk areas. In 2019, we issued the biennial update of our High Risk Report 

to focus attention on government operations that are vulnerable to fraud, waste, 

abuse, and mismanagement or need transformation—offering solutions to 35 highrisk problems. This year, our high-risk work yielded $54.2 billion in financial benefits, 

606 other benefits, 168 reports, and 26 testimonies. Financial benefits from fiscal 

year 2006 through fiscal year 2018 totaled nearly $350 billion. An update will 

be issued in 2021. 

 Fragmentation, overlap, and duplication. In 2020, we issued our tenth annual 

report. It identified 168 new actions in 29 new areas (and 10 existing areas) that 

could reduce fragmentation, overlap, and duplication, or provide other cost savings 

and opportunities to enhance revenue across the federal government. From 2011 

to 2019, we identified 908 such actions. As of March, the Congress and executive 

branch agencies had fully addressed 519 of these actions and partially addressed 

202, yielding about $429 billion in financial benefits—$393 billion between 2010 and 

2019, and $36 billion more projected in the future. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 9 From the Comptroller General

Serving Our Clients

In fiscal year 2020, we received 550 requests for work from 90 percent of the standing 

committees of the Congress—supporting a broad range of congressional interests. We 

issued 586 reports and made 1,459 new recommendations. We were asked to testify 59 

times before 43 separate committees or subcommittees on topics including COVID-19; 

disaster preparedness, response, and recovery; 2020 U.S. Census; the Chief Financial 

Officers Act; and the nation’s fiscal health. 

I continued to meet with the Chairs and Ranking Members of congressional committees 

to obtain their views on GAO’s work, including their priorities, and to discuss 

opportunities and challenges facing GAO. The results for our clients were strengthened 

by agencies implementing 77 percent of our recommendations—matching our 

performance for the past 2 fiscal years, despite the extraordinary circumstances posed 

by the pandemic.

Supporting Our People

The hard work and dedication of our diverse and professional multidisciplinary staff 

positioned GAO to achieve a 93 percent on-time delivery of our products in fiscal year 

2020. We exceeded the targets for 6 of our 7 people measures—retention rate with 

retirements, retention rate without retirements, staff development, staff utilization, 

experience with supervisors, and organizational climate. We fell short of our target for 

new hire rate, reaching 76 percent against a target of 80 percent. 

We revised our employee feedback survey this year, per agency-wide feedback, to help 

leaders better gauge staff satisfaction and identify needed improvements. Specifically, 

we revised the questions underlying four people measures—staff development, staff 

utilization, effective leadership by supervisors (now experience with supervisors), 

and organizational climate; and rebaselined these measures. GAO also remained a 

federal employer of choice. In December 2019, the Partnership for Public Service 

ranked GAO as third among mid-size federal agencies as a best place to work and first 

for supporting diversity.

Managing Our Internal Operations

Two overarching principles guided our response to COVID-19: (1) fulfilling our mission 

by providing expertise and reports to the Congress, and (2) protecting the health and 

safety of our employees by providing them with the tools, resources, and flexibilities 

they needed to work safely from home. To accomplish this, we (1) shifted without 

interruption to a nearly 100 percent telework posture—a direct result of our robust 

telework program; (2) expanded our core work hours; (3) provided staff with an option 

for administrative leave to meet COVID-19-specific needs; (4) adapted core course 

offerings to provide 100 percent virtual delivery; and (5) onboarded 121 new staff and 

151 interns virtually to help build our succession pipeline. To improve the efficiency of 

our engagements we piloted training on new project management tools and techniques 

for 12 engagements. To improve IT services we expanded network capacity and 

completed agency-wide rollout of updated operating and telecommunication software. 

This fiscal year, we also made significant contributions to the domestic and international 

auditing community. For example, over 3,900 auditors attended our domestic audit 

forums (in-person or virtually) to build their skills in areas such as audit collaboration, 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

10 GAO-21-4SP From the Comptroller General

Blockchain, CARES Act, and cybersecurity. Our Center for Audit Excellence (1) entered 

into new multi-year agreements with the U.S. Agency for International Development 

(USAID) to build the capacity of national audit offices in Ethiopia, Georgia, and Armenia; 

(2) provided capacity building support to national audit offices in the Philippines and 

Dominican Republic per existing agreements with USAID; and (3) signed an agreement 

with the World Bank to assess the needs of a national audit office in Eastern Europe. 

Our Office of the General Counsel (OGC) handled over 2,100 bid protests and issued 

more than 500 decisions on the merits. As the Congress considered legislative proposals 

to strengthen IG independence, we issued a report outlining key independence 

principles and possible reforms to achieve that goal and enhance congressional 

oversight, and provided substantial information on IG independence matters to multiple 

congressional committees.

We again received from independent auditors an unmodified or “clean” opinion on 

our financial statements for fiscal year 2020 and our internal control over financial 

reporting. There was no reportable noncompliance for fiscal year 2020 with provisions 

of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements tested and no 

other matters. We have demonstrated that the detailed performance and financial 

information in this report is complete and reliable and meets our high standards for 

accuracy and transparency. 

In fiscal year 2021 and beyond, we look forward to continuing to serve the Congress and 

the public on issues affecting the lives of all Americans.

Gene L. Dodaro

Comptroller General

of the United States
GAO-21-4SP 11 Management Assurance Statements 

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

November 16, 2020

Assurance Statement on Internal Control over Operations, Reporting, and Compliance

GAO management is responsible for managing risks and maintaining effective internal 

control to meet the objectives of the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982 

(FMFIA). These are objectives that we set for ourselves even though, as part of the 

legislative branch of the federal government, GAO is not subject to the FMFIA. GAO 

conducted its assessment of risk and internal control consistent with Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-123, Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise Risk 

Management and Internal Control. Based on the results of the assessment, GAO can 

provide reasonable assurance that internal control over operations, reporting, and 

compliance as of September 30, 2020, was operating effectively and that no material 

weaknesses were found in the design or operation of internal control. 

Assurance Statement on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

GAO’s internal control over financial reporting is a process effected by those charged 

with governance, management, and other personnel, the objectives of which are to 

provide reasonable assurance that transactions are (1) properly recorded, processed, 

and summarized to permit the preparation of financial statements in accordance with 

U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and assets are safeguarded against loss 

from unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition; and (2) executed in accordance with 

provisions of applicable laws (including laws governing the use of budget authority); 

regulations; contracts; and grant agreements, noncompliance with which could have a 

material effect on the financial statements. 

Management Assurance Statements
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

12 GAO-21-4SP Management Assurance Statements 

GAO management is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining effective 

internal control over financial reporting. GAO conducted its assessment of the effectiveness 

of internal control over financial reporting according to the criteria established under 

FMFIA and OMB Circular No. A-123. Based on the results of the assessment, GAO can 

provide reasonable assurance that its internal control over financial reporting as of 

September 30, 2020, was operating effectively and that no material weaknesses were 

found in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting.

Assurance Statement on Financial Management Systems

GAO conducted reviews of its financial management systems consistent with Appendix D of 

OMB Circular No. A-123, Compliance with the Federal Financial Management Improvement 

Act of 1996 (FFMIA). We conduct these reviews even though, as part of the legislative 

branch of the federal government, GAO is not subject to the FFMIA. Based on the results 

of these reviews, GAO can provide reasonable assurance that it has implemented and 

maintained financial management systems that comply substantially with federal financial 

management systems requirements, applicable federal accounting standards, and the 

U.S. Government Standard General Ledger at the transaction level consistent with the 

requirements of the FFMIA. 

Gene L. Dodaro

Comptroller General

of the United States

Karl J. Maschino 

Chief Administrative Officer/

Chief Financial Officer

Katherine A. Siggerud 

Chief Operating Officer

William L. Anderson 

Controller

Thomas H. Armstrong

General Counsel
GAO-21-4SP 13 About GAO

About GAO

GAO is an independent, nonpartisan 

professional services agency in the 

legislative branch of the federal 

government. Commonly known as the 

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 executive 

branch agencies; however, we generally 

hold ourselves to the spirit of many such 

laws, including FMFIA; the Government 

Performance and Results Act (GPRA)

Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA); and 

the Federal Information Security 

Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA). 

Accordingly, this performance and 

accountability report for fiscal year 2020 

provides information that we consider 

comparable to that reported by executive 

branch agencies that choose to prepare 

annual performance and accountability 

reports in lieu of Agency Financial Reports.

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 II, we started to perform more comprehensive audits 

that examined the economy and efficiency of government operations. By the 1960s, GAO had also begun to 

perform the type of work we are noted for today—performance audits—which include: 

 Evaluations of federal policies, programs, and the performance of agencies; 

 Oversight of government operations to determine whether public funds are spent efficiently, effectively, 

and in accordance with applicable laws; and 

 Policy analyses to assess needed actions and the implications of proposed actions.

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

14 GAO-21-4SP About GAO

This report also fulfills our requirement 

to report annually on the work of the 

Comptroller General under 31 U.S.C. § 719.1

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. 

Core Values

Our three mission core values—

accountability, integrity, and reliability—

form the basis for all of our work, 

regardless of its origin. These core mission 

values work in concert with our three core 

people values—valued, respected, and 

treated fairly—to create a synergy that is 

essential for us to achieve our mission. (See 

the inside front cover of this report for 

more detail, along with our scope of work.)

Strategic Goals

GAO has three externally focused goals and 

one internally focused goal. 

 Goal 1: Address Current and Emerging 

Challenges to the Well-being and 

Financial Security of the American 

People

1

FMFIA requires executive agencies to establish systems of internal 

accounting and administrative controls consistent with standards for 

internal control in the federal government issued by the Comptroller 

General and to evaluate such systems annually. Pub. L. No. 97-255, 

96 Stat. 814 (Sept. 8, 1982), codified at 31 U.S.C. § 3512 (c)-(d). 

GPRAMA Pub. L. No. 111-352, 124 Stat. 3866 (Jan. 4, 2011) 

updated the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 

(GPRA), Pub. L. No. 103-62, 107 Stat. 285 (Aug. 3, 1993), and, 

among other things, requires executive branch agencies to prepare 

strategic plans, annual performance plans, and annual performance 

reports. FISMA, Pub. L. No. 113-283, 128 Stat.3073 (Dec. 18, 

2014), codified at 44 U.S.C. §§ 3551-3558, largely superseded 

the very similar Federal Information Security Management Act of 

2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, title III, 116 Stat. 2899, 2946 (Dec. 

17, 2002), setting requirements for federal agencies to implement 

policies and procedures to cost-effectively reduce information 

technology risks. 

 Goal 2: Respond to Changing Security 

Threats and the Challenges of Global 

Interdependence

 Goal 3: Help Transform the Federal 

Government to Address National 

Challenges

 Goal 4: Maximize the Value of GAO 

by Enabling Quality, Timely Service to 

the Congress and by Being a Leading 

Practices Federal Agency 

For additional information, see Part II of 

this report and GAO’s Strategic Plan.

Organizational Structure

As the Comptroller General of the United 

States, Gene L. Dodaro is the head of GAO. 

On December 22, 2010, he was confirmed 

as Comptroller General after serving as the 

Acting Comptroller General since March 

2008. Prior to that, Mr. Dodaro served as 

GAO’s Chief Operating Officer for 9 years. 

Three other executives join Comptroller 

General Dodaro to form our Executive 

Committee: Chief Operating Officer 

Katherine Siggerud, Chief Administrative 

Officer/Chief Financial Officer Karl J. 

Maschino, and General Counsel Thomas H. 

Armstrong (see fig. 8).

To achieve our mission, our staff is 

organized primarily into 15 evaluation, 

audit, research, and investigative teams 

that support our three external strategic 

goals—with several of the teams supporting 

more than one strategic goal. For example, 

our Forensic Audits and Investigative 

Service team (FAIS), in addition to its 

own engagements, coordinates and 

collaborates with other teams when its 

special services are required for (1) specific 

fraud allegations or (2) assistance in 

evaluating security matters. FAIS also 

manages FraudNet, which is our online 

system created for the public to report to 

GAO allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or 

mismanagement of federal funds. FAIS is an 

integrated unit composed of investigators, 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 15 About GAO

Figure 8: Organizational Structure

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

September 2020
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

16 GAO-21-4SP About GAO

analysts, and auditors who have experience 

with forensic auditing and data mining; 

they are assisted by staff in OGC.

Senior executives in the teams manage a 

portfolio of engagements to ensure that 

we quickly meet the Congress’s need for 

independent and unbiased information on 

emerging issues, while continuing longerterm work that flows from our strategic 

plan. To serve the Congress effectively with 

a finite set of resources, senior managers 

consult with our congressional clients 

and determine the timing and priority of 

engagements for which they are responsible.

As described in greater detail below, 

OGC provides legal counsel to all of our 

teams. In addition, the Applied Research 

and Methods (ARM) team assists the other 

teams on matters requiring expertise 

in areas such as economics, research 

design, and statistical analysis. Staff in 

many offices, such as Strategic Planning 

and External Liaison (SPEL), Congressional 

Relations, Office of Opportunity and 

Inclusiveness (OO&I), Audit Policy 

and Quality Assurance (APQA), Public 

Affairs, and the Chief Administrative 

Office, support the efforts of the teams. 

This matrixed structure increases our 

effectiveness, flexibility, and efficiency in 

using our expertise and resources to meet 

congressional needs on complex issues.

OGC is structured to facilitate the 

delivery of legal services to the teams 

and staff offices that support our four 

strategic goals. This structure allows OGC 

to (1) provide legal support to our staff 

offices and serve as engagement counsel to 

audit teams concerning all matters related 

to their work, including fulfilling our 

responsibility to ensure the legal sufficiency 

of all GAO products; and (2) produce legal 

decisions and opinions on behalf of the 

Comptroller General. Specifically, the legal 

groups that support our three external 

goals are organized to provide each of 

the audit teams with a corresponding 

team of attorneys dedicated to acting as 

engagement counsel for each team. 

In addition, these groups prepare advisory 

opinions for committees and members of 

the Congress on agency adherence to laws 

applicable to their programs and activities. 

The Legal Services group provides in-house 

support to our management on a wide array 

of human capital matters and initiatives and 

on information management and acquisition 

matters, and defends the agency in 

administrative and judicial forums. 

The Opportunity and Inclusiveness team 

within OGC provides legal advice and 

assistance to OO&I, GAO management, 

and others on issues related to GAO’s 

Equal Employment Opportunity and OO&I 

program. Attorneys in the Procurement Law 

group prepare administrative decisions and 

opinions adjudicating protests to the award 

of government contracts. 

Attorneys in the Appropriations Law 

group opine on the availability and use of 

appropriated funds and publish products 

related to GAO’s statutory responsibilities 

under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. 

Finally, GAO also issues opinions related 

to issues arising under the Congressional 

Review Act. 

For our one internal strategic goal (Goal 4), 

staff in our Chief Administrative Office take 

the lead. Our Office of Continuous Process 

Improvement leads the agency’s efforts 

to improve efficiency and effectiveness 

of the work conducted by our mission and 

mission support operations. Other teams 

and offices across GAO including ARM, SPEL, 

Congressional Relations, OO&I, APQA, and 

Public Affairs assist in achieving specific key 

efforts. As previously mentioned, attorneys 

in OGC, primarily in the Legal Services 

group and the OO&I team, provide legal 

support for Goal 4.

The Government Accountability Office 

Act of 2008 established GAO’s Office of 

Inspector General (OIG) as a statutory 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 17 About GAO

office within the agency. The Inspector 

General (IG) is appointed by, and reports 

to, the Comptroller General. The IG is 

responsible for conducting audits and 

investigations relating to GAO programs and 

operations and makes recommendations 

to promote its economy, efficiency, and 

effectiveness. The IG also keeps the 

Comptroller General and the Congress fully 

informed through semiannual reports that 

summarize the IG’s findings. In addition, 

the IG investigates allegations concerning 

activities within GAO that may constitute 

the violation of any law, rule, or regulation; 

mismanagement; a gross waste of funds; or 

other wrongdoing.

We maintain a workforce with training in 

many disciplines, including accounting, 

law, engineering, public and business 

administration, economics, and the social 

and physical sciences. Seventy-one percent 

of our approximately 3,170 employees are 

based at our headquarters in Washington, 

D.C.; the rest are deployed in 11 field 

offices across the country (see fig. 9). 

Staff in these field offices are aligned 

with our research, audit, investigative, 

and evaluation teams and perform work 

in tandem with our headquarters staff in 

support of our external strategic goals.

In the first half of fiscal year 2020, 

the vast majority of GAO employees 

participated in some form of telework, 

and beginning March 13, 2020, employees 

began teleworking to the maximum extent 

possible due to the COVID-19 national 

emergency. 

Figure 9: GAO’s Office Locations

Sources: GAO (data) and MapArt (map).

Los Angeles Chicago Dayton

Oakland Huntsville

Seattle

Dallas Norfolk

Denver Boston

Atlanta

Washington, D.C.

Source: Map Resources (map). | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

18 GAO-21-4SP About GAO

Strategic Planning and 

Foresight

In February 2018, we issued our strategic 

plan for fiscal years 2018 through 2023, 

which describes our goals and strategies for 

supporting the Congress and the nation.2

This plan reflects the full scope of the 

federal government’s operations, as well as 

emerging and future trends that may affect 

government and society. 

As part of our strategic planning process, 

we emphasize foresight, continuous 

environmental scanning, and trend analysis 

as essential to helping inform our decisionmaking and long-term planning. Our 

continuous scanning of trends helps to 

ensure GAO remains an agile and responsive 

organization. The plan outlines the areas 

in which we expect to conduct research, 

audits, analyses, and evaluations to meet 

our clients’ needs and allocate resources. 

We developed this plan based on a review 

of external literature, discussions with 

outside advisors and selected experts, 

input from our mission teams based on their 

discussions with congressional clients, our 

staff’s subject matter expertise, and our 

foresight work. 

GAO’s strategic plan consists of three parts: 

(1) Goals and Objectives (GAO-18-1SP); 

(2) Key Efforts (GAO-18-395SP); and 

(3) Trends Affecting Government and 

Society (GAO-18-396SP). 

We engage in a range of ongoing foresight 

activities to explore the implications of 

emerging issues that pose both risks and 

opportunities for the federal government. 

Our strategic plan identified eight broad 

trends shaping the United States and its 

place in the world (see fig. 10). These eight 

trends are discussed in greater detail in our 

strategic plan on our website.3

2

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-1SP

3

http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-396SP 

We will periodically update our trends 

and key efforts, as appropriate, to reflect 

shifts in congressional priorities and 

GAO’s expected areas of work based on 

our foresight work. Any revisions to our 

strategic plan or resource allocations are 

disclosed in our annual performance plans, 

available on our website. 

Our work is aligned under our four strategic 

goals (see fig. 10). Specifically, our audit 

and investigative work is conducted 

primarily under the first three strategic 

goals in our plan, which span domestic and 

international issues affecting the lives of 

all Americans. Our fourth strategic goal is 

focused on our internal operations. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 19 About GAO

Figure 10: GAO’s Strategic Plan Framework

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

20 GAO-21-4SP About GAO

An Example of Our Four-tiered Strategic Planning Process

Strategic Goal 2: Help the Congress Respond to Changing Security Threats and the Challenges of Global 

Interdependence

Strategic Objective 2.1: Protect and Secure the Homeland from Threats and Disasters 

Performance Goal 2.1.6: Assess the cost, availability, and management of catastrophic insurance and disaster 

loan programs. 

Key Efforts:

 Evaluate solvency and sustainability of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Disaster Relief 

Fund in light of the large needs created by multiple natural disasters in 2017.

 Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) management of program reforms contained in 

upcoming reauthorization legislation.

 Evaluate the costs and benefits of expanding or revising disaster-related insurance programs.

 Assess the availability and affordability of coverage and the efforts to increase private market provision of 

catastrophic insurance coverage.

 Assess SBA’s efforts to process financial assistance in a timely manner following multiple large-scale 

disasters.

Our strategic plan is based on a four-tiered 

hierarchy—four strategic goals (the highest 

tier) followed by strategic objectives, 

performance goals, and key efforts. 

Each strategic goal comprises strategic 

objectives, for which there are specific 

strategies taking the form of performance 

goals (each of which has a set of key 

efforts). The text box below provides an 

example from our strategic plan. 

Strategies for Achieving Our 

Goals

The Government Performance and Results 

Act of 1993 directs agencies to articulate 

not just goals, but also strategies for 

achieving those goals. GAO’s strategic 

plan provides a detailed roadmap of our 

goals and strategies. As detailed in Part I

of this report, we emphasize two areas of 

focus in achieving our goals: (1) providing 

information from our work to the Congress 

and the public in a variety of forms, and 

(2) continuing to strengthen our human 

capital and internal operations. 

Additionally, we emphasize the importance 

of working with other organizations on 

cross-cutting issues, effectively addressing 

the challenges to achieving our agency’s 

goals, and recognizing the internal and 

external factors that could impair our 

performance. With this approach, which 

has proven successful for us for a number 

of years, we plan to achieve the level of 

performance that is needed to meet our 

performance measures and goals and to 

achieve our four broad strategic goals.

Attaining our three externally focused 

strategic goals (1, 2, and 3) and their 

related objectives rests on providing 

accurate, professional, objective, factbased, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair, 

and balanced information to support the 

Congress in carrying out its constitutional 

responsibilities. To implement these 

performance goals and key efforts related 

to these three goals, we develop and deliver 

information in a number of ways, including: 

 Evaluations of federal policies, 

programs, and the performance of 

agencies; 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 21 About GAO

 Oversight of government operations 

through financial and other management 

audits to determine whether public 

funds are spent efficiently, effectively, 

and in accordance with applicable laws; 

 Investigations to assess whether illegal 

or improper activities are occurring; 

 Analyses of the financing for government 

activities; 

 Legal opinions that determine whether 

agencies are in compliance with 

applicable laws and regulations; 

 Policy analyses to assess needed actions 

and the implications of proposed 

actions; and

 Additional assistance to the Congress in 

support of its oversight and decisionmaking responsibilities.

We conduct specific engagements as a 

result of requests from congressional 

committees and mandates written into 

legislation, resolutions, and committee 

reports. In fiscal year 2020, we devoted 

96 percent of our engagement resources 

to work requested or mandated by the 

Congress. We devoted the remaining 4 

percent of engagement resources to work 

initiated under the Comptroller General’s 

authority. Much of this work addressed 

various challenges that are of broad-based 

interest to the Congress, such as the 

nation’s fiscal health, Disaster Resilience 

Framework, Financial Sector Cybersecurity, 

trends in drug misuse and emerging risks, 

and state and local government fiscal 

outlooks.4

Our reviews of government programs 

and operations have identified those 

programs that are at high risk for fraud, 

waste, abuse, and mismanagement. These 

reviews help support our biennial High Risk 

Report, which we will update next year. By 

making recommendations to improve the 

accountability, operations, and services 

4

https://www.gao.gov/americas_fiscal_future. 

of government agencies, we contribute 

to increasing the effectiveness of federal 

spending and enhancing the taxpayers’ trust 

and confidence in their government. 

Our staff are responsible for following high 

standards for gathering, documenting, and 

supporting the information we collect and 

analyze. The U.S. Government Auditing 

Standards, developed by the Comptroller 

General of the United States, together 

with the GAO policies that we apply in 

conducting our audits are consistent with 

the Fundamental Auditing Principles of the 

International Standards of Supreme Audit 

Institutions. This is especially important 

given the increased focus in recent years 

on the development and adoption of 

international accounting and auditing 

standards. 

Information developed during our reviews 

is usually presented in products that are 

made available to the public. Over the 

past 5 years, we have issued, on average, 

about 700 products annually, primarily in an 

electronic format. In addition, we publish 

more than 570 legal decisions and opinions 

annually, the vast majority of which are 

bid-protect decisions. In some cases, we 

develop products that contain classified or 

sensitive information that cannot be made 

available publicly. Our products include: 

 Reports and written correspondence; 

 Testimonies and statements for the 

record, where the former are delivered 

orally by one or more of our senior 

executives at a congressional hearing 

and the latter are provided for inclusion 

in the congressional record; 

 Briefings, which are usually given 

directly to congressional staff members; 

and 

 Legal decisions and opinions resolving 

bid protests and addressing issues of 

appropriations law, as well as opinions 

on the scope and exercise of the 

authority of federal officers.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

22 GAO-21-4SP About GAO

We also produce special publications on 

specific issues of general interest to many 

Americans, such as our reports on the fiscal 

future of the United States and our decisions 

on federal bid protests.5 Our publication, 

Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, 

is viewed both within and outside of the 

government as the primary resource on 

federal case law related to the availability, 

use, and control of federal funds.6 In 

addition, we maintain the government’s 

repository of reports on Antideficiency Act 

violations and make available on our website 

information extracted from those reports. 

Such special publications are valuable 

because they help us highlight areas of focus 

on important policy and management issues 

facing the nation. Collectively, our products 

contain information and often conclusions 

and recommendations that allow us to 

achieve our external strategic goals. 

Another means of ensuring that we are 

achieving our goals is by examining the 

impact of our past work and using that 

information to shape our future work. 

Consequently, we evaluate actions taken 

by federal agencies and the Congress in 

response to our past recommendations. 

The results are reported in terms of 

financial benefits and other benefits. We 

actively monitor the status of our open 

recommendations—those that remain valid 

but have not yet been implemented—and 

post our findings to a recommendations 

database, which is updated regularly and 

is publicly available (https://www.gao.gov/

recommendations/).

5

GAO, Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2019, 

GAO-20-220SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 5, 2019). 6

Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, also known as the Red 

Book, is a multi-volume treatise concerning federal fiscal law 

available at https://www.gao.gov/legal/red-book/overview. GAO17-797SP (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 14, 2017), GAO-16-463SP

(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 10, 2016), GAO-16-464SP (Washington, 

D.C.: Mar.10, 2016). ), GAO-15-303SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 

12, 2015), GAO-08-978SP (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 1, 2008), 

GAO-06-382SP (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 1, 2006), GAO-04-261SP

(Washington, D.C.: Jan. 1, 2004).

To attain our fourth strategic goal—

an internal goal—and its three related 

objectives, we implement projects 

to address the key efforts in our 

strategic plan. We conduct surveys of 

our congressional clients and internal 

customers to obtain feedback on our 

products, processes, and services and 

identify ways to improve them. We also 

perform internal management studies and 

evaluations.

Achieving our strategic goals and 

objectives also requires coordination 

with other organizations with similar or 

complementary missions. To this end, 

we use advisory panels and other bodies 

to inform our strategic and annual work 

planning, coordinate as appropriate 

with other legislative branch agencies, 

and maintain collaborative working 

relationships with national and international 

government accountability and professional 

organizations, including the federal 

inspectors general, state and local audit 

organizations, and the national audit offices 

of other countries.

These networks allow us to extend our 

institutional knowledge and experience, 

leverage our resources, and improve our 

service to the Congress and the American 

people. Our Strategic Planning and External 

Liaison office takes the lead and provides 

strategic focus overall for the work with 

external partner organizations. Our 

research, audit, and evaluation teams lead 

the work with most of the issue-specific 

external organizations as they conduct their 

work.

How We Measure Our 

Performance

To help us determine how well we are 

meeting the needs of the Congress 

and maximizing our value as a leading 

practices federal agency, we assess our 

performance annually using a balanced 

set of quantitative performance measures 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 23 About GAO

that focus on four key areas—results, client, 

people, and internal operations. 

 Results. Focusing on results and the 

effectiveness of the processes needed 

to achieve them is fundamental to 

accomplishing our mission. To assess our 

results, we measure financial benefits, 

other benefits, recommendations 

implemented, and percentage of new 

products with recommendations. 

Financial benefits and other benefits 

provide quantitative and qualitative 

information, respectively, on the 

outcomes and results that have been 

achieved from our work. They often 

represent outcomes that occurred or 

are expected to occur over a period of 

several years. 

For financial benefits and other benefits, 

we first set targets for the agency as 

a whole, and then we set targets for 

each of the external goals (1, 2, and 3) 

to reach the agency-wide targets. For 

past recommendations implemented 

and percentage of products with 

recommendations, we set targets and 

report performance for the agency as 

a whole because we want to encourage 

consistent performance across goals. 

Internally, we track our performance by 

strategic goal in order to understand why 

we met or did not meet the agency-wide 

target. We also use this information to 

provide feedback to our teams on the 

extent to which they are contributing 

to the overall target and to help them 

identify areas for improvement.

 Client. To measure how well we are 

serving our client, we capture our 

timeliness in delivering products to 

the Congress and the number of times 

that our senior executives were asked 

to present expert testimony.7 We use 

an electronic client feedback form to 

collect quantitative and qualitative data 

and information on the services we are 

7

For purposes of this performance measure, we define senior 

executives as those above the GS-15 or equivalent level.

providing to our congressional clients. 

We also set a target at the agency-wide 

level for the number of testimonies 

and then assign a portion of these 

testimonies as a target for each of the 

external goals (1, 2, and 3) based on 

that goal’s expected contribution to the 

agency-wide total. We base this target 

on our assessment of the congressional 

calendar and hearing trend data. As for 

measuring the results of our work, we 

track our progress on this measure at the 

goal level in order to understand where 

we met or did not meet the agencywide target. We set an agency-wide 

target for timeliness because we want 

our performance on this measure to be 

consistent across goals.

 People. As our most important asset, 

our people define our character and 

capacity to perform our work. A variety 

of data sources, including an internal 

survey, provide information to help us 

measure how well we are attracting and 

retaining high-quality staff and how well 

we are developing, supporting, using, 

and leading staff. We set agency-wide 

targets for these measures.

 Internal operations. GAO’s ability to 

carry out its mission and retain a skilled 

and talented workforce is supported 

by our administrative services (e.g., IT, 

infrastructure operations, human capital, 

and financial management). Through an 

internal customer satisfaction survey, 

we gather information on three areas: 

(1) how well our internal operations 

help employees get their jobs done, 

(2) how our internal operations improve 

employees’ quality of work life, and 

(3) how satisfied employees are with our 

IT tools. Examples of surveyed services 

include information security, pay and 

leave, building security and maintenance, 

and technology tools. We set agency-wide 

targets for these measures.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

24 GAO-21-4SP About GAO

In fiscal year 2020, per agency-wide 

feedback, we shortened our Employee 

Feedback Survey—now Employee 

Experience Survey (EES), and revised the 

questions underlying four of our people 

measures. Therefore, we have rebaselined 

these measures. See p. 43. 

Setting Performance Targets

To establish targets for all of our measures, 

we consider our past performance, including 

recent patterns and 4-year rolling averages, 

as well as known upcoming events and 

external factors that influence our work 

(see p. 64). Some external factors are not 

in our control, such as the pace at which 

agencies implement our recommendations 

and the number of hearings at which we 

are asked to testify (see p. 38). Based on 

this information, the teams and offices that 

are directly engaged in the work discuss 

with our top executives their views of 

what we have planned to accomplish in the 

strategic plan and what they believe they 

can accomplish in the upcoming fiscal year. 

Our Executive Committee then establishes 

targets for the performance measures.

Once approved by the Comptroller 

General, the targets become final and are 

presented in our annual performance plan 

and budget.8 We may adjust these targets 

after they are initially published when our 

expected future work or level of funding 

warrants doing so. If we make changes, 

we include the changed targets in later 

documents, such as this performance and 

accountability report, and indicate that we 

have changed them and why this was done. 

In Part V, we include detailed information 

on data sources that we use to assess each 

of these measures, as well as the steps we 

take to verify and validate the data.

On the pages that follow, we assess 

our performance for fiscal year 2020 

against our previously established 

performance targets. We also present our 

financial statements, our Audit Advisory 

Committee’s report, the independent 

auditor’s report, and a statement from 

GAO’s IG.

8

Our most current performance plan is available at https://www.

gao.gov/products/GAO-20-334SP and our most current budget is 

available at https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-430T. 

 . 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 25 About GAO

Figure 11: GAO’s Performance and Accountability Report Awards

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Awards

2019 CEAR Award, 2019 CEAR Best-in-Class Award, 

and 2020 American Inhouse Design Award

In fiscal year 2020, the Association of Government Accountants awarded 

GAO (for the 19th consecutive year) its Certificate of Excellence in 

Accountability Reporting (CEAR) for our Performance and Accountability 

Report (PAR) for fiscal year 2019. We also received a CEAR Best-in-Class 

Award for the quality of the agency head letter in this PAR.

Moreover, in fiscal year 2020, we received the American Inhouse Design 

Award for our Performance and Accountability Report for fiscal year 2019, 

from Graphic Design USA.

U.S. Government 

Accountability Office

BEST-IN-CLASS AWARD

U.S. Government Accountability Office

agency head message
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

26 GAO-21-4SP

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. The ways we accomplish 

this mission are described in the following 

pages. In short, we provide objective and 

reliable information and analysis to the 

Congress, to federal agencies, and to the 

public, and recommend improvements on a 

wide variety of issues.

In fiscal year 2020, demand for our work 

was high with 550 congressional requests 

and new mandates. Our work in key 

areas helped inform the Congress and 

the administration on issues relevant 

to all Americans. This section contains 

information on: 

Overall Performance Toward Our Goals

 Results

 Client

 People

 Internal Operations

Other Ways GAO Served the Congress 

and the American People

 GAO’s High Risk Program

 Opportunities to Reduce 

Fragmentation, Overlap, and 

Duplication, and Achieve Other 

Financial Benefits

 General Counsel Decisions and Other 

Legal Work

Strategic Partnerships

Managing Our Resources

Management Challenges

Assisting the Congress and Benefiting the 

Nation During Challenging Times 

Source: Comstock. | GAO-21-4SP

Part I

Management’s Discussion and Analysis
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 27 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

The results of our efforts reflect our solid 

performance in fiscal year 2020 (see table 3). 

Results 

We exceeded our target of $50.0 billion in 

financial benefits by $27.6 billion—reaching 

$77.6 billion. This represents about $114 

return on every dollar the Congress invested 

in us. We also exceeded our target of 1,200 

other benefits by 132 benefits, accomplishing 

1,332 other benefits. (See pp. 30-35)

We fell short of our target of 80 percent 

for past recommendations implemented by 

3 percentage points, at 77 percent—matching 

our performance for the past 2 fiscal years, 

despite COVID-19. We will continue to take 

actions in 2021 to facilitate implementation of 

our recommendations. (See p. 36) 

We exceeded our target of 60 percent 

for new products with recommendations 

by 4 percentage points, at 64 percent. 

(See pp. 36-37) 

Client 

Based on our congressional client survey, 

we exceeded our target of 90 percent for 

delivering our products and testimonies in 

a timely manner by 3 percentage points—

reaching 93 percent on-time delivery for fiscal 

year 2020. Our senior executives were asked 

to testify 59 times, falling 61 testimonies short 

of our fiscal year 2020 target of 120. This was 

due, in part, to fewer opportunities to testify 

due to COVID-19 and a general decline in the 

number of hearings held in recent years—both 

factors not in our control. We were asked 

to testify before 43 separate committees 

or subcommittees on topics spanning most 

federal agencies. (See pp. 38-41)

People 

We exceeded the targets for six of our 

seven people measures. For retention rate 

with retirements, we exceeded our target 

of 92 percent by 3 percentage points, at 

95 percent. For retention rate without 

retirements, we exceeded our 96 percent 

target by 1 percentage point, at 97 percent. 

We revised our employee feedback survey 

(now employee experience survey) per 

agency-wide feedback—primarily questions 

underlying four of our people measures—staff 

development, staff utilization, effective 

leadership by supervisors (now experience 

with supervisors), and organizational 

climate—and rebaselined them. 

For staff development, we exceeded our 

target of 80 percent by 1 percentage point, 

at 81 percent; exceeded our target of 76 

percent for staff utilization by 9 percentage 

points, at 85 percent; exceeded our target of 

82 percent for experience with supervisors 

by 8 percentage points, at 90 percent; 

and exceeded our target of 76 percent for 

organizational climate by 10 percentage 

points, at 86 percent. We fell short of our 

new hire rate target of 80 percent by 4 

percentage points at 76 percent—filling 121 

critical positions, against a target of 159. 

(See pp. 42-43 and appendix on data quality) 

Internal Operations 

We assessed staff satisfaction with our 

three internal operations measures for fiscal 

year 2020 through our internal customer 

satisfaction (CSAT) survey. In this survey, 

we measured how well our administrative 

services (e.g., travel support, counseling, 

building security, etc.) (1) help employees 

get their job done—we exceeded our target 

of 80 percent by 3 percentage points, at 

83 percent; and (2) improve quality of work 

life—we exceeded our target of 80 percent 

by 6 percentage points, at 86 percent. The 

survey also assesses how satisfied employees 

are with IT tools. We fell short of our goal 

of 80 percent by 11 percentage points, 

at 69 percent. Although we did not meet 

our goal in this area, we did experience a 

13-percentage point satisfaction increase 

over fiscal year 2019 and continue to seek 

areas of IT improvement. (See p. 44)

Overall Performance Toward Our Goals
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

28 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Table 3: Agency-wide Summary of Annual Measures and Targets

Performance

measure

2015

actual

2016

actual

2017

actual

2018

actual

2019

actual

2020

target actual

Met/

not met

2021

target

Results

Financial benefits

(dollars in billions) $74.7 $63.4 $73.9 $75.1 $214.7f $50.0 $77.6 Met $50.0

Other benefits 1,286 1,234 1,280 1,294 1,418 1,200 1,332 Met 1,200

Past 

recommendations 

implemented

79%a 73% 76% 77% 77% 80% 77% Not Met 80%

New products with

recommendations 66%a 68% 63% 64% 64% 60% 64% Met 60%

Client

Testimonies 109 119b 99 98 97 120 59 Not Met 100

Timeliness 98% 94% 96% 97% 95% 90% 93% Met 90%

People

New hire rate 83% 81% 83% 85% 89% 80% 76% Not Met 80%

Retention rate

With 

retirements 94% 93% 94% 94% 94% 92% 95% Met 92%

Without

retirements 96% 96% 97% 97% 96% 96% 97% Met 96%

Staff development N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac 80% 81% Met 80%

Staff utilization N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac 76% 85% Met 76%

Experience with 

supervisors N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac 82% 90% Met 82%

Organizational

climate N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac N/Ac 76% 86% Met 76%

Internal operations

Help get job done 80% N/Ad,e 84% 85% 82% 80% 83% Met 80%

Quality of work 

life 78% N/Ad,e 82% 82% 82% 80% 86% Met 80%

IT tools 67% N/Ad,e 74% 73% 56% 80% 69% Not Met 80%

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Note: Information explaining all of the measures included in this table appears in the Appendix on Data Quality. 

a

In 2015, we modified our methodology for past recommendations implemented and new products with recommendations to 

exclude Matters for Congressional Consideration (see Appendix on Data Quality). 

b

In 2016, we modified our methodology for counting testimonies to include hearings where two separate statements are 

delivered on different aspects of GAO’s work (see Appendix on Data Quality). 

c

In 2020, we revised our Employee Feedback Survey (now Employee Experience Survey), based on agency-wide feedback. 

These revisions included the portions used to assess Staff Development, Staff Utilization, Effective Leadership by Supervisors 

(now Experience with Supervisors), and Organizational Climate. The nature and extent of these revisions requires establishing 

a new trend baseline for these four People Measures. 

d

We conducted the survey for these measures on a calendar year basis in 2016, and, therefore, do not have fiscal year-end results 

to report—denoted by N/A. For fiscal years 2017- 2020, the survey was conducted on a fiscal year basis. 

e

The targets for all three categories in 2016 were 80 percent.

f

The $214.7 billion in financial benefits we achieved in fiscal year 2019 was due primarily to one large financial benefit of $136.1 

billion for contributing to reductions in DOD’s procurement costs for weapon systems acquisitions.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 29 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Overall Performance Toward Our Goals

Our fiscal year 2020 targets for all 16 of our 

performance measures are the same as the 

targets we reported in our fiscal year 2020 

performance plan).

We use 4-year rolling averages for key 

performance measures to help us examine 

trends over time, including financial 

benefits, other benefits, new products with 

recommendations, and testimonies. We use 

4-year rolling averages for these measures 

because this calculation minimizes the 

effect of an atypical result in any given 

year. We consider this calculation, along 

with other factors, when we set our 

performance targets. See Table 4.

We use several factors to set our annual 

testimonies target—the number of times 

we expect our senior executives to be 

asked to testify. These factors include 

the cyclical nature of the congressional 

calendar, our 4-year rolling averages, and 

our past performance. We set our target 

at 120 testimonies for 2020, but fell short 

of this target by 61 testimonies. This was 

due, in part, to the reduced number of 

opportunities to testify and changes to 

the congressional schedule resulting from 

COVID-19. There has also been a general 

decline in the number of requests for 

GAO’s senior executives to testify in recent 

years, which mirrors the general decline 

in the number of oversight hearings held 

by the Congress. For 2021, we have set 

our target at 100 testimonies, which we 

consider a stretch goal, given the level of 

testimony requests in recent years. 

Table 4: Four-Year Rolling Averages for Selected GAO Measures

Performance measure 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Results

Financial benefits (billions) $59.1 $61.0 $66.6 $71.8 $106.8 110.3

Other benefits 1,332 1,281 1,272 1,274 1,307 1,331

New products with recommendations 65% 65% 65% 65% 65% 64%

Client

Testimonies 128 118 114 106 103 88

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
30 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Our findings and recommendations produce 

measurable financial benefits for the 

federal government after the Congress 

or agencies act on them and government 

expenditures are reduced or funds are 

reallocated to other areas. For example, 

a financial benefit can be the result 

of changes in business operations and 

activities; the restructuring of federal 

programs; or modifications to entitlements, 

taxes, or user fees.

In fiscal year 2020, our work generated 

about $77.6 billion in financial benefits 

(see fig. 12). We exceeded our target of $50 

billion by about $27.6 billion, due to two 

large accomplishments contributing to a 

reduction of (1) $29.4 billion in costs based 

on revisions to spending limits for Medicaid 

demonstration projects, and (2) about $13 

billion in costs based on DOE’s decision to 

terminate its Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication 

Facility (MOX) to dispose of plutonium. 

In light of our (1) performance in fiscal 

year 2020; (2) expected future financial 

benefits based on our past, ongoing, and 

expected work; and (3) uncertainty about 

the exact amount of financial benefits 

our recommendations will yield in 2021, 

we have set our 2021 target for financial 

benefits at $50 billion. 

Figure 12: Financial Benefits GAO Recorded

Dollars in billions

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

0

50

100

150

200

250

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

$50.0 $63.4 $74.7 

$214.7

$73.9 $75.1 $77.6

The financial benefits that we report in our 

performance measures are net benefits—

that is, estimates of financial benefits that 

have been reduced by the estimated costs 

of taking the action that we recommended. 

We convert all estimates involving past and 

future years to their net present value and 

use actual dollars to represent estimates 

involving only the current year. Financial 

Source: Photodisc. | GAO-21-4SP

Financial Benefits
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 31 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

benefit amounts vary depending on the 

nature of the benefit, and we can claim 

financial benefits over multiple years based 

on a single agency or congressional action. 

We limit the period over which benefits 

from an accomplishment can accrue to no 

more than 5 years. For example, fiscal year 

2020 was our fifth year of financial benefits 

for reducing DOD’s payments for drugs 

under its TRICARE program that contain 

certain substances generally not approved 

by FDA. This helped it avoid over $1 billion 

in costs between May 2019 and April 2020. 

See table 5 for examples of new financial 

benefits for fiscal year 2020.

To calculate our financial benefits, 

we rely primarily on estimates from 

non-GAO sources. These sources are 

typically the agency that acted on our 

work, a congressional committee, or the 

Congressional Budget Office.

Table 5: Examples of GAO’s Major New Financial Benefits Reported in Fiscal Year 2020

Description of New Financial Benefits

Amount

(Dollars in 

billions)

Ensuring that Medicaid Demonstrations are Budget-Neutral. States may test new 

approaches for delivering Medicaid services (with approval from HHS), but these projects 

must be budget-neutral. In multiple reports since the 1990s, we have reported that HHS has 

allowed states to use questionable methods that resulted in inflated demonstration spending 

limits and increased the federal government’s fiscal liability. In response, HHS issued a new 

policy in 2017 to better ensure that these demonstration projects are budget-neutral. HHS 

estimated that this one new policy reduced the government’s fiscal liability in 10 states by 

$29.4 billion for 2019. (GAO-17-312, GAO-15-239, GAO-13-384, GAO-08-87, GAO-02-817) $29.4

Improving Oversight of DOE Construction Project Saved Billions. The construction of the 

Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX), initially estimated to cost about $4.8 billion, 

was to be a key part of DOE’s approach to dispose of surplus weapons-grade plutonium. In 

2008, we recommended that DOE conduct more oversight reviews of such complex projects. 

This led DOE to conduct more reviews of the MOX project, which helped it detect that the 

project would cost an extra $3 billion in 2012. After we confirmed additional significant 

cost increases, DOE identified a less costly alternative and terminated the MOX project in 

2018—lowering the cost of DOE’s plutonium disposition approach by about $13.0 billion. 

(GAO-19-25, GAO-18-122R, GAO-17-390, GAO-14-231, GAO-08-641) $13.0

Making Better Use of DOD’s Allocated Funds. DOD’s FY 2020 Operation and Maintenance 

(O&M) budget request accounted for about 38% of the agency’s total budget request of 

$642.4 billion. O&M funds support a wide range of activities, including recruiting, organizing, 

sustaining, and equipping the military services. The Congress designates funding levels 

for sub-accounts (such as DOD’s health budgets) within O&M appropriations. We identified 

instances where DOD obligated less than the amount of funds designated for some subaccounts. Citing projected/historical unused funds, the Congress reduced DOD’s FY 2020 

O&M appropriations for some sub-accounts by about $982 million. $0.98

Reducing Embassy and Consular Operations Costs by Considering Unobligated Balances. 

The State Department managed the Diplomatic and Consular Programs (D&CP) account, 

which funded things like embassy and consular operations until 2019. In 2019, State 

proposed that its Diplomatic Programs (DP) and Consular Border Security Programs (CBSP) 

accounts fund such activities. We estimated that the D&CP account had an unobligated 

balance of $4.4 billion in FY 2018. We suggested that the Congress consider unobligated 

balances when determining new funding levels. In response, the Congress reduced 

appropriations for the DP and CBSP accounts by nearly $950 million in FY 2019. $0.95
Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

32 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Improving FBI’s Management of Unobligated Balances for Fingerprint Check Fees. The 

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provides non-criminal justice fingerprint checks for a 

fee. In 2015, we found that the FBI had a growing unobligated balance from these fees. We 

recommended that it establish a range of appropriate carryover amounts to support program 

needs. In response, the FBI in 2016 proposed and the Congress enacted rescissions to these 

balances to address this growing unobligated balance. The FBI also established maximum 

carryover amounts in 2019. This helps ensure that the FBI is more efficiently using its 

resources. The FBI’s rescissions from FYs 2016-2020 resulted in about $565 million in financial 

benefits. (GAO-15-48) $0.57 

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Note: Click on report covers below to access key reports related to Table 5. Additional examples of fiscal year 2020 financial 

benefits can be found in Part II of this report.

Page 1 GAO-18-122R Plutonium Disposition

441 G St. N.W.

Washington, DC 20548

November 15, 2017

Congressional Committees

Plutonium Disposition: Observations on DOE and Army Corps Assessments of the Mixed 

Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility Contract

Plutonium—a man-made, radioactive element produced by irradiating uranium in nuclear 

reactors

managed safely. In 1997, the Department of Energy (DOE) established the Plutonium 

—poses a risk of proliferation and risks to human health and the environment if not 

Disposition program to address the disposition of weapons-grade plutonium. As part of the 

program, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) began constructing the Mixed 

Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX facility) in 2007 at DOE’s Savannah River Site in South 

Carolina.

1

commercial nuclear reactors. If MOX fuel is used in a reactor, the plutonium in the fuel is 

MOX fuel is a mixture of plutonium and uranium oxides that can be used in modified 

transformed into radioactive spent fuel similar to the spent fuel produced in commercial 

reactors, which prevents it from being reused in a nuclear weapon.

In 2007, DOE formally approved a cost estimate of $4.8 billion for construction of the MOX 

facility, with a scheduled completion date of September 2016. By 2012, NNSA had spent about 

$3.4 billion on the facility, and the contractor estimated that it needed approximately $4 billion 

more to complete construction by 2019. In August 2016, in response to a provision in the 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016,

2 DOE developed a revised cost 

estimate of approximately $17.2 billion to complete construction of the MOX facility by 2048. We 

reported

best practices in the 

in September 2017 that the DOE construction cost estimate did not fully meet all of the 

GAO cost-estimating guide, but it substantially met all four characteristics 

of a high

credible) and therefore could be considered reliable

-quality, reliable cost estimate (comprehensive, well documented, accurate, and 

.

3

Starting with its fiscal year 2014 budget request—submitted in April 2013—DOE proposed 

slowing down work on the MOX facility while it assessed alternative approaches for plutonium 

disposition. In April 2014, DOE completed an analysis of plutonium disposition options that 

identified an alternative “dilute and dispose” approach that DOE believes could significantly 

reduce the life-cycle cost of the Plutonium Disposition program.

4 Under this approach, plutonium 

 1

NNSA is a separately organized agency within DOE that is responsible for the management and security of the 

nation’s nuclear weapons programs.

2

Pub. L. No. 114

3

A cost estimate is considered reliable if the overall assessment ratings for each of the four characteristics are 

-92, § 3119, 129 Stat. 726, 1197 (2015). 

substantially or fully met. GAO, Plutonium Disposition: Proposed Dilute and Dispose Approach Highlights Need for 

More Work at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, GAO-17-390 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 5, 2017).

4

A life-cycle cost estimate provides an exhaustive and structured accounting of all resources and associated cost 

elements required to develop, produce, deploy, and sustain a particular program, and it encompasses all past (or 

sunk), present, and future costs for every aspect of the program, regardless of funding source.

PROJECT 

MANAGEMENT

DOE and NNSA 

Should Improve Their 

Lessons-Learned 

Process for Capital 

Asset Projects

Report to the Ranking Member

Committee on Homeland Security and 

, 

Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate

December 2018

GAO-19-25

United States Government Accountability Office

DEPARTMENT OF 

JUSTICE

Alternative Sources of 

Funding Are a Key 

Source of Budgetary 

Resources and Could 

Be Better Managed

Report to Congressional Requesters

February 2015

GAO-15-48

United States Government Accountability Office

MEDICAID 

DEMONSTRATIONS

Approval Criteria and 

Documentation Need 

to Show How Spending Furthers 

Medicaid Objectives

Report to Congressional Requesters

April 2015

GAO-15-239

United States Government Accountability Office

MEDICAID 

DEMONSTRATIONS

Federal Action 

Needed to Improve 

Oversight of Spending

Report to the Chairman, 

Committee on Finance, 

U.S. Senate

April 2017

GAO-17-312

United States Government Accountability Office
GAO-21-4SP 33 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Source: Photodisc. | GAO-21-4SP

Many of the benefits that result from 

our work cannot be measured in dollar 

terms, so we refer to them as “other 

benefits.” During fiscal year 2020, we 

recorded a total of 1,332 other benefits 

(see fig. 13). We exceeded our target by 

about 11 percentage points largely because 

of a number of accomplishments we 

documented for public safety and security 

and business process and management. We 

have set our 2021 target for these other 

benefits at 1,200 again given our past, 

ongoing, and expected work. 

Figure 13: Other Benefits

0

300

600

900

1200

1500

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

Number

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

1,234 1,200 1,286

1,418 1,332 1,280 1,294

We categorize our other benefits into six 

areas—similar to those on our High Risk List 

(see fig. 14). This year, most of our other 

benefits were in public safety and security 

(47 percent) and business process and 

management (24 percent). See table 6 and 

Part II of this report for specific examples.

Figure 14: Types of Fiscal Year 2020 Other 

Benefits

0

10

20

30

40

50

Percentage of total

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

 Program Efficiency 

 and Effectiveness

Business Process 

 and Management 

8%

47%

1%

10% 10%

24%

 

Acquisition and 

Contract Management

 Public Safety and 

 Security

 Public Insurance

 and Benefits

 

Tax Law 

Administration

Other Benefits
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

34 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Examples of programs included in the six categories in figure 14 are:

 Public insurance and benefits. Medicare, Medicaid, VA, and DOD health care, disability 

programs, food assistance, education programs, housing programs, national flood 

insurance, federal deposit insurance, and other insurance programs.

 Public safety and security. Homeland security and justice programs; critical 

infrastructure, including information security; critical technologies; food safety; 

transportation safety; telecommunications safety; international food assistance; public 

health; consumer protection; environmental issues; national defense; foreign policy; 

international trade; and the intelligence community. 

 Acquisition and contract management. DOD weapon systems acquisitions, NASA 

acquisition management, and all federal agency and interagency contract management.

 Tax law administration. IRS business systems modernization, tax policy, and 

enforcement of tax laws.

 Program efficiency and effectiveness. Fraud, waste, and abuse; U.S. financial 

regulatory system; federal oil and gas resources; USPS; transportation funding; and 

telecommunications funding.

 Business process and management. Federal financial reporting; federal information 

systems; federal real property; human capital management; and DOD business 

transformation, business systems modernization, financial management, support 

infrastructure management, and supply chain management.

Table 6: Examples of GAO’s Other Benefits Reported in Fiscal Year 2020

Category Description

Public 

Insurance and 

Benefits

Better Identifying Prescribers of Large Quantities of Opioids Under Medicare. 

Misuse of prescription opioids can lead to overdose and death. In October 2017, we 

reported that CMS did not track medical providers who prescribe large quantities of 

opioids to Medicare Part D beneficiaries. We recommended that CMS identify and 

analyze these providers. In response, CMS began receiving reports of providers who 

prescribe large amounts of opioids in June 2018. This will help CMS identify patterns in 

the number of providers prescribing opioids in large quantities, and assess its progress 

towards reducing opioid use disorders/overdoses. (GAO-18-15)

Public Safety 

and Security

Improving Public Emergency Alerts. Emergency alerts help save lives and property 

during natural disasters. In 2020, we reported that FEMA and Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC) had taken steps to modernize the federal alerting system and 

improve wireless alerts for local agency use. However, some local agencies could 

not access the system, and others lacked proficiency and confidence in using it. We 

made recommendations to FEMA to address these concerns. FEMA agreed with our 

recommendations and said it was taking steps to address them—which could help 

ensure that local agencies can use the federal alerting system during emergencies. 

(GAO-20-294)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 35 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Acquisition 

and Contract 

Management

Improving Oversight of DOD’s Major Weapons Acquisition Programs. Amid 

concerns that DOD’s weapons acquisition process is too slow, the Congress enacted 

reforms. In 2019, we reported that, while DOD had made progress in implementing 

these reforms, questions remained about oversight roles and how some reforms would 

be enacted. Consistent with our recommendations, DOD issued new guidance to 

clarify roles for acquisition oversight and require documentation to justify certain new 

programs. The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2020 also included provisions 

that required DOD to provide information on how it planned to address the issues we 

raised. This should help ensure that DOD makes progress on reforms. (GAO-19-439)

Program 

Efficiency and 

Effectiveness

Enabling a Sustainable Business Model for USPS. USPS is critical to the nation’s 

economy. However, its business model is financially unsustainable due to declining 

mail volumes and rising costs. In 2020, we reported that businesses and foreign 

postal entities facing similar challenges made major changes, such as reducing less 

profitable services. However, USPS cannot make similar changes because it has not 

reached consensus with stakeholders, including the Congress, on the actions to take. 

We suggested the Congress reassess the nation’s postal needs and how to fund 

those needs. Our findings will help inform congressional decision-making on USPS. 

(GAO-20-385)

Business 

Process and 

Management

Improving Federal Financial Management. Prior to the Chief Financial Officers Act 

of 1990, government reports found that agencies lost billions of dollars to fraud, waste, 

abuse, and mismanagement. In 2020, we reported on progress made since enacting 

this law, including more reliable financial information and improved internal controls. We 

suggested that the Congress consider developing legislation to further improve federal 

financial management—such as preparing financial management plans and better 

linking cost to performance. Most of these Matters are included in pending legislation. 

(GAO-20-566, GAO-20-203T)

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Note: Click on report covers below to access key reports related to Table 6. Additional examples of other benefits for fiscal year 

2020 can be found in Part II of this report.

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

PRESCRIPTION 

OPIOIDS

Medicare Needs to 

Expand Oversight 

Efforts to Reduce the 

Risk of Harm

Report to Congressional Requesters

October 2017

GAO-18-15

United States Government Accountability Office

EMERGENCY 

ALERTING

Agencies Need to 

Address Pending 

Applications and 

Monitor Industry 

Progress on System 

Improvements

Report to Congressional Requesters

February 2020

GAO-20-294

United States Government Accountability Office

DOD ACQUISITION 

REFORM

Leadership Attention 

Needed to Effectively 

Implement Changes 

to Acquisition 

Oversight

Report to Congressional Committees

June 2019

GAO-19-439

United States Government Accountability Office

U.S. POSTAL 

SERVICE 

Congressional Action 

Is Essential to Enable 

a Sustainable 

Business Model

Report to Congressional Requesters

May 2020

GAO-20-385

United States Government Accountability Office

Page 1 GAO-20-480R IRS Management Report

441 G St. N.W.

Washington, DC 20548

May 1, 2020

The Honorable Charles P. Rettig

Commissioner of Internal Revenue

Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue 

Service’s Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Dear Mr. Rettig

On November 8, 2019, we issued our report on our audit of the Internal Revenue Service’s 

:

(IRS) fiscal years 2019 and 2018 financial statements, which included our opinion that although 

controls could be improved, IRS maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control 

over financial reporting as of September 30, 2019.1 In that report, we identified two significant 

deficiencies2 in internal control over financial reporting related to (1) unpaid assessments and 

(2) financial reporting systems.3 The purpose of this report is to present new control deficiencies 

that we identified during our fiscal year 2019 testing of IRS’s controls and our recommendations 

related to these deficiencies.4 This report also presents the status, as of September 30, 2019, of 

IRS’s corrective actions to address our recommendations detailed in our previous management 

reports that remained open as of September 30, 2018.5 This report is intended for use by IRS 

management.

Results in Brief

During our audit of IRS’s fiscal years 2019 and 2018 financial statements, we identified new 

control deficiencies in IRS’s internal control over financial reporting that although not considered 

 1GAO, Financial Audit: IRS’s FY 2019 and FY 2018 Financial Statements, GAO-20-159 (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 8, 

2019).

2A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or 

employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, 

misstatements on a timely basis. A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal 

control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with 

governance.

3An unpaid assessment is a legally enforceable claim against a taxpayer and consists of taxes, penalties, and interest 

that have not been collected or abated (i.e., the assessment reduced by IRS). See, for example, implementing 

guidance in the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) § 1.34.4.1.6(1.p), Terms/Definitions (Aug. 25, 2015). 

4In addition to the internal control deficiencies included in this report, we plan to issue a separate report on the 

information systems control deficiencies identified during our fiscal year 2019 audit, along with associated new 

recommendations for corrective actions.

5GAO, Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Control

over Financial Reporting, GAO-19-412R (Washington, D.C.: May 9, 2019). 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

36 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Past Recommendations Implemented

One way we measure our effect on 

improving the government’s accountability, 

operations, and services is tracking 

the percentage of recommendations 

that we made 4 years ago that have 

since been implemented. Putting these 

recommendations into practice generates 

tangible benefits for the nation. We use 

a 4-year reporting window because it 

generally takes that much time to fully 

implement some of our recommendations. 

We achieved a 77 percent implementation 

rate for fiscal year 2020. While we 

fell below our target of 80 percent by 

three percentage points, we matched 

our performance for the past 2 fiscal 

years. (see fig. 15). This is notable, 

given the extraordinary circumstances 

posed by COVID-19. 

We continued to highlight the status 

of key recommendations in our annual 

duplication, fragmentation, and overlap 

work—including progress made and the 

benefits of full implementation. In addition, 

federal agencies subject to the 2019 Good 

Accounting Obligation in Government 

Act (GAO-IG Act,) such as DOD, DHS, 

and Veterans Health Administration 

(VHA), provided updates on the status 

of our open recommendations in their 

annual budget justifications. 

Our 4-year average implementation 

rate for past recommendations has 

been 77 percent. We are retaining 

our target of 80 percent for fiscal 

year 2021 and will continue to take 

appropriate actions to reach this target. 

(See Setting Performance Targets.)

Figure 15: Percentage of Past 

Recommendations Implemented

Four-year implementation rate

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

80%

73%

79% 76% 77% 77% 77%

As figure 16 shows, agencies need time 

to act on our recommendations. Our 

experience indicates that recommendations 

remaining open after a 4-year period are 

generally not implemented in subsequent 

years. 

Figure 16: Cumulative Implementation Rate for 

Recommendations Made in Fiscal Year 2016

Percentage

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

After

4 years

After

3 years

After

2 years

After

1 year

77%

61%

51%

22%

New Products Containing 

Recommendations

In fiscal year 2020, about 64 percent of the 

519 written products we issued contained 

recommendations (see fig. 17). We track 

the percentage of new products with 

recommendations because we want to 

Other Measures of Our Results
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 37 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

focus on developing recommendations that, 

when implemented, produce financial and 

other benefits for the nation. We exceeded 

our target of 60 percent by 4 percentage 

points. We are maintaining the 60 percent 

target for 2021 because we recognize that 

including recommendations in our products 

is not always warranted, and the Congress 

and agencies often find informational 

reports as useful as those that contain 

recommendations. Our informational 

reports have the same analytical rigor and 

meet the same quality standards as those 

with recommendations and, similarly, 

can help to bring about substantial 

financial and other key benefits. Hence, 

this measure allows us some flexibility 

in responding to requests that result in 

reports without recommendations.

Figure 17: Percentage of New Products with 

Recommendations

Percentage

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

63% 64% 64% 64% 60%

66% 68%

Note: See Part V for detailed information on data sources 

that we use to assess each performance measure, as well 

as the steps we take to verify and validate the data.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

38 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Focusing on Our Client

To fulfill the informational needs of the 

Congress, we plan to deliver the results of 

our work orally, as well as in writing, at 

a time agreed upon with our client. Our 

performance this year indicates that we 

assisted the Congress well. In fiscal year 

2020, we received requests for work from 

90 percent of the standing committees 

of the Congress and 27 percent of the 

subcommittees. Our 4-year average for 

these requests is 90 percent and 34 

percent, respectively. We strive to respond 

to all congressional requests for testimony 

and deliver our products when promised, 

based on our clients’ needs. We issued 

691 total products and completed work 

for 96 committees or subcommittees in 

fiscal year 2020. 

Testimonies

Our clients often invite us to testify on our 

current and past work as it relates to issues 

that committees are examining through 

the congressional hearing process. During 

fiscal year 2020, our senior executives 

were asked to testify 59 times and we 

fell 61 testimonies short of our target 

(see fig. 18). Although we did not meet our 

target, we were asked to testify before 43 

separate committees or subcommittees—

on topics spanning most federal agencies 

(see table 7). 

This measure is client-driven based on 

invitations to testify; therefore, we cannot 

always anticipate clients’ specific subject 

area interests. The number of opportunities 

we had to testify this year was also reduced 

by the COVID-19 pandemic and related 

restrictions implemented to safeguard public 

health. The 59 testimonies that our senior 

executives delivered in fiscal year 2020 

covered the scope of our mission areas. 

Forty-four percent of the testimonies that 

our senior executives delivered were related 

to our high-risk areas and programs, which 

are listed on page 45 of this report. 

Figure 18: Testimonies

0

50

100

150

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

Number

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

119 120

109

59

99 98 97

Our senior executives also participated 

in seven roundtables sponsored by 

congressional committees, subcommittees, 

or working groups. The topics covered by 

these roundtables included (1) examining 

federal housing assistance programs; 

(2) veterans’ disability claims in the time 

of COVID-19; (3) protecting the U.S. from 

global pandemics; (4) protecting the 

adequacy an effectiveness of our military 

forces under COVID-19; (5) reopening 

and rebuilding America’s schools; 

(6) GAO’s infectious disease modeling 

report (GAO-20-372); and (7) veteran 

health data—portability, privacy, 

promises, and pitfalls. 

We also delivered five member briefings, 

and were asked to submit (1) four 

Statements for the Record in lieu of 

testifying; and (2) responses to 27 sets 

of Questions for the Record, which 

become part of the official hearing 

records. Moreover, GAO’s work was 

cited by Members of the Congress and 

witnesses in 79 hearings beyond those at 

which we testified. 

For fiscal year 2021, we have reduced our 

target from 120 to 100 to better reflect the 

average number of testimonies we have 

delivered over the past 5 years. (See p. 22

and Setting Performance targets.)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 39 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

 Meeting Growing Demand for Veterans’ Long-Term 

Care

 Addressing Persistent Challenges with FDA 

Inspections of Foreign Drug Manufacturers

 Ensuring the Qualifications and Competence of VA 

Health Care Providers

 Improving the Accuracy of Medicaid’s Enrollment 

Practices to Reduce Improper Payments 

 Advancing FAA’s Efforts to Promote a Robust, Diverse 

Workforce for Aviation Maintenance 

 Reducing the Potential for Fraud in Recovery Homes 

for Substance Use Disorder 

 Implementing Consumer Protections for Airline 

Passengers

 Improving Facility Security Assessments for 

Federal Land Management Agencies 

 Improving Resilience to Climate Change Through 

Strategic Investment of Federal Resources 

 Addressing Weaknesses That Limit Delivery of 

Federal Tribal Programs

 Using a Strategic Approach to Assess Federal 

Agencies’ Environmental Justice Efforts

 Improving Oversight of Nursing Homes to Better 

Protect Residents from Abuse

 Improving DOD Oversight of its Exceptional 

Family Member Program

 Developing Needed Aviation-Preparedness Plan 

for Communicable Disease Outbreaks

Goal 1: Address Current and Emerging Challenges to the Well-being and Financial 

Security of the American People

 Improving Early Implementation of the Nation’s 

Biodefense Strategy 

 Addressing Remaining Challenges with Recent 

Disaster Recovery Efforts

 Managing VA’s Supply Chain under COVID-19

 Improving Workforce Diversity at the State 

Department

 Enhancing the Transportation Security Administration’s 

Efforts to Improve Airport Security Areas

 Learning from Past Efforts to Acquire Missile Defense 

Systems

 Addressing Challenges to the Coast Guard’s Arctic 

Capabilities

 Improving NNSA’s Efforts to Modernize the 

Nation’s Nuclear Weapons Through Portfolio 

Management

 Addressing Challenges to Help DOD Sustain a 

Growing Fleet of F-35 Aircraft

 Strengthening DOD’s Oversight of Privatized 

Military Housing

 Addressing Persistent and Substantial Delays in 

Ship and Submarine Maintenance

 COVID-19: FEMA’s Role in the Response and 

Related Challenges

 Improving CBP’s Oversight of Funds, Medical 

Care, and Reporting of Deaths at the Southwest 

Border

Goal 2: Respond to Changing Security Threats and the Challenges of Global 

Interdependence

 Addressing Significant Challenges to Information 

Security at VA and Other Federal Agencies

 Improving SBA’s Oversight of Tribal 8(a) Firms

 Addressing Challenges for the 2020 Census with 

Operations Underway

 Improving IT Management and Cybersecurity at OMB 

and Other Agencies 

 Addressing Challenges to Better Ensure Equal 

Employment Opportunity in the DHS Workforce

 Using Established Transition Planning Practices for 

Telecommunications to Help Agencies Prevent Costly 

Delays

 Providing Enhanced GAO Capabilities for 

Oversight, Insight, and Foresight on Science and 

Technology Issues

 Safeguarding Federal Employees Returning to 

the Workplace During Pandemics 

 Addressing the Nation’s Fiscal Health

 Building on Progress Made Under the CFO Act of 

1990 to Improve Federal Financial Management

 Clearly Communicating Public Comment Posting 

Practices for Federal Rulemaking

Goal 3: Help Transform the Federal Government to Address National Challenges

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Note: Additional information on selected testimonies can be found in Part II of this report.

Table 7: Selected Testimony Topics • Fiscal Year 2020
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

40 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Comptroller General Testifying Before the Congress

Source: GAO (two photos above, screenshots of GAO website, and covers of GAO reports). | GAO-21-4SP

June 26, 2020

Comptroller General testified to the U.S. House of 

Representatives on federal efforts to respond to and recover 

from the COVID-19 pandemic, including opportunities for 

improvement.

COVID-19

Opportunities to Improve 

Federal Response and 

Recovery Efforts

Statement of Gene L. Dodaro,

Comptroller General of the United States

Testimony 

Before the Select Subcommittee on the 

Coronavirus Crisis, Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform, 

House of Representatives

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 10:00 a.m. ET

Friday, June 26, 2020

GAO-20-659T

United States Government Accountability Office

October 30, 2019 

Comptroller General testified to the U.S. Senate on the 30th 

anniversary of the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act , October 

30, 2019. 

Page i GAO-20-203T Financial Management

FEDERAL FINANCIAL 

MANAGEMENT

Substantial Progress 

Made since the CFO Act 

of 1990 and Preliminary 

Observations on 

Opportunities for 

Enhancement

Statement of Gene L. Dodaro 

Comptroller General of the United States

Testimony 

Before the Committee on the Budget, 

U.S. Senate

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 2:00 p.m. ET Wednesday, October 30, 2019

GAO-20-203T

United States Government Accountability Office
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 41 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Timeliness

To be useful to the Congress, our products 

must be available when our clients need 

them. In fiscal year 2020, we exceeded 

our timeliness target of 90 percent by 

3 percentage points (see fig. 19). We reach 

out directly to our clients through several 

means, including an electronic feedback 

form. We use the results of our client 

feedback form as a primary source and 

barometer for whether we are getting 

our products to our congressional clients 

when they need the information. To 

calculate this result, we tally responses 

from the client survey form we send to 

key congressional staff working for the 

requesters of our testimony statements 

and more significant written products (e.g., 

engagements assigned an interest level 

of “high” by our senior management and 

those expected to reach 500 staff days or 

more), which represented about 51 percent 

of the congressionally requested written 

products we issued in fiscal year 2020. 

Because our products usually have multiple 

requesters, we often send forms to more 

than one congressional staff person per 

testimony or product. One of the questions 

on each form asks the client whether the 

product was provided or delivered on time. 

In fiscal year 2020, of the congressional 

staff that responded to the question on 

timeliness, 93 percent said our products 

were on time. Overall, the response rate 

to our entire form was about 14 percent. 

We received feedback on 41 percent of the 

products for which we sent forms. 

We have consistently set a high target for 

timeliness because it is important for us to 

meet congressional needs when they occur. 

We have again set our fiscal year 2021 

target at 90 percent because we believe 

that this is realistic given current staffing 

levels and workload demands. 

Figure 19: Timeliness

Percentage of products on time

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Actual Target Actual

95% 90% 93% 98% 94% 96% 97%

0

20

40

60

80

100

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2020

Note: See Part V for detailed information on data sources 

that we use to assess each performance measure, as well 

as the steps we take to verify and validate the data.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

42 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Focusing on Our People

Our highly diverse and professional 

multidisciplinary staff were critical to our 

fiscal year 2020 performance. Our ability 

to hire, develop, retain, and lead staff is 

key to fulfilling our mission of serving the 

Congress and the American people. Over 

the last 12 fiscal years, we have refined 

our processes for measuring how well 

we manage our human capital. In fiscal 

year 2020, we exceeded the targets for 

six of our seven people measures. These 

measures are directly linked to our Goal 

4 strategic objective of being a leading 

practices federal agency. For more 

information about our people measures, 

see pages 133-137 of this report.

New Hire Rate

Our new hire rate is the ratio of the 

number of people hired to the number we 

planned to hire. GAO’s annual workforce 

planning process helps to identify the 

human capital resource requirements 

needed to accomplish its mission. It is the 

key tool to put strategic goals into human 

capital actions that are needed to respond 

to changing work environments. The 

workforce plan takes into account strategic 

goals, projected workload requirements, 

and other changes, such as retirements, 

attrition, promotions, and skill gaps. It 

specifies the number of planned hires 

for the upcoming year. Adjustments to 

the plan are made throughout the year, 

if necessary, to respond immediately to 

the most pressing issues for congressional 

oversight and decision-making. 

Table 8 shows that in fiscal year 2020, our 

new hire rate was 76 percent. We hired 

121 new staff against a target of 159 new 

staff (76 percent of our target) by the end 

of the year. This was due, in part, to some 

delays we experienced while transitioning 

to a virtual environment due to COVID-19. 

We also faced challenges earlier in the year 

with declinations from qualified candidates 

which required re-advertising the same 

positions later in the year. 

Table 8: Actual Performance and Targets Related to Our New Hire Rate Measure

Performance

measure

2015

actual

2016

actual

2017

actual

2018

actual

2019

actual

2020

target

2020

actual

People

New hire rate 83% 81% 83% 85% 89% 80% 76%

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Retention Rate

We continuously strive to make GAO a 

place where people want to work. Once 

we have made an investment in hiring and 

training people, we would like them to stay 

with us. This measure is one indicator of 

whether we are attaining this objective. 

We calculate this measure by taking 100 

percent minus the attrition rate, where 

attrition rate is defined as the number of 

separations divided by the average onboard 

strength. We calculate this measure with 

and without retirements. Table 9 shows 

that in fiscal year 2020, we exceeded our 

target rate of 92 percent for retention 

with retirements by 3 percentage points 

at 95 percent. We also exceeded our 

target rate of 96 percent for retention rate 

without retirements by one percentage 

point at 97 percent. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 43 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Staff Development and Utilization, 

Experience with Supervisors, and 

Organizational Climate

One way that we measure how well we 

are supporting our staff and providing an 

environment for professional growth is through 

our annual employee feedback survey. This 

anonymous, web-based survey is administered 

to all of our employees once a year. Through 

the survey, we encourage our staff to indicate 

what they think about our overall operations, 

work environment, and organizational culture 

and how they rate their experience with 

immediate supervisors. This fiscal year, we 

updated the questions underlying these four 

measures based on employee feedback. (See

Part V of this report on pp. 129-138 for additional 

information about these updated measures.) 

This fiscal year, 77 percent of our employees 

completed the survey, and we exceeded all 

four targets (see table 10). Our performance 

on staff development exceeded our target of 

80 percent by 1 percentage point. For staff 

utilization, we exceeded our target of 76 percent 

by 9 percentage points. For experience with 

supervisors (formerly effective leadership 

by supervisors), we exceeded our target of 

82 percent by 8 percentage points, at 90 

percent. For organizational climate, we exceeded 

our target of 76 percent by 10 percentage points, 

at 86 percent. Given our performance on these 

measures in recent years, we have decided to 

keep these targets for fiscal year 2021.

Table 9: Actual Performance and Targets Related to Our Retention Rate Measures, Including and 

Excluding Retirements

Performance

measures

2015

actual

2016

actual

2017

actual

2018

actual

2019

actual

2020

target

2020

actual

People

Retention rate

With retirements 94% 93% 94% 94% 94% 92% 95%

Without retirements 96% 96% 97% 97% 96% 96% 97%

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Table 10: Actual Performance and Targets Related to Our Measures of Employee Satisfaction with 

Staff Development, Staff Utilization, Supervisors, and Organizational Climate

Performance

measuresa 2015

actual

2016

actual

2017

actual

2018

actual

2019

actual

2020

target

2020

actual

2021

target

People

Staff developmentb N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 80% 81% 80%

Staff utilizationb N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 76% 85% 76%

Supervisors 

(experience with)b,c N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 82% 90% 82%

Organizationalb

climate N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 76% 86% 76%

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

a

Certain portions of our web-based survey are used to develop these four measures (see Appendix on Data Quality).

b

In fiscal year 2020, we revised the questions underlying these four people measures. Therefore, we are rebaselining them, and 

not reporting the data from prior years. 

c

In fiscal year 2020, we changed “effective leadership by supervisors’ to ‘experience with supervisors’ to better reflect the 

revised underlying questions and senior management’s information needs. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

44 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Our mission and people are supported 

by our administrative services, including 

information management, infrastructure 

operations, human capital, and financial 

management. To assess our performance 

and set targets related to how well our 

administrative services help employees 

get their jobs done and improve quality 

of work life, and employee satisfaction 

with IT tools, we use information from 

our annual customer satisfaction survey 

(see table 11). We ask staff to rate internal 

services available to them, indicating 

their satisfaction with each service from 

“very dissatisfied” to “very satisfied,” 

or to indicate that they did not use the 

service. Our internal operations measures 

are directly related to our efforts under 

Goal 4 of our strategic plan to enable 

quality, timely service to the Congress 

and be a leading practices federal 

agency. We measured staff satisfaction 

with our three internal operations for 

fiscal year 2020 through our internal 

customer satisfaction survey. See p. 138.

The first measure includes services that 

help employees get their jobs done, such as 

hiring, IT support, internal communications, 

and report production. The second measure 

includes services that affect quality of work 

life, such as assistance related to pay and 

leave, building security and maintenance, 

and reasonable accommodations. The 

third measure includes IT tools, such as 

our internal engagement management 

system, our document management system, 

and the intranet. Using survey responses, 

we calculate a composite score for 

each service category. 

Table 11 shows that in fiscal year 2020, we 

exceeded our target rate of 80 percent 

for “help get job done” by 3 percentage 

points at 83 percent (e.g., customer support 

services). We also exceeded our target 

of 80 percent for quality of work life by 

6 percentage points at 86 percent. We fell 

short of our target of 80 percent for IT 

tools by 11 percentage points at 69 percent 

satisfaction; however, this meausre is up 

by 13 percentage points over fiscal year 

2019, and we continue to seek areas for IT 

improvement. Given our recent performance 

and planned improvements, we have 

decided to keep these targets for fiscal year 

2020 (see Setting Performance Targets). 

Focusing on Our Internal Operations

Table 11: Actual Performance and Targets Related to Our Internal Operations Measures

Performance

measures

2015

actual

2016

actual

2017

actual

2018

actual

2019

actual

2020

target

2020

actual

2021

target

Internal operations

Help get job done 80% N/Aa 84% 85% 82% 80% 83% 80%

Quality of work life 78% N/Aa 82% 82% 82% 80% 86% 80%

IT tools 67% N/Aa 74% 73% 56% 80% 69% 80%

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Notes: Information explaining the measures included in this table appears in the Appendix on Data Quality.

a

We did not have data to report for fiscal year 2016 because the survey was conducted on a calendar year basis (denoted by N/A). 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 45 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

GAO’s High Risk Program

In 2019, we issued the biennial update of 

our High Risk Report to focus attention on 

government operations that are vulnerable 

to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement 

or need transformation—offering solutions to 

35 high-risk problems. 

Financial benefits to the federal government 

due to progress in addressing high-risk areas 

from fiscal years 2006 through 2018 totaled 

nearly $350 billion—averaging about $27 

billion per year. This year, our high-risk 

work yielded 168 reports, 26 testimonies, 

$54.2 billion in financial benefits, and 

606 other benefits.

Our experience for more than 28 years 

has shown that the key elements needed 

to make progress in high risk areas are 

(1) congressional action, (2) high-level 

administration initiatives, and/or (3) agency 

efforts targeted to address the risk. 

A complete list of these areas is shown on 

the next page (table 12) and details can be 

found at 

https://www.gao.gov/highrisk/overview. 

Our next update will be issued in early 2021. 

Opportunities to Reduce 

Fragmentation, Overlap, and 

Duplication, and Achieve 

Other Financial Benefits

In May 2020, we issued our tenth annual 

report to the Congress on federal 

programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives 

that have duplicative goals or activities, 

as well as opportunities to achieve greater 

efficiency and effectiveness that result 

in cost savings or enhanced revenue 

collection. This report identified 168 new 

actions in 29 new areas (and 10 existing 

areas) that could reduce fragmentation, 

overlap, and duplication, or provide other 

cost savings and revenue enhancement 

opportunities across the federal 

government (GAO-20-440SP).

Significant progress has been made in 

addressing many of the 908 actions that 

we identified from 2011 to 2019 to reduce 

costs, increase revenues, and improve 

agency operations. As of March 2020, the 

Congress and executive branch agencies 

had fully or partially addressed 79 percent 

of all actions (721 of 908)—57 percent 

(519) fully addressed and 22 percent (202) 

partially addressed. This yielded about 

$393 billion in financial benefits between 

2010 and 2019, with $36 billion more 

projected in the future. 

This work has also led to key other 

(non-financial) benefits, including 

(1) strengthened collaboration between 

HUD and its rental assistance program 

stakeholders at the federal, state, and local 

levels to help achieve long-term housing 

goals; and (2) improved the tax information 

for IRS on partnerships and corporations 

to help it identify compliant tax returns 

and better focus its work on returns 

warranting further review. 

Policymakers and the public can track 

the status of congressional and executive 

branch efforts to address the issues we 

have previously identified on GAO’s Action 

Tracker, located on our website under the 

“Duplication and Cost Savings” collection 

https://www.gao.gov/duplication/action_

tracker/all_areas.

Other Ways GAO Served the Congress and the American People
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

46 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Table 12: GAO’s High Risk List as of September 30, 2020

High risk area Year 

designated

Strengthening the Foundation for Efficiency and Effectiveness

 Improving Federal Management of Programs that Serve Tribes and Their Membersa 2017

 2020 Decennial Censusa 2017

 U.S. Government’s Environmental Liabilitiesa 2017

 Improving the Management of IT Acquisitions and Operations 2015

 Limiting the Federal Government’s Fiscal Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risksa 2013

 Management of Federal Oil and Gas Resources 2011

 Modernizing the U.S. Financial Regulatory Systema 2009

 Resolving the Federal Role in Housing Financea 2009

 USPS Financial Viabilitya 2009

 Funding the Nation’s Surface Transportation Systema 2007

 Managing Federal Real Property 2003

 Strategic Human Capital Management 2001

Transforming DOD Program Management

 DOD Approach to Business Transformation 2005

 DOD Support Infrastructure Managementa 1997

 DOD Business Systems Modernization 1995

 DOD Financial Management 1995

 DOD Weapon Systems Acquisition 1990

Ensuring Public Safety and Security

 Government-wide Personnel Security Clearance Processa 2018

 Protecting Public Health through Enhanced Oversight of Medical Products 2009

 Transforming EPA’s Processes for Assessing and Controlling Toxic Chemicalsa 2009

 Ensuring the Effective Protection of Technologies Critical to U.S. National Security Interestsa 2007

 Improving Federal Oversight of Food Safetya 2007

 Strengthening Department of Homeland Security Management Functions 2003

 Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the Nationa 1997

Managing Federal Contracting More Effectively 

 VA Acquisition Management 2019

 DOD Contract Management 1992

 DOE’s Contract Management for the National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of 

Environmental Managementa 1990

 NASA Acquisition Managementa 1990

Assessing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Tax Law Administration 

 Enforcement of Tax Lawsa 1990

Modernizing and Safeguarding Insurance and Benefit Programs 

 Managing Risks and Improving VA Health Carea 2015

 National Flood Insurance Programa 2006

 Improving and Modernizing Federal Disability Programs 2003

 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Insurance Programsa 2003

 Strengthening Medicaid Program Integrity a 2003

 Medicare Program and Improper Paymentsa 1990

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

a

Legislation is likely to be necessary in order to effectively address this area.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 47 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

General Counsel Decisions

In addition to benefiting from our audit 

and evaluation work, which reflects 

considerable legal input, the Congress and 

the public also benefited from the legal 

products and activities undertaken by our 

OGC in fiscal year 2020. The following 

exemplify some of our key contributions.

OGC handled more than 2,100 bid protests 

during the course of fiscal year 2020.9 The 

bid protest process was authorized by 

the Congress, as part of the Competition 

in Contracting Act of 1984, to provide 

companies with an administrative forum 

to challenge the award, or solicitation 

for the award, of a federal contract. The 

statute requires that GAO resolve protest 

disputes in no more than 100 calendar 

days, and, in most cases, requires agencies 

to stop work on a contract until the 

protest is resolved. The Congress adopted 

this stop work approach to preserve the 

possibility for meaningful relief upon 

completion of the protest.

In fiscal year 2020, we issued more than 

500 decisions on the merits, which are 

accessible on GAO’s Bid Protest Decisions 

web page at http://www.gao.gov/legal/

bid-protests/search. These decisions 

addressed a wide range of issues involving 

compliance with, and the interpretation 

of, procurement statutes and regulations. 

Certain of these protests involved highly 

visible government programs and received 

extensive media coverage. 

Many of our fiscal year 2020 protests were 

resolved without a written decision on 

the merits because the federal agency 

involved voluntarily took corrective action 

to address the protest, in some cases after 

GAO used Alternative Dispute Resolution 

9

The precise number of filings each fiscal year is included in GAO’s bid 

protest annual report, which is required to be filed with the Congress 

not later than January 31 of the next calendar year. The requirement 

for the annual report is in the Competition in Contracting Act of 

1984, 31 U.S.C. § 3554(e)(2). The number of filings in the last 3 years 

are as follows: 2,198 filings in fiscal year 2019; 2,607 filings in fiscal 

year 2018; and 2,596 filings in fiscal year 2017

techniques. The remaining protests were 

decided on the merits, dismissed for 

procedural deficiencies, or withdrawn by 

the protester. The Comptroller General 

is also required by the Competition in 

Contracting Act to report annually to the 

Congress on federal agencies that do not 

fully implement a recommendation made 

by GAO in connection with a bid protest 

decided in the prior fiscal year. 

During the second quarter of fiscal year 

2020, OGC transitioned to a fully virtual 

environment in response to COVID-19. 

Despite the change in our staff’s operating 

environment, GAO’s bid protest work 

has moved forward without interruption. 

Specifically, we have continued to hold 

teleconferences with parties to the protest; 

convene telephonic hearings, where 

appropriate; and resolve all bid protests 

within 100 calendar days. 

Within OGC, seven attorneys appointed 

by the General Counsel also serve on our 

Contract Appeals Board, established by the 

Congress in 2007 to hear and decide the 

appeals of contracting officer decisions 

with respect to contract disputes involving 

all legislative branch agencies. In addition 

to using Alternative Dispute Resolution 

procedures, the GAO Contract Appeals 

Board also issues formal decisions as 

necessary to adjudicate contract appeals. 

These appear on our website at 

https://www.gao.gov/legal/contract/

decisions.html. 

During fiscal year 2020, the GAO Contract 

Appeals Board opened nine new appeals 

and closed 15 appeals. Of the appeals that 

were closed, six were voluntarily withdrawn 

by the appellant, and nine were dismissed 

based on the parties’ settlement. There 

were also a number of instances involving 

the submission of appeals over which the 

GAO Contract Appeals Board did not have 

jurisdiction, and for which no appeal file 

was opened. At the end of fiscal year 2020, 

the board had three pending appeals on 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

48 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

its docket, as compared with nine appeals 

pending at the end of fiscal year 2019. 

In fiscal year 2020, we published 21 

appropriations law products. These are 

available on our Appropriations Law 

Decisions web page at https://www.gao.

gov/legal/appropriations-law-decisions/

search. In a decision that has important 

ramifications for the constitutional 

prerogatives of the Congress, we concluded 

that OMB violated the Impoundment 

Control Act of 1974 (ICA) when it withheld 

funds appropriated to DOD for security 

assistance to Ukraine for policy reasons.10

Though the ICA permits the President to 

temporarily withhold budget authority from 

obligation by proposing a deferral, the ICA 

only permits deferrals in a limited range of 

circumstances, and more importantly, does 

not permit deferrals for policy reasons. 

Because OMB explained that it temporarily 

withheld funds appropriated for Ukraine to 

ensure funds were not spent in a manner 

that would conflict with the President’s 

foreign policy objectives, we concluded 

that OMB’s temporary withholding of 

funds constituted an impermissible policy 

deferral, which is improper under the ICA. 

Additionally, in testimony before the 

House Committee on the Budget, the 

General Counsel explained how our role in 

providing information and legal analysis on 

appropriations law matters ensures respect 

for the Congress’s constitutional power 

of the purse, and discussed legislative 

proposals that would help us continue 

to advance and protect such power.11

Following his testimony, we continued to 

demonstrate how we protect the Congress’s 

constitutional prerogatives by notifying 

the Congress of four violations of the 

Antideficiency Act for which the agencies 

failed to make the legally required report.12

10B-331564, Jan. 16, 2020. 11B-331902, Mar. 11, 2020. 12See, e.g., B-331093, June 30, 2020.

We also issued a number of decisions 

addressing significant, novel legal issues 

arising from federal agencies’ use of 

appropriated funds during the partial 

government shutdown that occurred in 

fiscal year 2019. For example, we concluded 

that the Department of the Treasury 

violated the Antideficiency Act when 

IRS incurred obligations to process tax 

remittances and issue tax refunds because 

IRS lacked available budget authority to 

support these activities and no exception 

to the Antideficiency Act applied.13 We 

also concluded that the National Archives 

and Records Administration violated 

the Antideficiency Act when it incurred 

obligations to publish documents in the 

Federal Register because it did not have 

specific statutory authority to incur 

obligations in the absence of available 

appropriations and no exception to the 

Antideficiency Act applied.14 In addition, in 

July 2020, we issued an updated package of 

our statistical data regarding proposed and 

enacted rescissions since the passage of the 

ICA through February 28, 2020.15

GAO is also sometimes asked to provide 

decisions on Congressional Review Act 

(CRA)-related issues, primarily with 

regard to whether an agency action other 

than promulgation of a rule (e.g., issuing 

guidance or a memorandum) constitutes a 

“rule” as defined by the CRA. We issued 

five decisions in fiscal year 2020. 

Other Legal Work

Attorneys from OGC also provided ongoing 

appropriations law assistance to various 

congressional committees and federal 

agencies on a number of topics, including 

the application of the Antideficiency Act 

and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. 

We also informally assisted the Congress on 

a number of other matters, including agency 

13B-331093, Oct. 22, 2019. 14B-331091, July 16, 2020. 15B-330828, July 16, 2020.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 49 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

reorganizations, continuing resolutions, 

legislative drafting, and transfer authority. 

GAO’s Principles of Federal Appropriations 

Law, commonly known as the Red Book, 

continued to be the primary resource for 

appropriations law guidance in the federal 

community.16 In fiscal year 2020, the Red 

Book averaged thousands of downloads 

as attorneys, budget analysts, financial 

managers, project managers, contracting 

officers, and accountable officers from all 

three branches of government accessed 

it to research questions about budget and 

appropriations law.

Attorneys from OGC continued to provide 

training on appropriations law, including 

a 21⁄2-day course on appropriations law 

and shorter appropriations law seminars. 

The attorneys presented a framework 

for understanding and properly applying 

provisions of appropriations law—helping to 

ensure that agencies use public money as the 

Congress directs. We held 20 classes across 

17 agencies, including classes for the Senate 

and the House of Representatives. 

We also provided briefings for the staff of the 

appropriations committees and for both the 

Senate and the House of Representatives. 

In addition, attorneys spoke on our 

appropriations law work at conferences 

and trainings hosted by two agencies and 

professional organizations. To enhance 

communication within the appropriations law 

community across all agencies and within the 

three branches of government, we hosted 

our 16th annual Appropriations Law Forum in 

September 2020. 

For fiscal year 2020, we received 12 

Antideficiency Act reports and also 

made selected information from reports 

16Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, also known as the Red Book, is 

a multi-volume treatise concerning federal fiscal law available at https://

www.gao.gov/legal/red-book/overview. GAO-17-797SP (Washington, 

D.C.: Sept. 14, 2017), GAO-16-463SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 10, 

2016), GAO-16-464SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar.10, 2016), GAO15-303SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 12, 2015), GAO- 08-978SP 

(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 1, 2008), GAO-06-382SP (Washington, 

D.C.: Feb. 1, 2006), GAO-04-261SP (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 1, 2004).

received in fiscal year 2019 available on 

our website. Since the Congress amended 

the Antideficiency Act in 2004 requiring 

agencies to send us a copy of any report 

of an Antideficiency Act violation, we have 

received 257 reports and maintain an official 

repository of Antideficiency Act reports. 

We continued to report under the CRA on 

major rules proposed by federal agencies to 

the standing committees of jurisdiction of 

both Houses of the Congress. We issued 153 

reports for rules received in fiscal year 2020. 

We also continued to fulfill our 

responsibilities under the Federal Vacancies 

Reform Act (FVRA). FVRA requires executive 

departments and agencies to immediately 

report to the Congress and the Comptroller 

General certain vacancies that require 

presidential appointment and Senate 

confirmation. It requires the Comptroller 

General to report to the Congress, the 

President, and the Office of Personnel 

Management if the Comptroller General 

determines that an acting official is serving 

longer than the 210-day period (including 

applicable extensions) established by 

the act. We issued five FVRA opinions in 

fiscal year 2020.

OGC was involved in the analysis of a wide 

range of the agency’s federal employment 

and labor relations issues, as well as privacy 

and document disclosure matters, during 

the course of the year. This year, OGC 

attorneys advised agency management on 

a number of employment issues resulting 

from COVID-19, including moving to a fully 

remote work environment. In addition, they 

represented GAO and its officials in various 

ongoing litigation pending before the federal 

courts and administrative boards. Attorneys 

continued to provide training for managers 

on employment and other human capital 

responsibilities. OGC was also an active 

stakeholder in ensuring that GAO’s acquisition 

practices and procedures comply with all 

legal requirements and best practices.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

50 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Through its domestic and international 

partnerships, GAO builds collaborative 

knowledge-sharing and capacity-building 

networks. We prioritize strong partnerships 

with federal inspectors general, state 

and local audit organizations, and other 

countries’ national audit offices—known as 

supreme audit institutions or SAIs. These 

networks enhance our ability to perform 

audits and allow us to shape professional 

audit standards and serve as a leader 

within the accountability community. 

They also allow GAO to participate in 

efforts to help strengthen the professional 

capacities of international and domestic 

audit organizations.

Networks, Collaborations, and 

Partnerships 

We share information about our mission 

and work with visitors to our agency 

headquarters. In fiscal year 2020, this 

included 262 international visitors from 

101 countries. GAO values these visits 

as important opportunities to build or 

reinforce our professional networks. 

Domestic Partnerships 

GAO is a leader in the accountability 

community. We work closely with SAIs, 

federal inspectors general (IG), and state 

and local U.S. auditors to strengthen 

expertise around emerging issues. This 

helps us address the unique challenges of 

overseeing federal spending that flows to 

international partners and sub-federal grant 

recipients at the state and local level. 

In fiscal year 2020, GAO made 

significant contributions to the domestic 

accountability community through its 

management of the national and regional 

intergovernmental audit forum networks 

and various Comptroller General advisory 

groups. The National (NIAF) and 10 

Regional Intergovernmental Audit Forums 

were established in 1973 and 1974, 

respectively, to improve cooperation and 

communication among federal, state, and 

local government auditors and improve the 

efficiency and usefulness of governmental 

audits. In fiscal year 2020, GAO planned 

and held in-person and virtual events 

that reached over 3,900 practitioners to 

help auditors across the nation better 

understand and enhance strategies on 

topics including audit collaboration, 

Blockchain, CARES Act, cybersecurity, 

homelessness, real-time auditing, Green 

Book, data reliability, risk assessments, and 

innovative writing processes. 

Through Comptroller General advisory 

groups and partnerships, such as the 

Educator’s Advisory Panel (EAP), GAO 

convened discussions and conducted 

outreach on a wide range of subjects with 

leaders in the government auditor and 

academic communities. The July 2020 EAP 

virtual meeting (which brought together 

representatives from academic institutions 

and GAO leadership) provided GAO a 

platform to explore several high-priority 

areas, such as public sector preparation 

and recruitment, the importance of data, 

fiscal and social issues, as well as the GAO 

and academic response to COVID-19. 

GAO convened a national working group 

consisting of federal Inspectors General, 

state and local government audit offices, 

Office of Management and Budget, and the 

Department of Treasury representatives 

that functioned as a high-level meeting to 

address issues and inform ongoing work 

across the levels of government. 

GAO also regularly met with Pandemic 

Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) 

leadership and IGs who are members of 

the PRAC to discuss collaboration between 

GAO, PRAC, state and local government 

and other coordination issues.

Strategic Partnerships 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 51 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

International Partnerships

GAO made substantial contributions 

to the international accountability 

community through its leadership role in 

the International Organization of Supreme 

Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), including 

participation in INTOSAI working groups and 

the INTOSAI Journal of Government Auditing 

(the INTOSAI Journal). 

INTOSAI is an umbrella organization for 

the international government auditing 

community that provides a framework 

to promote development and sharing 

of knowledge and improve government 

auditing around the world. In fiscal year 

2020, we led the INTOSAI response to the 

COVID-19 pandemic by assisting INTOSAI and 

its members with continuity of operations 

and developing a lessons learned document 

for external audiences.

The INTOSAI Journal is INTOSAI’s official 

publication developed to promote 

collaboration and continuous improvement 

among the international accountability 

community. GAO manages quarterly 

publication of the journal on behalf of 

INTOSAI’s 194 members. In fiscal year 2020, 

we continued to modernize the Journal 

and expand its reach, with an emphasis 

on real-time coverage and messaging 

via social media.

Capacity-building efforts help the U.S. 

government promote good governance and 

ensure that federal funds for programs 

abroad are worthwhile investments. 

When developing countries bolster the 

professional capacities and independence 

of their audit agencies, they are better 

able to ensure government funds are spent 

efficiently and effectively. 

GAO continues to advance SAI capacitybuilding efforts, including the INTOSAIDonor Cooperation (IDC) initiative. Through 

this initiative, INTOSAI coordinates with 

members of the donor community to 

facilitate the flow of financial and other 

assistance from donors and other SAIs to 

strengthen SAIs in developing countries. 

GAO serves as INTOSAI’s Vice Chair of 

IDC and has facilitated the expansion of 

the Cooperation to assist SAIs during the 

pandemic with a focus on those that have 

the greatest capacity development needs. 

GAO also supports capacity-building efforts 

through the International Auditor Fellowship 

Program (IAFP), a 4-month training for 

mid- to senior-level staff from SAIs. This 

program strengthens GAO’s partnerships in 

the international accountability community 

while also investing in future networks and 

relationships. In light of the pandemic, GAO 

suspended the IAFP for 2020 and is using 

this opportunity to modernize the program 

and explore online learning options. 

Center for Audit Excellence 

The Congress authorized GAO to establish a 

Center for Audit Excellence (Center) in 2014 

in order to provide training and technical 

assistance to domestic and international 

accountability organizations. Although GAO 

contributes to a number of efforts that 

promote good governance and enhance 

accountability community capacity, the 

Center is unique in its ability to tackle 

complex training and capacity-building 

projects because it can offer a wide range 

of services at locations throughout the 

world. The Center is authorized to charge 

fees for its services to recover its costs. 

In fiscal year 2020, the Center continued to 

experience strong demand for training and 

technical assistance services. The Center 

provided training and technical assistance to 

11 domestic accountability organizations—

including federal inspectors general and 

state and local audit offices—that enhanced 

their understanding of federal internal 

control standards, data analytics, and other 

performance auditing topics. In response to 

the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the Center 

also developed and began offering several 

online, virtual training courses to domestic 

accountability organizations.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

52 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

The Center also provided capacity 

development support to six national audit 

organizations in Europe, Central America, 

Africa, and Asia to enhance their capacity to 

conduct and achieve results from financial 

and performance audits. The Center 

also initiated its first project under an 

agreement with the World Bank to review 

and help strengthen a European Supreme 

Audit Institution’s capacity to deliver 

high-quality audit services. In addition, 

working remotely, the Center initiated new 

multi-year technical assistance projects in 

Ethiopia, Georgia, and Armenia under a 

2016 MOU with USAID. These projects will 

include assessments of selected national 

audit office capabilities, policies, and 

guidance, as well as training and other 

technical assistance services. Moreover, 

the Center also continued its support of 

the Philippines Commission on Audit by 

providing performance audit training and 

technical assistance, and completed a needs 

assessment of the Dominican Republic’s SAI. 

Strategic Planning and Foresight

We continued to strengthen the 

components of GAO’s foresight ecosystem 

through several initiatives, including the 

development of a risk analysis briefing, 

as well as a series of internal briefing 

papers on COVID-19’s spillover effects and 

other emerging issues that we are tracking 

through our continuous environmental 

scanning system and the Center for 

Strategic Foresight.

In our capacity as vice-chair to INTOSAI’s 

Supervisory Committee on Emerging Issues 

(SCEI), we helped lead efforts to assist 

audit offices around the world, share best 

practices, and understand the implications 

of remote audits during the COVID-19 

pandemic.

In addition, we (1) featured a speaker on 

demographics and generational change 

through our Foresight Speaker Series; 

(2) rolled out multi-day virtual training on 

foresight for GAO’s executive candidates; 

and (3) co-led a CG Forum on Artificial 

Intelligence Governance, with STAA, and 

Analytics team, to enhance understanding 

of audit and governance principles for 

providing oversight of algorithms and 

automated systems.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 53 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Table 13: GAO’s Financial Summary (Dollars in Millions)

Fiscal year 2020 Fiscal year 2019

Total Assets $189.1 $161.7

Total Liabilities $99.2 $89.8

Total Net Position $89.9 $71.9

Net Cost of Operations by Goal

Goal 1: Well-being / Financial Security of 

American People $257.5 $230.3

Goal 2: Changing Security Threats / Challenges 

of Global Interdependence 173.5 196.3

Goal 3: Help Transform the Federal Government 

to Address National Challenges 160.7 148.6

Goal 4: Maximize the Value of GAO 12.6 14.0

Other Costs in Support of the Congress 64.7 62.0

Reimbursable services not attributable to above 

cost categories (13.0) (13.1)

Total Net Cost of Operations $656.0 $638.1

Actual full-time equivalents (FTE) 3,178 3,161

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Managing Our Resources

Resources Used to Achieve Our Fiscal 

Year 2020 Performance Goals 

Our financial statements for the fiscal 

year ending September 30, 2020, were 

audited by an independent auditor, 

CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP, and received an 

unmodified opinion. The auditor found our 

internal controls over financial reporting to 

be effective—which means that no material 

weaknesses or significant deficiencies 

were identified—and reported that we 

substantially complied with the applicable 

requirements for financial systems in 

FFMIA. In addition, the auditor found no 

instances of noncompliance with the laws 

or regulations in the areas tested. In the 

opinion of the independent auditor, our 

financial statements are presented fairly in 

all material respects and are in accordance 

with accounting principles generally 

accepted in the United States. The 

auditors’ report, along with the statements

and accompanying notes, begins on page 97

in this report. 

Table 13 summarizes key data.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

54 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Compared with the statements of large 

and complex departments in the executive 

branch, our statements present a relatively 

simple picture of a small yet very important 

agency in the legislative branch. We 

focus most of our financial activity on the 

execution of our congressionally approved 

budget with most of our resources devoted 

to the people needed for our mission.

In fiscal year 2020, our budgetary resources 

of $650.0 million included both new direct 

and CARES Act appropriations as well as 

$30.2 million in spending authority from 

offsetting collections, primarily from the 

lease of space in our headquarters building 

and certain audits of agency financial 

statements. Our total budgetary resources, 

including prior year unobligated balances, in 

fiscal year 2020 were $750.5 million.

Total assets at the end of fiscal year 2020 

were $189.1 million, consisting mostly of 

Fund Balance with the U.S. Department of 

the Treasury (Treasury) and property and 

equipment (including the headquarters 

building, land and improvements, and 

computer equipment and software). This 

represents a $27.4 million increase from the 

total assets at the end fiscal year 2019 of 

$161.7 million primarily represented as an 

increase in our year end fund balance with 

the treasury of $29.1 million. Total liabilities 

were $99.2 million and primarily consist of 

amounts earned and unpaid for employees’ 

salaries and benefits and accrued annual 

leave (earned but not used) as well as 

amounts owed to other government agencies 

and nongovernmental entities for products 

and services rendered to GAO. The fiscal 

year ending balance in accrued annual leave 

increase of $8.8 million was driven primarily 

by the COVID-19 pandemic as employees put 

their vacation plans on hold. This increase 

makes up the bulk of the increase in total 

liabilities of $9.4 million. Total liabilities 

at the end of fiscal year 2019 were $89.8 

million.

Our net cost of operations in fiscal year 

2020 is $656.0 million compared to $638.1 

million in fiscal year 2019 an overall increase 

of $17.9 million. The largest goal increase, 

in Goal 1, was predominantly as a result of 

the COVID-19 related work performed during 

fiscal year 2020 from the following mission 

teams: Health Care; Homeland Security and 

Justice; Education, Workforce and Income 

Security; and, Financial Management and 

Assurance. Likewise, Goal 2 decreases were 

partially as a result of work shifting to Goal 

1 for COVID-19 related audits. During fiscal 

year 2020, a total of 33 COVID-19 related 

audit products were issued and 121 related 

audits were underway at year-end.

During fiscal year 2020 GAO used resources 

to prepare for, and respond to, COVID-19. 

Part of these resources are covered by 

a COVID-19 supplemental appropriation. 

Enacted on March 27, 2020, H.R. 748 

“Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 

Security Act” (CARES Act) included 

mandates for GAO to carry out oversight 

of the federal government’s response to 

COVID-19 and an appropriation of $20 million 

for GAO to perform this work. Other audits 

that touched on COVID- 19 related issues but 

were started prior to or did not fall under 

the CARES Act were completed using GAO’s 

annual appropriation. For example, ongoing 

audits that were expanded to include the 

impact of COVID-19 were funded out of 

GAO’s annual appropriation. Furthermore, 

the resources used to support our maximum 

telework stance and sanitation-related 

enhancements are considered COVID-19 

related. Section 19009 of the CARES Act 

also provides for salary reimbursements of 

employees of the Tiny Findings Child Care 

Center in the GAO building. Tiny Findings is 

a non-profit organization providing child care 

services to GAO headquarters employees 

and other interested parents. This section 

authorized up to $600,000 of the $20 million 

supplemental appropriation to be used for 

salary reimbursements between April 1, 

2020 and September 30, 2020. In addition, 

Public Law No: 116-159, the “Continuing 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 55 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other 

Extensions Act” enacted on October 1, 

2020, extended the provisions of section 

19009 of the CARES Act, authorizing GAO 

to reimburse the salaries incurred by Tiny 

Findings until the termination of the public 

health emergency declared pursuant to 

section 319 of the Public Health Service 

Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) resulting from the 

COVID–19 pandemic.

The budgetary resources used and 

obligations incurred under the CARES Act 

appropriation as of September 30, 2020 

were $12.1 million, with an additional $7.9 

million remaining available after September 

30, 2020. Other COVID-19 related resources 

used and obligations incurred using 

the GAO Annual Appropriation totaled 

$2.8 million as of September 30, 2020. 

Generally, given the nature of these 

transactions, COVID-related costs recorded 

in the statements of net cost would be 

similar in amount to obligations incurred 

and budgetary resources used. 

Figure 20 shows how our fiscal year 2020 

costs break down by category. 

Figure 20: Use of Fiscal Year 2020 Funds by 

Category: 

Percentage of total costs

Facilities

Salary 

and benefits

7.8%

84.0%

IT services

and equipment

3.3%

Contract services 

(non-IT)

Other 1.9%

3.0%

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Limitation on Financial Statements 

Responsibility for the integrity and 

objectivity of the financial information 

presented in the financial statements in 

this report rests with our managers. The 

statements were prepared to report our 

financial position and results of operations, 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Chief Financial Officers Act, as amended 

(31 U.S.C. 3515(b)). The statements were 

prepared from our financial records in 

accordance with Federal GAAP and the 

formats prescribed in OMB Circular No. 

A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements. 

These financial statements differ from 

the financial reports used to monitor and 

control our budgetary resources. However, 

both were prepared from the same 

financial records.

Our financial statements should be read 

with the understanding that as an agency 

of a sovereign entity, the U.S. government, 

we cannot liquidate certain liabilities (e.g., 

accrued annual leave) without legislation 

that provides resources to do so. Although 

future appropriations to fund these 

liabilities are likely and anticipated, they 

are not certain. 

Summary of Financial Systems 

Strategies and Framework 

GAO utilizes the Legislative Branch Financial 

Management System (LBFMS) through an 

interagency agreement with the Library of 

Congress. The Library of Congress is the 

system owner and the system is hosted by 

CGI Federal, Inc. (CGI). The LBFMS operates 

CGI’s Momentum Enterprise Suite, as the 

integrated Financial Management System 

and hosts the transaction processing system 

in a FedRAMP compliant and secure facility. 

LBFMS utilizes Treasury’s Invoice Processing 

Platform (IPP), which allows non-federal 

customers to submit electronic invoices that 

when approved by GAO, are loaded into the 

accounting system and paid. This improves 

internal controls over invoice processing, 

reduces data entry errors, and increases 

efficiency and timeliness of payments. 

GAO also engaged CGI to conduct certain 

transaction processing services in LBFMS.

In keeping with our effort to continuously 

improve our operations, we regularly 

review changes to government accounting 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

56 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

standards and update configuration items 

pertinent to GAO in LBFMS. We have tested 

and implemented several US Standard 

General Ledger (USSGL) and Business Event 

Type Code (BETC) changes to be effective 

in fiscal year 2021, and we continue to 

work on LBFMS improvements to provide 

full integration capability with Treasury’s 

Government Invoicing platform by the 

mandated compliance date of October 

1, 2022. G-Invoicing is the long-term 

sustainable solution to improve the quality 

of Intragovernmental Transactions (IGT) 

data in support of more accurate financial 

management by federal trading partners. 

G-Invoicing will address current buy/sell 

accounting and reporting challenges by 

providing a common platform for brokering 

all IGT buy/sell activity, implementing a 

federal IGT buy/sell data standard, and 

providing transparent access to a common 

data repository of brokered transactions. 

Other continued improvement plans include 

enhancing our agency specific management 

reporting to contribute to timely and 

informed decision-making. 

Internal Controls 

We recognize the importance of internal 

controls to ensure our accountability, 

integrity, and reliability as a leading 

practices agency. To achieve a high level 

of quality, management maintains a quality 

internal control program and seeks advice 

and evaluation from both internal and 

external sources. As a legislative branch 

agency, we are exempt from many laws 

that apply to executive branch agencies; 

however, we generally hold ourselves to 

the spirit of many laws and guidance and 

voluntarily comply with them, including 

FMFIA and OMB Circular No. A-123, 

Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise 

Risk Management and Internal Control, and 

applicable appendices. 

Our internal controls are designed to 

safeguarded GAO’s assets against loss 

from unauthorized acquisition, use, or 

disposition; and to provide reasonable 

assurance that transactions are properly 

recorded, processed, and summarized 

accurately in our financial statements. 

Further, our controls ensure that 

transactions are executed in accordance 

with the laws governing the use of budget 

authority and regulations that could 

have a direct and material effect on the 

financial statements. 

As part of our review efforts, we 

performed a risk-based assessment and 

identified, analyzed and tested the controls 

for key business processes, including those 

related to COVID-19 and any corresponding 

oversight activities. Based on the results 

of the assessment, we have reasonable 

assurance that control over operations, 

reporting, and compliance as of September 

30, 2020, was operating effectively and 

that no material weaknesses were found 

in the design or operation of internal 

control. Further, our independent auditor 

found that we maintained effective 

internal control over financial reporting 

and compliance with laws and regulations. 

The external auditor also found no material 

weaknesses or significant deficiencies.

In addition, we met the objectives of 

FFMIA and believe we have implemented 

and maintained financial systems that 

comply substantially with federal financial 

management systems requirements, 

applicable federal accounting standards, 

the U.S. Standard General Ledger at the 

transaction level as of September 30, 2020. 

We made this assessment based on criteria 

established under FFMIA and guidance 

issued by OMB.

While not subject to the Improper 

Payments Elimination and Recovery Act 

of 2012 (IPERA), we complied with the 

spirit of it. IPERA requires that agencies 

periodically review activities susceptible 

to significant improper payments, estimate 

the amount of improper payments - which 

is de minimis, and implement a plan to 

reduce and report estimated improper 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 57 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

payments. We have implemented and 

maintained internal control procedures to 

monitor the disbursement of federal funds 

for valid obligations.

Our Audit Advisory Committee assists the 

Comptroller General in overseeing the 

effectiveness of our financial reporting 

and audit processes, internal control over 

financial reporting, and processes that 

ensure compliance with laws and regulations 

relevant to our financial operations. The 

committee is composed of individuals 

who are independent of GAO and have 

outstanding reputations in public service or 

business with financial or legal expertise. 

For fiscal year 2020, the members of the 

committee were: 

 Robert H. Attmore (Chair), CPA, 

CGFM-Retired, previously served as 

the Chairman of the Governmental 

Accounting Standards Board, New York 

Deputy State Comptroller, President of 

the National State Auditors Association, 

and a Trustee of the Academy for 

Government Accountability. 

 Michael S. Helfer, former Vice Chairman 

of Citigroup Inc. Prior positions 

include partner and Chairman of the 

Management Committee of the law firm 

Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. He serves 

on the Boards of Banco Nacional de 

Mexico and Shakespeare & Company.

 Robert Mednick, former worldwide 

Managing Partner of Professional and 

Regulatory Matters of Arthur Andersen, 

past Chairman of the American Institute 

of CPAs, and serves on a number of civic 

and charitable organization Boards.

 Kathleen S. Tighe, former Inspector 

General of the U.S. Department of 

Education, also served as counsel to 

the inspector general at the General 

Services Administration and as the 

Deputy Inspector General of the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture. She has also 

served on the DATA Act Interagency 

Advisory Committee and chaired 

the Recovery Accountability and 

Transparency Board.

The committee’s report appears in Part III

of this report on page 96.

Planned Resources to Achieve Our 

Fiscal Year 2021 Performance Goals 

For fiscal year 2021 GAO requested an 

appropriation of $706.1 million, an increase 

of $76.1 million or 12.1 percent over the 

fiscal year 2020 appropriation of $630.0 

million. Currently, GAO is operating under 

a Continuing Resolution and expects 

final congressional decisions on our fiscal 

year 2021 appropriation will occur early 

in calendar year 2021. As of this writing 

neither the House nor the Senate has 

passed an appropriations bill for fiscal 

year 2021. The House appropriations 

committee mark-up level for fiscal year 

2021 would allow GAO to maintain end of 

year fiscal year 2020 staffing levels and 

continue to address limited IT and building 

infrastructure initiatives. 

As with much of the rest of the federal 

government and nation as a whole, GAO 

has had to adapt to the new reality of 

operating during the ongoing COVID-19 

pandemic. Through our longstanding 

commitment to telework and recent 

investments in virtual technology, GAO 

was able to quickly transition to a near 

100 percent virtual working environment 

in March 2020. We expect to be in this 

posture through at least the end of 

calendar year 2020, and perhaps longer 

depending on when a vaccine becomes 

readily available to the general public. 

As much as possible in the current 

environment and as funding levels allow, 

we will continue to address mission-related 

and administrative staffing shortages, 

tackle delayed infrastructure improvements 

of building, records, and IT legacy systems, 

and make productivity enhancements to 

the engagement management system.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

58 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Internal Management Challenges

The Comptroller General, the Executive 

Committee, and other senior executives 

identify management challenges 

through the agency’s risk management 

strategic planning, management, internal 

controls, and budgetary processes. We 

monitor our progress in addressing these 

challenges through our performance and 

accountability processes, and ask our IG 

each year to comment on management’s 

assessment of these challenges. For most 

of fiscal year 2020, we focused significant 

management attention on the challenges 

associated with running the agency in the 

midst of a global pandemic. 

While many of these challenges are similar 

to those identified in recent years— 

managing a quality workforce, improving 

the efficiency of our engagements, and 

ensuring we are effectively managing 

risk to our IT services—our scope has 

expanded this year in recognition of 

both the challenges we overcame, and 

those that remain. 

Additional information on progress made 

and actions planned for the future can be 

found in Part II.

CHALLENGE: Responding to the 

Pandemic

Early in the pandemic, we identified two 

overarching principles—to fulfill our mission 

and to protect the health and safety 

of our employees. Fulfilling our mission 

means continuing to provide expertise and 

reports to the Congress; protecting the 

health and safety of our employees means 

providing them the tools and resources to 

work from the safety of their homes, while 

recognizing the challenges of telework for 

some, such as caring for children and other 

family members.

In February 2020, we instituted a Pandemic 

Task Team to develop and implement 

operating policies, procedures, and 

scenarios in response to the growing 

news of COVID-19. Led by our Chief 

Administrative Officer (CAO), this diverse 

team of health, science, human capital, 

legal, and operations experts continually 

monitored the situation, advised leadership 

on operating policy matters, and 

ensured continuity across GAO. They will 

continue to serve in this capacity for the 

duration of the pandemic.

On March 13, 2020, in response to the 

rapidly evolving pandemic situation in 

the United States, we limited employee 

access to our headquarters and field office 

locations and implemented a maximum 

telework policy. Although our headquarters 

building continues to support critical 

functions, including those of our tenants, 

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the 

Department of Justice (DOJ), all of our 

employees have continued teleworking 

to the maximum extent possible. Our 

ability to successfully transition to a full 

telework posture quickly and effectively 

is a direct result of our well-established 

telework program.

Myriad operating policies had to be 

considered and, in some cases, created 

anew to address the maximum telework 

posture and to manage the day-to-day 

operations of the agency. With strong 

coordination from our infrastructure, 

human capital, information technology 

(IT), financial management, professional 

development, legal services, and labor 

relations teams, and our Executive 

Committee, we quickly and effectively 

instituted polices to allow uninterrupted 

service to our building tenants and to 

our employees. 

Management Challenges
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 59 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Communication has been critical to our 

ability to keep employees apprised of 

management decisions. The Executive 

Committee held all-agency teleconferences 

every few weeks since March to address 

employee questions and convey policy and 

procedural changes; an internal COVID-19 

website was established to house all 

pandemic-related materials and messages; 

and the Comptroller General met regularly 

with senior leaders and individual mission 

and operations teams. 

As the pandemic continued, we periodically 

convened working groups to address 

the need for further expertise. Three 

working groups under the leadership of the 

Pandemic Task Team focused on (1) building 

re-entry and operations, (2) employee 

wellness, and (3) mission readiness. These 

working groups leveraged metrics and data 

from across the agency to create strategies 

for next steps on these issues.

CHALLENGE: Maintaining Our 

Operations 

Managing a quality workforce. The 

pandemic has not minimized or altered our 

commitment to recruiting and onboarding 

new employees, and retaining our expert 

workforce. With the onset of the pandemic, 

we very quickly transitioned to provide all 

of these activities and functions virtually. 

For recruiting, we actively participated 

in virtual job fairs and information 

sessions, engaged students in their 

virtual classrooms, and took advantage 

of the opportunity for GAO to connect 

with students at schools that are not 

geographically close to one of our offices 

and to involve a wider range of employees 

in our recruiting initiatives. 

For onboarding, we moved rapidly to make 

virtual onboarding a reality, enabling us 

to bring both summer interns and entrylevel analysts to the agency despite the 

pandemic, and to continue our annual 

workforce planning cycle. In support of 

all of our employees, we have worked 

tirelessly to provide them access to 

ongoing professional development and 

training by converting a large number of 

in-person courses to virtual; increasing 

our Counseling Center’s offerings of 

support groups and seminars to address 

the challenges and stress employees 

are confronting; sustaining our diversity, 

equity, and inclusion (DE&I) efforts by 

hosting virtual events and guest speakers; 

implementing workplace flexibilities 

such as expanded core work hours and 

administrative leave to support work-life 

balance; and using available technology 

such as Skype for Business, Adobe Connect, 

and WebEx to connect, engage, and share 

enriching experiences in support of our 

work and mission. 

We acknowledge that as the pandemic 

continues and we maintain our telework 

posture, we will need to be aware of 

and prepared to address ongoing and 

emerging employee challenges as they 

affect employees both personally and their 

contribution to our mission. The Pandemic 

Task Team and working groups will 

continue to work together closely to align 

employee and mission needs, identify areas 

of concern, and mitigate problems.

Maintaining a reliable, secure information 

technology framework. In the first 

quarter of fiscal year 2020, we deployed 

a number of IT upgrades—including a 

virtual desktop and more recent versions 

of the operating software, Microsoft Office 

tools, and telecommunications software 

—that enabled our seamless transition to 

maximum telework in March, in response 

to the pandemic. We monitored daily the 

load on our network and other metrics, and 

balanced resources accordingly to ensure 

our IT systems were reliably supporting 

the work we are now doing almost 

entirely remotely. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

60 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Ensuring workplace safety in 

headquarters. Although access to our 

headquarters building is limited, we 

implemented workplace safety measures 

for our headquarters tenants and others, 

including increasing the use of outside air 

for our ventilation and cooling systems; 

frequent, routine cleaning of high-touch 

surfaces; plexiglass sneeze guards for 

our entry points and guard stations; and 

implemented face mask and elevatordistancing policies. 

Policies and procedures were implemented 

to allow for employees working on 

critical classified work to do so safely 

in headquarters. We are currently 

reviewing best practices across federal 

and local governments to help guide 

management’s decision making related to 

how and when employees may need to 

return to the office.

CHALLENGE: Improving the Efficiency 

of Our Engagements

GAO has identified internal management 

challenges that warrant attention, to 

ensure all our work provides benefit to 

the Congress and taxpayers. We continued 

improvement activities to balance 

administrative needs and engagement 

work in order to sustain high-quality 

products and services. The security and 

safety of all GAO staff in response to 

COVID-19 guidelines stressed the need to 

continue progress on activities identified 

to modernize or replace processes, 

technology, and knowledge-sharing 

practices to better sustain the utilization 

and demand on GAO’s resources. 

We completed a pilot of our process 

to integrate industry-standard project 

management practices into our 

engagement process with participation 

throughout the agency. These practices 

will help ensure efficient and effective 

engagement solutions for clients. They 

have also assisted some pilot teams in 

considering alternative methods to address 

client needs on ongoing engagements, 

given the current operating environment. 

Improvements will be implemented over 

the next few fiscal years.

We are concluding our evaluation of 

changes made to our engagement process 

that were implemented in June 2015 

and will report the outcomes of the new 

process in early 2021. These engagement 

process updates, together with our current 

efforts to integrate project management 

techniques into the process, will ensure our 

work is conducted as efficiently as possible 

and we meet our client needs in a timely 

and effective manner. 

In the area of technology, we continued 

to update enterprise systems that support 

our mission work with a focus this year on 

systems that support our ability to monitor 

and distribute the results of our work. 

These updates were to our web-based 

application that provides a single location 

for all engagement management data, 

enhances abilities to monitor our work 

with the Congress, and improves our case 

management solutions.

We continued to pilot test a new system 

that will facilitate our ability to easily 

generate our products in a web-based 

format that our clients and the public can 

access on any device, including mobile 

devices. We successfully used this system 

to publish multiple products, including 

GAO’s first mandated report and testimony 

on the CARES Act recovery and response 

efforts, and will begin rolling the system 

out agency-wide in 2021. Agency-wide 

system releases to enable additional 

efficiencies in fact checking and publishing 

processes are also scheduled for 2021. In 

addition, in response to shifting duties and 

workload for some GAO staff due to the 

current operating environment, we started 

a new pilot program to republish high 

priority, previously-issued GAO products 

using this system so the products can 

be more easily accessed in HTML format 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 61 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

(such as GAO reports related to pandemic 

preparedness and response). 

In addition, we are in the early phases of 

replacing our content management system 

with a new system that will improve 

efficiency in saving and retrieving content, 

finding and associating like content, 

and eventually automating manual and 

cumbersome workflows.

Office of the Inspector General 

GAO’s OIG independently conducts audits 

and investigations of GAO programs and 

operations. During fiscal year 2020, the OIG 

issued two audit reports. In audit report 

OIG-20-1, the OIG assessed GAO’s policies 

and procedures for managing its Voluntary 

Leave Transfer Program. In OIG-20-2, the 

OIG assessed the extent to which GAO 

maintained adequate internal control over 

non-competed contracts. These and other 

OIG publications are available on GAO’s 

website at https://www.gao.gov/ig/ or at 

https://www.oversight.gov. 

In addition, the OIG maintained a hotline 

for use by employees, contractors, and the 

public. The hotline is the primary source 

of complaints or information for identifying 

suspected fraud and other problems, 

abuses, and deficiencies relating to GAO 

programs and operations. 

Separate from FraudNet, which supports 

accountability across the federal 

government, complainants access the OIG 

hotline online at https://oig.alertline.com or 

by telephone at 1-866-680-7963. Complaints 

are converted to OIG investigations 

when the complaint contains credible 

allegations involving GAO operations or its 

employees and the possible violation of law, 

regulation, order, or policy. Investigations 

can substantiate an allegation, find the 

allegation to be unsubstantiated, or 

conclude that insufficient evidence exists 

for criminal, civil, or administrative action. 

In fiscal year 2020, the OIG initiated 13 

investigations and closed 12 investigations. 

The OIG has begun inquiries based on 

traditional areas of vulnerability that cut 

across agencies and core administrative 

functions. These “proactive” inquiries 

focus on data analysis, looking for 

outliers or exceptions that require 

targeted investigative methods (including 

interviewing subjects and witnesses). In 

FY 2020, the OIG initiated five proactive 

inquiries and closed two. 

The results of the IG’s work, and 

actions taken by us to address IG 

recommendations, are highlighted in the 

IG’s semiannual reports to the Congress 

and are available at on GAO’s website at 

https://www.gao.gov/ig/ or https://www.

oversight.gov.

OIG Recommendations

The OIG made four recommendations 

to strengthen control related to GAO’s 

Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP)

management, and five recommendations to 

strengthen control related to non-competed 

contracts. In both instances, GAO has taken 

steps to address OIG findings. See Table 14

for additional information on these nine 

recommendations. 

Formal responses with supporting 

documentation and anticipated completion 

dates are due to the OIG 60 days after 

report issuance. As of the end of fiscal 

year 2020, GAO is also in the process of 

implementing seven recommendations from 

prior fiscal year OIG reports on information 

security. For further information, see 

OIG-21-1SP. For the IG’s comments regarding 

GAO’s management challenges assessment, 

see Part IV of this report.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

62 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Table 14: GAO OIG Recommendations

OIG report Recommendation

GAO’s summary of actions 

planned or taken in response to the 

recommendation

VOLUNTARY LEAVE 

TRANSFER PROGRAM: 

Additional Controls Are 

Needed to Strengthen 

Program Management, 

OIG-20-1

(August 17, 2020)

1. Update the leave 

transfer program 

procedures to 

establish who is 

responsible for 

maintaining recipient 

applications, 

including medical 

documentation; 

ensuring their 

signed approval 

from unit managers; 

and overseeing the 

implementation 

of established 

responsibilities.

GAO management is in the process of 

formally updating our voluntary leave 

transfer program (VLTP) standard 

operating procedures, and in the interim 

has established an internal review 

process to ensure that we receive 

and maintain complete and approved 

applications, including all necessary 

medical documentation. 

2. Issue guidance for 

responsible staff to 

help them confirm 

that the medical 

certifications address 

the nature, severity, 

prognosis, and 

duration of leave 

recipients’ medical 

emergencies.

GAO management is in the process of 

revising our VLTP standard operating 

procedures, which will include guidance 

that will help staff confirm that medical 

documentation is complete and includes all 

necessary information. 

3. Establish procedures 

to be followed by 

approving officials to 

monitor recipients’ 

medical status and 

continued program 

participation.

GAO management will provide additional 

guidance to approving officials regarding 

what medical documentation is required 

as part of the VLTP application, the 

requirements to regularly verify an 

employee’s medical status and eligibility 

in the VLTP program, and appropriate 

procedures to end an employee’s 

participation in the program. 

4. Develop and 

implement written 

procedures and 

recordkeeping 

requirements for 

manual donated 

leave calculations 

and time and 

attendance recording.

GAO management is in the process of 

formally updating our VLTP standard 

operating procedures (SOP). The updated 

SOP will include procedures related 

to leave calculations and time and 

attendance procedures. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 63 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

NON-COMPETED 

CONTRACTS: Actions 

Are Needed to Improve 

Internal Control, 

OIG-20-2

(September 18, 2020)

5. Update acquisition 

management policy 

and procedures 

to define and 

document the roles 

and responsibilities 

of the Competition 

Advocate and 

Senior Procurement 

Executive to address 

the required 

reviews, and related 

annual reports. 

GAO management does not use all the 

Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 

nomenclature in describing its procurement 

operations. However, the division of 

responsibilities between Acquisition 

Management Procurement Operations 

(AMPO), which is responsible for awarding 

contracts, and the Procurement Policy 

and Oversight Division (PPOD), which is 

responsible for policy and compliance, 

adequately addresses the spirit of the FAR 

while respecting GAO’s independence.

6. Incorporate contract 

competition data 

into the quality 

review process to 

help ensure that data 

reported into FPDS-NG 

is accurate.

PPOD has added a specific test to validate 

whether the “extent competed” type 

has been entered into Momentum and 

the Federal Procurement Data SystemNext Generation (FPDS-NG). In addition, 

the Office of Financial Management 

implemented a mandatory relationship edit 

in Momentum that will enforce selecting 

an “extent completed” value on contract 

documents. Both actions have been tested 

and are working as intended.

7. Update the AMPO 

SOP to document 

the requirements 

for acquisition plans, 

and the publicizing 

of non-competitive 

justifications.

AMPO added the thresholds triggering 

when acquisition plans are required 

and clarified the publicizing of noncompetitive justifications to its standard 

operating procedures.

8. Develop and 

implement steps to 

ensure that proposal 

price reviews are 

adequately performed 

and documented, 

Recommendation 

for Award forms 

are completed, and 

offering letters to 

SBA contain all the 

required information.

AMPO provided additional training to 

contract specialists on the requirements 

for documenting proposal price reviews, 

completing recommendations for award 

forms, and ensuring that offering letters to 

the SBA include the information required by 

SBA for a particular award.

9. Obtain adequate 

evidence to support 

the listed price of the 

IT equipment GAO 

acquired through 

another Legislative 

Agency’s BPA. 

Confirm that required 

discounts were 

applied, or that GAO 

was overcharged and 

seek reimbursement, 

as appropriate.

GAO management reviewed the 

documentation provided by AMPO and 

determined that it was adequate to 

substantiate that GAO received a discount 

in excess of the 40 percent required by 

the House of Representatives Blanket 

Purchase Agreement (BPA), in addition to 

confirming the pricing from other publicly 

available sources.

Source: GAO, based on GAO OIG reports. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

64 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Mitigating External Factors 

For fiscal year 2020, GAO returned 

substantial benefits for every dollar invested 

in the agency and supported congressional 

oversight across a wide array of government 

programs and operations. The agency did 

so while navigating several external factors, 

some of which will likely remain relevant. 

These include: 

 Effects of the pandemic on the 

workplace and workload

 Shifts in legislative and oversight 

priorities

 Challenges in hiring desired expertise

 Access to agency information 

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on how 

people work and congressional priorities 

has and potentially will have an impact 

on progress toward our goals. In response 

to the pandemic, we, like many other 

employers, shifted our workforce to 

telework. With telework best practices 

in place for many years, our staff readily 

carried on with the agency’s work. 

Nonetheless, the pandemic required 

adaptations. These included temporarily 

halting ongoing classified work, giving 

agencies (responding to their own 

pandemic-related missions) more time 

to make officials available and produce 

requested documents; and foregoing inperson interviews and travel to audit 

sites and relying instead on telephone 

and internet-based platforms to obtain 

information. In addition, pandemic-specific 

legislation passed by the Congress included 

reporting requirements for GAO that will 

require work well into the future. 

To ensure that our work supports the 

highest legislative and oversight priorities, 

we continued to engage the Congress. 

The 550 congressional requests and new 

mandates GAO received in fiscal year 2020 

demonstrate the high demand for our 

work. To ensure that we can best respond 

to congressional priorities, the Comptroller 

General and other senior officials 

maintained frequent communication 

with our congressional clients, and we 

continue to collaborate with the Congress 

to revise and repeal mandated reporting 

requirements that are no longer meeting 

their intended purpose. 

During fiscal year 2020, GAO worked with 

the Congress to revise mandates in the 

National Defense Authorization Act and 

proposed legislation to shift many low-risk 

financial audits to other parties so GAO can 

focus on the audit of Treasury’s General 

Fund and financial management of DOD and 

HUD. The General Fund covers every federal 

entity that receives appropriated funds. We 

hope to achieve passage of this legislation 

by the end of the current Congress.

We also continued to hire staff with 

expertise in science, technology, and 

cybersecurity. The pandemic and the 

increasing reliance on internet-based 

processes underscore the importance 

of tracking rapidly evolving science and 

technology, and cybersecurity. In January 

2019, we created the STAA mission team to 

focus on related policy issues. Similarly, our 

Information Technology and Cybersecurity 

(ITC) team regularly provides Congress 

with insights into how to ensure the 

nation’s cybersecurity. 

As we continue to position ourselves 

to address congressional interest in 

science, technology, and cybersecurity, 

we plan to focus hiring on additional 

engineers or scientists and staff with 

scientific and technology policy analysis 

experience to broaden our scientific 

and technical expertise. As we seek to 

increase the level of staff hired in these 

specialty areas, we face challenges 

recruiting and hiring staff with the desired 

education, experience, and expertise.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 65 Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Access to information also plays an 

essential role in our ability to report on 

issues of importance to the Congress and 

the American people. We are generally 

able to obtain the information needed 

for our engagements. For the most part, 

departments and agencies continue to 

be cooperative in providing us access to 

requested information or working with us 

toward an accommodation that will allow 

the work to move forward.

We have reported for the past several 

years on our experiences in obtaining 

access from elements of the Intelligence 

Community (IC) pursuant to Intelligence 

Community Directive (ICD) 114, which 

was issued in 2011 by the Director of 

National Intelligence, in consultation 

with the Comptroller General. While ICD 

114 generally provides for constructive 

interaction between GAO and the IC, 

we continue to have concerns with how 

several key terms in the directive could 

be interpreted because they are framed 

as categories of information that would 

generally not be made available to us for 

certain audits or reviews.

During fiscal year 2020, GAO conducted 

multiple audits involving the IC and, as 

we reported last year, this work continues 

to require a significant amount of time 

and resources to overcome access issues 

with certain IC elements, such as the CIA 

and the Office of the Director of National 

Intelligence (ODNI). This past year, we 

generally obtained the information from 

all IC elements necessary to conduct 

audit work, including reviews involving 

sensitive issues. GAO recognizes there are 

unique sensitivities within the IC and we 

remain committed to working with the IC 

to identify ways we can effectively work 

together to account for these sensitivities 

while obtaining the information needed 

to complete our work on behalf of 

the Congress consistent with our audit 

standards. GAO has historically held 

periodic coordination meetings with ODNI 

leadership, to include discussions of access 

issues and reasonable accommodations 

consistent with ICD 114, which have been 

helpful in facilitating positive interaction 

between ODNI and GAO staff. However, 

these senior-level coordination meetings 

between ODNI and GAO have been reduced 

in the past year due in part to the COVID-19 

pandemic. We will continue efforts to 

increase senior-level coordination meetings 

with ODNI, as this interaction may assist in 

resolving access issues with the IC.

In fiscal year 2017, we reported that we 

had encountered significant difficulties in 

obtaining timely and efficient access to 

information from OPM particularly with 

regard to Enterprise Human Resources 

Integration (EHRI) statistical data. Since 

then we have made significant progress 

in obtaining timely access to EHRI data 

and other information from OPM. We will 

continue to monitor this area to ensure 

continued progress in obtaining needed 

information in a timely manner.

GAO is reporting a new issue for fiscal year 

2020 involving access to Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) information. 

In 2019, EPA instituted new procedures 

for handling GAO requests, creating a 

role for its Office of Congressional and 

Intergovernmental Relations and an 

enhanced role for its Office of General 

Counsel, in approving document production 

to GAO and approving and participating 

in GAO interviews with EPA officials. 

These procedures have resulted in 

significant challenges to our ability to 

obtain information to which GAO has 

statutory access. In addition, our ability 

to interview knowledgeable EPA officials 

in a timely fashion has been restricted. 

We have and will continue to proactively 

engage with EPA leadership and relevant 

congressional committees to facilitate our 

access to EPA information.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

66 GAO-21-4SP Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Also new this year is the CARES Act, 

enacted in March 2020, which gives us 

broad access authorities to facilitate 

our extensive monitoring and oversight 

responsibilities under the act, including 

bimonthly reporting to the Congress. 

Specifically, the act provides GAO with a 

right of access to records pertaining to any 

federal effort or assistance related to the 

pandemic, along with the right to make 

copies of such records, interview staff, and 

inspect facilities. 

These access authorities extend not only 

to federal agencies, but also to a wide 

range of others, including state and local 

agencies and recipients and subrecipients 

of federal funds (including private 

entities). These provisions clearly reflect 

the importance of timely and complete 

information to robust oversight. Given 

their importance, we brought these access 

provisions to the attention of the heads of 

major agencies shortly after enactment of 

the CARES Act.

Consistent with these provisions, most 

agencies have generally provided us with 

timely access to information needed 

for our CARES Act work. While we have 

experienced some delays in receiving 

important information, most notably from 

SBA, we have elevated such matters to 

senior agency officials for an expedited 

resolution to ensure that our bimonthly 

reports and other CARES Act engagements 

are as comprehensive as possible. We 

will continue to vigorously pursue access 

to information critical to our monitoring 

and oversight of activities in connection 

with the COVID-19 pandemic under the 

authorities provided in the CARES Act. 

As discussed above, we encountered 

significant challenges obtaining information 

from SBA about the Paycheck Protection 

Program (PPP) established by the CARES 

Act. Specifically, we experienced lengthy 

delays in obtaining reliable information 

critical to our review, including even 

descriptions of available data. SBA initially 

provided us only with mostly publicly 

available data and even more limited 

information during interviews of key staff. 

While we have made progress in our efforts 

to obtain crucial information, our efforts 

to ensure we receive complete and current 

data from SBA are ongoing. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 67 Performance Information

Source: Eyewire. | GAO-21-4SP

Performance Information by Strategic Goal 

In the following sections, we discuss how 

each of our four strategic goals contributed 

to our fiscal year 2020 performance 

results. For goals 1, 2, and 3—our external 

goals—we present performance results 

for the three annual measures that 

we assess at the goal level, as well as 

accomplishments under the strategic 

objectives for these goals. Most teams and 

units also contributed toward meeting the 

targets for the agency-wide measures that 

were discussed in Part I of this report. 

For goal 4—our internal goal—we present 

selected work and accomplishments for 

that goal’s strategic objectives. There were 

no changes in our strategic goals or the 

financial, other benefits, and testimony 

measures during fiscal year 2020. 

Part II

Performance Information 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

68 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Our first strategic goal upholds our mission 

to support the Congress in carrying out its 

constitutional responsibilities by focusing 

on work that helps address the current 

and emerging challenges affecting the 

well-being and financial security of the 

American people. Our multiyear (fiscal 

years 2018-2023) strategic objectives under 

this goal are to provide information that 

will help address:

 Health care needs;

 Lifelong learning;

 Challenges facing an aging population;

 Effective system of justice; 

 Housing finance and viable communities;

 Stable financial system and consumer 

protection; 

 Natural resources and the environment; 

 National infrastructure; and

 Benefits and protections for workers, 

families, and children.

Strategic Goal 1

Address Current and Emerging Challenges to the 

Well-being and Financial Security of the American 

People

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Alissa Eckert, Dan Higgins. | GAO-21-4SP

GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 69 Performance Information

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP 

Cindy Brown Barnes, Managing Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security team, testified on financial challenges 

facing the Black Lung Trust Fund. 

These objectives, along with the performance goals and key efforts that support them, are 

discussed fully in our strategic plan, which is available on our website at https://www.gao.

gov/about/stratplanning.html. The work supporting these objectives is performed primarily 

by headquarters and field staff in the following teams: Education, Workforce, and Income 

Security; Financial Markets and Community Investment; Health Care; Homeland Security 

and Justice; Natural Resources and Environment; and Physical Infrastructure.

To accomplish our work under these strategic objectives in fiscal year 2020, we conducted 

engagements, audits, analyses, and evaluations of programs at major federal agencies. 

As shown in table 15, we exceeded the performance targets set for financial and other 

benefits for Goal 1, but did not meet the target for testimonies.

Example of Work under Goal 1 

Decreasing Financial Risk for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. The federal government’s Black Lung 

Disability Trust Fund faces financial challenges and has borrowed billions to cover its costs. The fund pays 

benefits to certain coal miners when no coal mine operator can be held responsible or the liable operator does 

not pay. We found that the Department of Labor (DOL) did not take action to ensure that coal operators provide 

enough collateral to secure their future black lung benefit liabilities, and we recommended that DOL establish 

procedures to monitor coal operators in order to reduce the fund’s financial risk. DOL agreed and plans to do so. 

Our findings on the fund’s solvency also led the Congress to increase the Coal Tax for fiscal year 2020 to pre2019 levels. (GAO-20-438T, GAO-20-21, GAO-19-622T, GAO-18-351) 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

70 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Table 15: Strategic Goal 1’s Annual Performance Results and Targets

Performance 

measure

2015

actual

2016

actual

2017

actual

2018

actual

2019

actual

2020

targeta

2020

actualb

Met/

not met

2021

target

Financial benefits

(dollars in billions) $51.4b $19.6 $22.4b $52.5b $60.6b $28.5 $66.8b Met 28.0

Other benefits 255 284 263 262 245 235 296 Met 235

Testimonies 57 38 48 42 43 47 22 Not Met 37

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Note: Financial benefits for Goals 1 through 3 do not sum to the total agency-wide target for 2020 as we have left a portion of 

the financial benefits target unassigned. Experience leads us to believe that we can meet the agency-wide target but we cannot 

always accurately predict under which goals. 

a

Our fiscal year 2020 targets for all three of our performance measures differ from those we reported in our fiscal year 2020 

performance plan in June 2019, based on revised estimates from mission teams. Specifically, we increased our financial 

benefits from $18.5 billion to $28.5 billion; decreased our other benefits target from 244 to 235; and increased the testimony 

target from 46 to 47. See Setting Performance Targets and p.34.

b

In fiscal years 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019 we achieved some unexpectedly large financial benefits; however, we did not expect 

this level of results in fiscal year 2020. 

To help us examine trends for these measures over time, we look at their 4-year averages, 

which minimize the effect of an unusual level of performance in any single year. These 

averages are shown below in table 16. 

Table 16: Four-Year Rolling Averages for Strategic Goal 1

Performance measure 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Financial benefits (dollars in 

billions) $28.7 $27.1 $27.2 $36.5 $38.8 $50.6

Other benefits 260 263 261 266 264 267

Testimonies 59 53 50 46 43 39

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

The following sections describe our performance under Goal 1 for each of these three 

quantitative performance measures, and describe the targets for fiscal year 2021.

Financial Benefits

The financial benefits reported for this goal in fiscal year 2020 totaled $66.8 billion, 

exceeding the target we set by $38.3 billion, or about 134 percent. This was due primarily 

to two unexpectedly large financial accomplishments from (1) revisions to spending limits 

for Medicaid demonstration projects ($29.4 billion), and (2) termination of the DOE’s MOX 

program for plutonium disposal (about $13 billion). Other financial benefits contributing to 

this total included CMS fully basing Medicare uncompensated care payments on hospitals’ 

actual uncompensated care costs (about $2.5 billion), and DOE reexamining the size of the 

Strategic Petroleum Reserve (about $1.6 billion). 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 71 Performance Information

We set the target for fiscal year 2021 at $28 billion based on our recent performance and 

discussions with the Goal 1 teams about the level of benefits they believe they can achieve.

Other Benefits

Other benefits reported for Goal 1 in fiscal year 2020 totaled 296, exceeding our target of 

235 by 61 benefits or about 26 percent. Goal 1’s other benefits were primarily in the areas 

of public insurance and benefits, public safety and security, and program efficiency and 

effectiveness. For fiscal year 2021, we set our target at 235 for these other benefits based 

on what our Goal 1 teams expect to achieve based on past, ongoing, and expected work.

Testimonies

Our senior executives testified 22 times on our Goal 1 work, which fell short of the fiscal year 

2020 target of 47 by 25 testimonies or about 53 percent. For instance, we testified on the 

need to (1) improve the federal response to COVID-19; (2) better protect VA employees from 

sexual harassment; (3) improve oversight to ensure that Medicaid recipients meet eligibility 

requirements; (4) strengthen delivery of federal programs to Tribes; (5) address retirement 

security concerns facing older women; and (6) better protect nursing home residents from 

abuse. (See table 7 for selected testimony topics by goal.) We set our fiscal year 2021 target 

at 37 testimonies on Goal 1 issues based on our experience over the past few years.

Example of Goal 1’s Other Benefits

Helping FDIC Improve Its Oversight of Fintech Activities. Fintech firms are nonfinancial entities that offer 

financial services, such as payments, loans, and advice through mobile devices. In March 2018, we found that 

some U.S. and foreign financial regulators had adopted knowledge-building initiatives that helped fintech firms 

share information with them, which helped foreign regulators improve oversight capacity. The Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC) had not adopted any such initiatives, so we recommended that it evaluate their 

feasibility. In response, in 2019-2020, FDIC sought OMB approval for two initiatives that could help the agency 

improve its oversight of fintech activities. (GAO-18-254) 

Example of Goal 1’s Financial Benefits 

Reducing DOD’s Payments for Certain Types of Prescription Drugs. In 2014, we found that DOD’s TRICARE 

program was paying for drug prescriptions that included bulk drug substances—raw powders generally not 

approved by FDA. This practice was inconsistent with regulations stipulating that TRICARE only pay for FDAapproved drugs. We recommended that DOD follow its regulations. In response, DOD implemented several 

measures to address this issue in 2015, including an automatic screening and prior authorization process for 

these types of prescription drugs. This helped it avoid over $1 billion in costs between May 2019-April 2020. 

(GAO-15-64) 

Example of Goal 1’s Testimonies

Developing Needed Aviation-Preparedness Plan for Communicable Disease Outbreaks. COVID-19 is only 

the latest disease to raise concerns about contagions spread through air travel. In 2015, during the Ebola 

epidemic, we recommended that the Department of Transportation (DOT) work with relevant stakeholders to 

develop a comprehensive national aviation-preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks. However, 

it has yet to do so. We concluded that the absence of a national plan undermined the ability of the public 

health and aviation sectors to coordinate on a response to COVID-19. As of May 2020, DOT supported the 

inclusion of aviation in a comprehensive pandemic preparedness plan, but held that HHS and DHS should lead 

the effort. In June, we recommended that the Congress require DOT to produce such a plan. (GAO-20-655T, 

GAO-20-659, GAO-16-127)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

72 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP 

Heather Krause, Director, Physical Infrastructure team, testified virtually on air travel during communicable disease outbreaks. 

Table 17 contains examples of Goal 1 accomplishments and contributions, which includes 

both financial and other benefits.

Table 17: Goal 1 Examples of Accomplishments and Contributions

Financial Security for an Aging Population 

Expanding Access to 

Retirement Plans

In FY17, we reported that long-term, part-time workers may be ineligible 

to enroll in 401(k) plans. This affects millions of long-term employees 

who could not save and invest in their employer-based retirement savings 

plans. We suggested expanding eligibility through a change in the “year 

of service” definition for 401(k) plans. The Congress subsequently enacted 

the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 

2019, which implemented this change. Greater access to these plans will 

help part-time workers better prepare for retirement. (GAO-17-69) 

Benefits and Protection for Workers, Families, and Children

Improving SSA’s 

Representative Payee 

Program

The Social Security Administration (SSA)’s Representative Payee program 

appoints people to manage Social Security benefits for those unable 

to do so themselves. We recommended that SSA develop a long-term 

strategy to address growing workload demands—such as by exempting 

custodial parents and spouses from the requirement to file annual 

accounting forms. (Such exempted payees would still have other reporting 

requirements.) SSA’s proposal to drop this requirement was included 

in the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act 

of 2018. SSA eliminated these forms, which will reduce costs by an 

estimated $330 million over 5 years. (GAO-13-473)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 73 Performance Information

Improving Disaster 

Assistance for 

Individuals with 

Disabilities

In 2019, we found that FEMA faced challenges providing disaster 

assistance to individuals with disabilities. We recommended that it 

implement new registration-intake questions to better identify the needs 

of these individuals, and establish strategic objectives for FEMA’s new, 

more integrated approach to addressing the needs of disaster survivors 

with disabilities. In response, FEMA revised the questions, established 

objectives in their 2019-2022 Strategic Plan, and began seeking feedback 

on its integrated disability approach. These efforts can help FEMA ensure 

better services to disaster survivors with disabilities. (GAO-19-318) 

Lifelong Learning to Enhance U.S. Competitiveness 

Collecting Better 

Data on the Effects of 

Automated Trucking

In 2019, we found that DOT and DOL did not regularly convene 

stakeholders to gather data on the effects of automated trucking 

technology on U.S. drivers—including 1.9 million heavy and tractortrailer truck drivers. We recommended that they do so to inform 

potential regulatory changes. In 2020, Congress responded by directing 

DOT and DOL to improve data collection to better identify shifts in 

demand, workforce needs, and trucking safety; DOT must also report 

annually on likely changes to drivers. This will help DOT and DOL with 

future planning, such as assisting workers whose jobs may be affected. 

(GAO-19-161) 

A Responsive, Fair, and Effective System of Justice

Improving Federal 

Firearm Background 

Check Records

Federal agencies must submit relevant criminal records to the National 

Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is used to check the 

records of people seeking to buy firearms from licensed dealers. However, 

we found in 2019 that most federal agencies submitted incomplete 

reports on their criminal history records. In response, DOJ revised 

guidance to clarify requirements and address gaps in reporting. In 2020, 

we also found that DOD does not submit military domestic violence 

protective orders to this system. The Congress subsequently added a 

provision to legislation that would allow these records to be submitted. 

(GAO-20-528) 

Health Care Needs and Financing

Enhancing Reporting 

of Concerns with VHA 

Providers

In November 2017, we reported that inadequate oversight practices at the 

VHA resulted in the agency not reporting medical providers with serious 

quality and safety concerns to the National Provider Data Bank or state 

licensing boards. In response, VHA reported in 2019 that it implemented 

a new tool to ensure that provider concerns are appropriately reported 

in a timely manner. The agency also provided evidence that it reported 

concerns about specific providers that we flagged. As a result, VHA is 

better able to share information with the public about medical providers 

about whom it has serious concerns.(GAO-18-63)

Analyzing Clinical 

Trial Data to Maximize 

Public Investment in 

Research

In 2016, we found that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which 

spends nearly $3 billion annually on clinical trials, had not established 

a process to use its clinical trial data to make decisions about NIH 

investments. For example, it could use these data to ensure that its 

research portfolio is balanced and not unnecessarily duplicative. We 

recommended that NIH establish a process for using these data. In 2018, 

NIH deployed a new system to track clinical trial data and implemented 

a process to aggregate and use it. This will help ensure that NIH is 

maximizing public investment in clinical trials. (GAO-16-304)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

74 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Stewardship of Natural Resources and the Environment

Improving EPA’s 

Location Data for 

Superfund Sites

EPA’s Superfund program works to clean up sites contaminated by 

hazardous substances. During our review of Superfund sites and climate 

change, we identified errors with the location data—including coordinates 

and addresses—that EPA had for the sites. For example, the coordinates 

EPA provided were sometimes in a different location than the site. As a 

result of our work, EPA changed its formula for identifying coordinates 

in March 2019 and corrected the coordinates and addresses of numerous 

sites. Doing so improved EPA’s information on Superfund sites, which is 

used to clean up these sites and better manage the risks posed by climate 

change. (GAO-20-73) 

Better Documenting the 

Need for Food Recalls

Prompt responses to outbreaks of foodborne illness can help stop the spread 

of illnesses and deaths. However, unwarranted food recalls can trigger serious 

economic losses. In 2012, we found that FDA had not documented how it 

weighs evidence to determine if a food recall is necessary. We recommended 

that FDA document its process, including how it weighs evidence on the need 

for a recall. In response, FDA published recall guidance in November 2018. As 

a result, FDA can better ensure that it applies standards uniformly and gives 

clear information to consumers and the food industry. (GAO-12-589)

Stable Financial System and Consumer Protection

Helping the Federal 

Reserve Provide 

More Complete 

Recommendations to 

Banks

In May 2019, we found that the Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System’s (Federal Reserve) communication to banks about 

supervisory concerns sometimes lacked detail on cause and effect. 

We recommended that the Federal Reserve update its policies and 

procedures on communicating supervisory concerns, such as ineffective 

leadership, to include these details. In response, in 2020, the Federal 

Reserve updated its bank supervision and bank examination manuals to 

require this information. This will allow the Federal Reserve to provide 

more complete recommendations to banks, and help banks provide more 

complete and timely responses. (GAO-19-352) 

Helping Federal 

Reserve Examiners 

Escalate Supervisory 

Concerns

In May 2019, we found that the Federal Reserve lacked specific and 

measurable guidelines for its examiners on escalating supervisory 

concerns, such as poor credit administration practices, to enforcement 

action. We recommended that the Federal Reserve update its policies 

and procedures to incorporate such guidelines. In response, in 2020, 

the Federal Reserve updated its bank supervision and bank examination 

manuals with a new section on escalating issues. Using the new 

guidelines, Federal Reserve examiners should be better able to decide 

which issues may require enforcement action. (GAO-19-352) 

Viable National Infrastructure

Improving How FAA 

Oversees Drone Safety

FAA oversees compliance with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or 

“drones”) regulations, including those prohibiting small UAS from 

endangering lives and property. However, we reported in 2019 that FAA 

did not consistently communicate to law enforcement partners on their 

expected role in UAS safety. FAA also had not determined what data 

it needed to assess its efforts. We made recommendations to improve 

FAA’s small UAS oversight. FAA has taken some steps in response, such as 

improving communication with law enforcement partners. This will better 

inform law enforcement about what information to share with FAA on 

unsafe UAS operations. (GAO-19-427T, GAO-19-52)

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 75 Performance Information

Source: Comstock. | GAO-21-4SP

The federal government is working to 

promote foreign policy goals, sound trade 

policies, and other strategies to advance 

the interests of the United States and its 

allies. The complex and rapidly evolving 

security environment facing the United 

States includes cyber attacks, terrorist 

activities, and instability in key regions of 

the world. Given the importance of these 

issues, our second strategic goal focuses 

on helping the Congress and the federal 

government in their responses to changing 

security threats and the challenges of 

global interdependence. Our multiyear 

(fiscal years 2018-2023) strategic objectives 

under this goal support congressional and 

agency efforts related to:

 Homeland security;

 Military capabilities and readiness; 

 Foreign policy and international 

economic interests; and 

 The Intelligence Community’s 

management and integration. 

These objectives, along with the 

performance goals and key efforts that 

support them, are discussed fully in our 

strategic plan, which is available on our 

website at https://www.gao.gov/about/

stratplanning.html.

Example of Work under Goal 2

Our review of the military justice system found that Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than Whites to be 

tried in a general or special court-martial proceeding but that race was not a statistically significant factor for 

a conviction in all the military services. The military services also record race and ethnicity differently, which 

makes it difficult to identify disparities across the services. Per our findings, the FY 2020 National Defense 

Authorization Act directed the Secretary of Defense to include race, ethnicity, and gender data in annual 

military justice reports, and identify and address the causes of such disparities in the military justice system. 

(GAO-20-648T, GAO-19-344) 

Strategic Goal 2

Respond to Changing Security Threats and the 

Challenges of Global Interdependence
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

76 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Source: GAO-21-4SP

Brenda Farrell, Director, Defense, Capabilities, and Management team, testified virtually on our review of the military 

justice system. 

The work supporting these objectives is performed primarily by headquarters and field 

staff in the following teams: Contracting and National Security Acquisitions, Defense 

Capabilities and Management, Homeland Security and Justice, and International Affairs 

and Trade. In addition, the work supporting some performance goals and key efforts is 

performed by headquarters and field staff from the Financial Markets and Community 

Investment; ITC; Financial Management and Assurance (FMA); Natural Resources and 

Environment; ARM; and STAA teams. 

To accomplish our work in fiscal year 2020 under these strategic objectives, we conducted 

engagements that involved fieldwork related to international and domestic programs that 

took us across multiple continents (prior to COVID-19). As shown in Table 18, we exceeded 

our target for other benefits and fell short of our targets for financial benefits and 

testimonies for Goal 2. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 77 Performance Information

Table 18: Strategic Goal 2’s Annual Performance Results and Targets

Performance

measure

2015

actual

2016

actual

2017

actual

2018

actual

2019

actual

2020

target

2020

actualb

Met/

not met

2021

target

Financial benefits

(dollars in billions)

$13.1 $13.0 $46.5a $10.5 $147.4a $12.0 $5.9 Not Met $10.3

Other benefits 505 502 500 517 682 362 646 Met 367

Testimonies 23 43 21 26 29 28 17 Not Met 21

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Note: Financial benefits for Goals 1 through 3 do not sum to the total agency-wide target for 2020 as we have left a portion of 

the financial benefits target unassigned. Experience leads us to believe that we can meet the agency-wide target but we cannot 

always accurately predict under which goals. 

a

In fiscal years 2017 and 2019, we achieved one unexpectedly large financial benefit; however, we did not expect this level of 

results in 2020.

b

Our fiscal year 2020 targets for all 3 of our performance measures differ from those we reported in our fiscal year 2020 

performance plan in June 2019, based on revised estimates from mission teams. Specifically, we decreased our financial 

benefits target from $12.7 billion to $12.0 billion, increased our other benefits target from 349 to 362, and decreased the 

testimonies target from 29 to 28. See Setting Performance Targets and p. 34. 

To help us examine trends for these measures over time, we look at their 4-year averages, 

which minimize the effect of an unusual level of performance in any single year and are 

shown below in table 19. 

Table 19: Four-Year Rolling Averages for Strategic Goal 2

Performance measure 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Financial benefits (dollars in 

billions) $18.4 $18.3 $24.6 $20.8 $54.4 $52.6

Other benefits 510 508 511 506 550 586

Testimonies 37 34 32 28 30 23

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

The following sections describe our performance under Goal 2 for each of our quantitative 

performance measures and describe the targets for fiscal year 2021. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

78 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Financial Benefits

The financial benefits reported for Goal 2 in fiscal year 2020 totaled $5.9 billion, which was 

$6.1 billion below our $12.0 billion target. Financial benefits contributing to this total 

include making better use of DOD’s allocated funds in some of its Operations and 

Maintenance accounts and sub-accounts ($981.7 million), reducing embassy and consular 

operations costs by considering unobligated balances (about $950 million), and improving 

the FBI’s management of unobligated balances for fingerprint check fees (about $565 

million). We set our fiscal year 2021 target at $10.3 billion based on what our Goal 2 teams 

believe they can achieve based on past, ongoing, and expected work.

Other Benefits

The other benefits reported for Goal 2 in fiscal year 2020 totaled 646 and exceeded our 

target of 362 by 284 benefits or about 78 percent. Many of Goal 2’s other benefits were in 

the areas of public safety and security, acquisition and contract management, and business 

process and management. We set our fiscal year 2021 target at 367, based on what our 

Goal 2 teams expect to achieve based on past, ongoing, and expected work. 

Testimonies

Our senior executives were asked to testify 17 times on our Goal 2 work in fiscal year 2020, 

falling short of our target of 28 testimonies by 11 testimonies or about 39 percent. Goal 

2 testimony topics included the need to (1) address lessons learned from missile defense 

acquisition efforts; (2) strengthen DOD’s oversight and monitoring of privatized military 

housing; (3) improve workforce diversity at the State Department; (4) adopt a portfolio 

management approach for NNSA’s nuclear weapons modernization; (5) address challenges 

facing the Coast Guard in developing its Arctic capabilities; and (6) improve Customs 

and Border Protection’s oversight of funds, medical care, and reporting of deaths at the 

southwest border. (See table 7 for selected testimony topics by goal.) We have set our 

fiscal year 2021 testimony target at 21 based on our recent experience. 

Example of Goal 2’s Financial Benefits

Better Reflecting DOD’s Actual Costs When Funding FY 2020 Operations. DOD’s O&M appropriations provide 

the largest portion of DOD’s budget, including funding for training and support of military units. DOD has 1 year 

to obligate these funds, and 5 years before unobligated and undisbursed funds are cancelled and returned to 

the Treasury. We found that, between FYs 2009-2013, an average of $6.6 billion per year were cancelled and 

returned to the Treasury from DOD’s O&M accounts. The Congress cited these unused funds when it reduced 

DOD’s O&M funding for FY 2020 by $349 million, which better reflects DOD’s actual operating costs.

Example of Goal 2’s Other Benefits 

Improving Diagnostic Test Distribution Processes. Zika virus disease can cause adverse pregnancy and 

neurological outcomes. In 2017, we found that CDC was not fully transparent regarding how it distributed tests 

it developed to help diagnose Zika virus disease. We recommended that CDC establish a transparent process 

for distributing such tests. In response, CDC finalized an agreement with laboratory organizations and others 

clarifying its responsibility for facilitating communication and sharing resources for developing and conducting 

diagnostic tests—helping streamline development of diagnostic test capacity for future disease outbreaks. 

(GAO-17-445)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 79 Performance Information

Pandemic Preparedness: 

Watchdog Report Deep 

Dig Edition

https://www.gao.gov/multimedia/

podcasts/705369

NATIONAL BIODEFENSE 

STRATEGY

Opportunities and 

Challenges with Early 

Implementation

Statement of Chris P. Currie, Director, 

Homeland Security and Justice

and 

Mary Denigan-Macauley, Director,

Health Care

Testimony 

Before the Committee on Oversight and 

Reform, House of Representatives

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 9:30 a.m. ET

March 11, 2020

GAO-20-483T

United States Government Accountability Office

Source: https://oversight.house.gov. | GAO-21-4SP

Christopher Currie, Director, Homeland Security and Justice team, GAO (far right), is sworn in to testify on the National 

Biodefense Strategy, along with fellow panel members (left to right): Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy 

and Infectious Diseases, NIH; Dr. Robert Redfield, Director, CDC; Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary, Preparedness and 

Response, HHS; and Dr. Terry M. Rauch, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Readiness Policy and Oversight, DOD.

 .......... To listen to the related podcast or read the testimony, click on graphics below.

Example of Goal 2’s Testimonies

Improving Implementation of the National Biodefense Strategy. The National Biodefense Strategy (2018) is 

the nation’s interagency plan to address biological threats, such as naturally occurring diseases like COVID-19. 

On March 11, 2020, we testified on how the strategy had worked so far. We found that it did not have clear 

processes, roles, or responsibilities for interagency decision-making—such as reaching consensus or deciding 

how best to leverage resources. We recommended that HHS (lead agency for the strategy) clearly document 

how it will address such factors. HHS concurred and shared how it plans to develop a communication and 

outreach plan with key stakeholders—an important step to effectively implement the strategy. (GAO-20-483T, 

GAO-20-273)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

80 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Table 20 provides examples of Goal 2 accomplishments and contributions, which includes 

both financial and other benefits.

Table 20: Goal 2 Examples of Accomplishments and Contributions

Protect and Secure the Homeland

Better Tracking Family 

Separations and 

Medical Care at the 

Southwest Border

CBP apprehended over 850,000 noncitizens along the southwest border 

in FY 2019. CBP is required to track any family separations, but we found 

that these separations were not always accurately tracked. In February 

2020, we made 9 recommendations to help improve tracking of family 

units and documentation on family separations. CBP has also sought to 

improve medical care for those in its custody. In July 2020, we made 10 

recommendations to improve CBP’s oversight of funds, medical care, and 

the reporting of deaths. In response, CBP plans to improve its guidance 

for processing family separations, and develop oversight mechanisms for 

medical care. (GAO-20-536, GAO-20-245)

Strengthening IRS’s 

Internal Controls and 

Cybersecurity

We have reported on cybersecurity vulnerabilities we have identified at 

IRS. For instance, we have recommended that IRS apply software patches 

in a timely and consistent manner to protect against cybersecurity threats. 

Over the last 5 years, we have made a total of 218 IT recommendations. 

In response, the IRS has implemented 92, which has helped strengthen its 

cybersecurity program. However, 126 remain, addressing those weaknesses 

in areas such as access controls, separation of duties, and cryptography. 

Implementing all our recommendations would better protect the IRS’s IT 

systems from internal and external threats. (GAO-20-411R, GAO-18-391, 

GAO-17-395, GAO-16-398)

Increasing Financial 

Benefits to the NFIP 

NFIP makes federally backed flood insurance available to property 

owners, and the government has absorbed the majority of financial losses 

to insured properties from flood damage. In June 2011, we asked that in 

reauthorizing NFIP, Congress consider reforms to increase NFIP’s financial 

stability. We had recommended that FEMA, which manages NFIP, take 

steps to align premium rates with the risk of losses. In 2012, Congress 

passed legislation addressing NFIP’s structural challenges and FEMA began 

changing how it sets rates for certain properties. The changes led to 

about $377 million in additional premium payments as of the end of fiscal 

year 2018. (GAO-11-297)

Military Capabilities and Readiness 

Improving Planning for 

Sustaining Ships Early in 

Shipbuilding Programs

In 2020, we examined every recent class of Navy ship and found systemic 

problems maintaining ships—like failed engines—affecting military readiness. 

Specifically, the Navy had not identified, evaluated, or mitigated concerns 

with the operation and maintenance of ships as they were planned, designed, 

and built—adding $130 billion in costs. In turn, the Navy agreed to implement 

our 11 recommendations, and the Congress included a provision in the FY 

2021 National Defense Authorization Act to improve accountability for such 

cost increases. This will help improve maintenance considerations in Navy 

shipbuilding programs and military readiness. (GAO-20-2) 

Clarifying Information 

about Agent Orange 

Exposure for Veterans

Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War era may 

be eligible for disability compensation. However, we found in 2018 that 

DOD’s official list of Agent Orange testing and storage locations omitted 

some locations and had not been updated for years. We recommended 

DOD and VA develop a formal process to communicate to veterans where 

Agent Orange was known to have been present. In response, DOD and VA 

developed a joint plan to provide updated information on VA’s website 

about where Agent Orange had been tested or stored. This could help 

veterans obtain information on their potential exposure and eligibility for 

disability benefits. (GAO-19-24) 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 81 Performance Information

Reducing Reliance on 

Contract Support for 

Naval Operation

DOD has relied on contractors to provide operational contract support 

(e.g., obtaining supplies and services) in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2011, 

DOD noted the risk of depending on contractors and outlined planned 

changes to build its expertise by integrating contracting support into 

military planning/operations. However, we found in 2013 that the Navy, 

Marine Corps, and Air Force had yet to do so. In response, the Navy 

issued guidance in 2018 on policy, responsibilities, and requirements 

for integrating this support into its operations. This will help reduce 

the Navy’s reliance on contractors for supplies, services, and related 

expertise. (GAO-13-212)

U.S. Foreign Policy Interests

Improving USAID’s 

Response to 

Infectious Diseases

The 2015-2016 Zika virus outbreak led the World Health Organization to 

declare a global public health emergency. USAID supported a range of 

activities overseas to help, including mosquito control, public awareness, 

and research. However, we reported in 2019 that USAID did not track Zika 

funding by country and took additional time to launch response efforts 

in some countries. In response to our recommendations, USAID took 

steps to enhance how it plans responses to infectious diseases and tracks 

funds. These actions will help the agency respond more quickly to future 

outbreaks, support oversight, and inform planning decisions. (GAO-19-356)

Ensuring Access 

to Watch Lists for 

Weapons Exports 

The government controls the export of certain firearms, artillery, and 

ammunition to manage the risks of exporting sensitive items while 

facilitating legitimate trade. Recent changes transferred this control from 

the State Department to the Commerce Department. However, these 

agencies use different watch lists to screen parties to export transactions. 

In March 2019, we found that Commerce did not have access to State’s 

watch list and recommended State share its list with Commerce. In 

November 2019, the agencies agreed to share their respective lists—

enhancing Commerce’s ability to ensure that these weapons are used as 

intended. (GAO-19-307)

Better Tracking 

Reimbursements from 

Foreign Partners 

DOD has used its Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreements to provide 

billions of dollars’ worth of logistical support to over 100 foreign partners. 

However, we found in 2020 that DOD had not accurately tracked 

orders under these agreements from 2014 to March 2018, and had not 

received the expected reimbursements for thousands of them. We made 

recommendations to help DOD improve recordkeeping and reimbursement 

for these orders. In response, as of August 2020, DOD had improved its 

recordkeeping, recovered about $1 million, and could recover additional 

reimbursements from overdue orders that DOD valued at over $1 billion as 

of November 2019. (GAO-20-309)

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

82 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Our third strategic goal focuses on the 

collaborative and integrated elements 

needed for the federal government to 

achieve results. The work under this 

goal highlights the intergovernmental 

relationships that are necessary to address 

national challenges. Our multiyear (fiscal 

years 2018-2023) strategic objectives under 

this goal are:

 The government’s fiscal position and 

approaches to address current and 

projected fiscal gaps;

 Major management challenges and 

program risks; and

 Fraud, waste, and abuse and needed 

improvements in internal controls.

These objectives, along with the 

performance goals and key efforts that 

support them, are discussed fully in our 

strategic plan, which is available on our 

website at https://www.gao.gov/about/

stratplanning.html. The work supporting

these objectives is performed primarily by 

headquarters and field staff from the ARM, 

FMA, FAIS, ITC, STAA, and Strategic Issues 

teams. In addition, the work supporting 

some performance goals and key efforts is 

performed by headquarters and field staff 

from the Contracting and National Security 

Acquisitions, Physical Infrastructure, and 

Natural Resources and Environment teams. 

This goal also includes our bid protest 

and appropriations law work, which is 

performed by staff in OGC. 

To accomplish work under these objectives, 

we also perform foresight work (e.g., 

examining the nation’s long-term fiscal 

and management challenges) and insight 

work focusing on federal programs at 

high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and 

mismanagement.

As shown in table 21, we met the Goal 3 

performance target set for financial 

benefits. However, we did not meet our 

other benefits target or testimony target 

for fiscal year 2020. 

Strategic Goal 3

Help Transform the Federal Government to Address 

National Challenges

Source: Brand X Pictures. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 83 Performance Information

Table 21: Strategic Goal 3’s Annual Performance Results and Targets

Performance

measure

2015

actual

2016

actual

2017

actual

2018

actual

2019

actual

2020

targetb

2020

actual

Met/

not met

2021

target

Financial benefits

(dollars in billions)

$10.1 $30.8a $5.0 $12.1 $6.7 $3.2 $5.0 Met $3.4

Other benefits 526 448 517 515 491 398 390 Not Met 385

Testimonies 26 37 29 28 23 24 18 Not Met 22

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Note: Financial benefits for Goals 1 through 3 do not sum to the total agency-wide target for 2020, as we have left a portion of 

the financial benefits target unassigned. Experience leads us to believe that we can meet the agency-wide target but we cannot 

always accurately predict under which goals. 

a

In 2016, we reached $30.8 billion in financial benefits due primarily to one large financial benefit of $21.4 billion for reduced 

improper payments in the Medicare Advantage Program. 

b

Our fiscal year 2020 targets for all three performance measures differ from those we reported in our fiscal year 2020 

performance plan in June 2019, based on revised estimates from mission teams. Specifically, we decreased our financial 

benefits target from $3.9 to $3.2 billion, decreased other benefits from 411 to 398, and increased testimonies from 23 to 24. See 

Setting Performance Targets.

To help us examine trends for these measures over time, we look at their 4-year averages— 

shown below in table 22—which minimize the effect of an unusual level of performance in 

any single year. 

Table 22: Four-Year Rolling Averages for Strategic Goal 3

Performance measure 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Financial benefits (dollars in billions) $12.1 $15.6 $14.8 $14.5 $13.6 $7.2

Other benefits 562 511 501 502 493 478

Testimonies 30 29 31 30 29 25

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

The following sections describe our performance under Goal 3 for each of our quantitative 

performance measures and describe the targets for fiscal year 2021. 

Example of Work under Goal 3 

Strengthening Plans for Moon Landing. NASA is pursuing an aggressive timeline to return U.S. astronauts to 

the moon by 2024, 4 years earlier than planned. But we found in 2019 that NASA did not have a comprehensive 

rationale for its lunar plans or know how much the 2024 mission would cost. We recommended that NASA 

develop a cohesive plan outlining its efforts for a moon landing, and document a cost estimate for the mission. 

NASA agreed with our recommendations. Implementing our recommendations would help NASA establish a 

solid business case for its lunar plans and provide the Congress with information on the complete cost of this 

mission. (GAO-20-68)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

84 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Financial Benefits

In fiscal year 2020, the financial benefits reported for Goal 3 totaled $5.0 billion, exceeding 

our target of $3.2 billion by $1.8 billion, or about 56 percent. This was due primarily to two 

unexpectedly large financial benefits from actions taken by the Congress (1) revising 

partnership audit rules (nearly $1.17 billion), and (2) IRS preventing issuance of invalid tax 

refunds (over $900 million). We have set our 2021 target at $3.4 billion based on what our 

Goal 3 teams believe they can achieve given past, ongoing, and expected work.

Other Benefits

Other benefits reported for Goal 3 in fiscal year 2020 totaled 390, falling short of our 

target by 8 benefits or about 2 percent. Goal 3’s benefits were primarily in the areas of 

program efficiency and effectiveness, business process and management, tax law 

administration, and acquisition and contract management. We have set our fiscal year 2021 

target at 385 other benefits based on past, ongoing, and expected work.

Example of Goal 3’s Financial Benefits

Increasing Tax Revenue by Helping Revise Partnership Audit Rules. In 2014, we found that IRS had difficulty 

auditing large partnerships (those with at least 100 partners and $100 million in assets) because it would reach 

out to individual partners to collect any taxes owed. This process was labor intensive and limited the number 

of large partnerships that the IRS could audit. We recommended that the Congress require large partnerships 

to pay any taxes owed at the partnership level. In response, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 revised how 

large partnerships are audited, which is expected to increase tax revenue by nearly $1.17 billion in FY 2020 

dollars. (GAO-14-732) 

Example of Goal 3’s Other Benefits 

Better Managing IT Acquisitions. Each year, the federal government spends over $90 billion in IT. Even 

so, these investments have often failed or performed poorly due to ineffective management. The Federal 

Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) is intended to improve agencies’ acquisition 

and management of IT. Between 2017 and 2020, we supported congressional efforts to measure FITARA 

implementation by preparing scorecards that tracked and scored agency actions to address FITARA 

requirements. As a result, the Congress held 10 hearings—increasing oversight of and attention to agencies’ IT 

acquisitions and management. (GAO-20-691T, GAO-19-157SP, GAO-19-131, GAO-18-234T)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 85 Performance Information

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Carol Harris, Director, Information Technology and Cybersecurity team, testified on federal agencies’ efforts to implement the Federal 

Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). 

Testimonies

Our senior executives were asked to testify 18 times on topics related to this strategic goal 

in fiscal year 2020, falling short of our target by 6 testimonies or about 25 percent. Among 

the Goal 3 testimony topics covered were the need to (1) address significant information 

security challenges at VA and other federal agencies; (2) strengthen SBA’s oversight of 

Tribal 8(a) firms; (3) clearly communicate public comment posting practices for federal 

rulemaking; and (4) continue progress made under the CFO Act to improve federal financial 

reporting. (See table 7 for selected testimony topics by goal.) For fiscal year 2021, we have 

set the testimony target at 22, based on our experience in recent years. Table 23 provides 

examples of Goal 3 accomplishments and contributions, which include both financial and 

other benefits.

Example of Goal 3’s Testimonies

Risks to an Accurate 2020 Census. Census data inform critical decisions, such as apportioning the seats 

of the U.S. House of Representatives, redrawing congressional districts, and allocating billions of dollars in 

federal funding. COVID-19 forced the Census Bureau to delay its 2020 operations but it announced in August 

that it would deliver apportionment data by December as required. We identified risks to the count, including 

the ability to hire and retain staff, ensure safety, monitor IT systems and cybersecurity, and determine effects 

on data quality. The Bureau’s decision was challenged in court and a final determination had not been made 

by September 30, 2020. (GAO-20-720T, GAO-20-671R, GAO-20-551R, GAO-20-496, GAO-20-415)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

86 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

Chris Mihm, Managing Director, Strategic Issues team, testified on risks to an accurate 2020 Census.

Table 23: Goal 3 Examples of Accomplishments and Contributions

Analyze Government’s Fiscal Position

Helping Prevent 

IRS from Issuing 

Fraudulent Tax 

Refunds 

Identity theft tax refund fraud is a threat to taxpayers and tax 

administration. We found in 2014 that IRS could help address this by 

matching wage information that employers report on the W-2 tax form 

to individuals’ tax returns before issuing refunds. However, employers’ 

wage data were not available until months after IRS issued most refunds. 

We recommended IRS assess the costs/benefits of accelerating W-2 

deadlines and report this information to Congress, which IRS did in 2015. 

In response, Congress advanced the deadline for employers to file W-2s—

which helped IRS prevent about $906.7 million in fraudulent payments. 

(GAO-14-633)

Improving Federal 

Financial Management 

and Controls

Financial statement audits identify weaknesses in agencies’ financial 

reporting and controls and help prompt improvements. Our audits of 

agencies’ FY 2019 financial activities resulted in 31 recommendations, 

including 22 to IRS. IRS agreed with our recommendations, which largely 

focused on IT controls—such as who has access and ensuring that IT 

systems work as intended. The IRS also implemented several of our 

prior recommendations by strengthening controls over taxpayer refunds 

and safeguarding assets, including taxpayer information. This will help 

improve IRS’s financial operations and protect taxpayer payments from 

potential theft. (GAO-20-480R, GAO-20-411R)
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 87 Performance Information

Prevent Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

Improving How 

Federal Agencies 

Manage Fraud

To help manage fraud in federal programs, OMB established a working 

group to implement the Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 

2015 (FRDAA). However, we found in 2018 that this group did not meet 

as often as required, and not all relevant agencies were involved. We 

recommended that the Director of OMB address these issues. In response, 

OMB widened its outreach to include more federal agencies in this 

working group, and began sharing best practices for managing fraud more 

broadly through its OMB MAX information system. These actions help 

agencies share experiences and solutions to prevent, detect, and respond 

to fraud in their programs. (GAO-19-34) 

Verifying Head Start 

Enrollment Numbers

The Head Start program helps children from low-income families get 

ready to attend school. In 2019, we found examples of potential fraud 

at some Head Start centers. We recommended that the Office of Head 

Start (OHS) use attendance records to help verify that these centers are 

serving the number of families they are funded to serve. In response, OHS 

updated its monitoring guidance to state that centers must provide OHS 

reviewers the source documentation (including attendance data) to verify 

enrollment numbers. By taking these steps, OHS will help ensure that 

Head Start centers are serving all the children they are funded to serve. 

(GAO-19-519) 

Increasing VA’s 

Protections for 

Whistleblowers

In 2018, we found that VA could improve how it deals with employee 

misconduct. For instance, whistleblowers at VA were 10 times more likely 

than their peers to receive disciplinary action. We recommended that 

VA ensure that employees who report wrongdoing are protected against 

retaliation. In response, VA updated a standard operating procedure 

in December 2019 for investigating misconduct by senior leaders. VA 

also developed training on whistleblower rights and protections, which 

is required for all VA employees. These actions help VA ensure that 

employees who report wrongdoing are protected against retaliation. 

(GAO-18-137)

Improving 

Government-wide 

Improper Payments

Improper payments—payments that should not have been made or were 

made in the incorrect amount—cost the government billions of dollars. 

Since FY 2000, we have issued many reports and testimonies on improper 

payments. In October 2019, we testified that aggregating governmentwide improper payment estimates is essential to understanding the 

extent of the problem. In FY 2020, Congress passed legislation and the 

President signed into law a requirement that OMB report an annual 

government-wide estimate of improper payments. Doing so will help 

the federal government monitor progress toward reducing improper 

payments. (GAO-20-203T, GAO-20-344, GAO-20-336) 

Major Management Challenges and Program Risks

Identifying HighRisk Challenges to 

Addressing Drug 

Misuse

Drug misuse—using illicit drugs or misusing prescription drugs—is a 

serious public health issue. Since FY 2015, we have made over 80 

recommendations to help address this problem, such as improving 

planning around the National Drug Control Strategy to meet legal 

requirements. Federal agencies have made some progress, but further 

actions are needed. In FY 2020, we reported on the continuing, terrible 

effects of drug misuse on society; we plan to add it to our 2021 HighRisk List to spur progress. Implementing our recommendations will help 

agencies make progress toward a strategic, coordinated, and effective 

national response. (GAO-20-474) 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

88 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Reducing 

Administrative 

Workloads/Costs for 

Federal Research 

Grants

Universities that receive federal research grants face a number of 

administrative grant requirements—some of which create unnecessary 

workloads/costs. In 2016, we found that 4 federal agencies had made 

efforts to reduce grant workloads and costs but that opportunities for 

further reductions remained. We recommended that agencies coordinate 

on additional areas to standardize grant requirements. In response, 

agencies participated in interagency efforts and identified areas, such 

as coordinating conflict of interest requirements, that could reduce 

workloads/costs for universities while maintaining accountability over 

grant funds. (GAO-16-573, GAO-16-890T)

Improving Patent 

Quality

The U.S. patent system can help secure and commercialize new 

inventions, but low-quality patents—those that are overly broad or 

unclear—can hinder innovation by blocking new ideas from the market. In 

2016, we issued two reports that identified challenges the U.S. Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) faces ensuring patent quality and conducting 

thorough searches of relevant information while examining patent 

applications. In response to our recommendations to help address these 

challenges, USPTO took steps such as evaluating the time needed to 

perform thorough examinations, which will help ensure that USPTO issues 

high-quality patents. (GAO-16-490, GAO-16-479)

Improving IT 

Management at DHS 

To develop higher quality software that meets mission needs at a lower 

cost, federal agencies are transitioning to iterative and Agile development 

approaches—which call for rapid delivery of working software. We 

convened a group of knowledgable specialists to help develop appropriate 

criteria and used it to analyze DHS’s transition to the Agile software 

development approach. We made recommendations to help DHS improve 

its transition—such as establishing additional training requirements. DHS 

agreed with our recommendations and plans to address them. Our work 

will help DHS improve its transition to Agile and help guide other federal 

agencies making a similar transition. (GAO-20-213)

Ensuring that Federal 

Agencies Can Fully 

Adjust Civil Penalties 

for Inflation

Civil monetary penalties are an important element of regulatory 

enforcement because they allow federal agencies to punish willful and 

egregious violators and deter future violations. However, we found that 

agencies were unable to fully adjust their civil penalties for inflation 

under current law, which reduced their ability to make these penalties 

suitably severe. In response, Congress enacted statutory amendments that 

allowed agencies to more fully adjust civil penalties for inflation to help 

preserve their relevancy. The Congressional Budget Office also estimated 

these changes would increase government revenue by $110 million in FY 

2020. (GAO-03-409)

Better Identifying 

Unused Balances from 

Expired Grant Awards

Effective and efficient grant closeout processes allow federal agencies 

to identify unspent funds and potentially return them to the Treasury. In 

2016, we found that the Department of Commerce (Commerce) was not 

reporting undisbursed balances in its expired grant accounts as required. 

In response, Commerce implemented measures that helped it better 

identify unspent grant funds. This led to over $215 million in financial 

benefits for the federal government. (GAO-16-362)

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 89 Performance Information

Our fourth strategic goal embraces 

the spirit of continuous and focused 

improvement in order to sustain highquality, timely service to the Congress, 

while also implementing leading practices 

in our internal operations. Activities 

carried out under this goal also address our 

three internal management challenges. The 

multiyear (fiscal years 2018-2023) strategic 

objectives under this goal are to:

 Empower GAO’s workforce to excel 

through strategic talent management; 

 Streamline GAO’s processes to deliver 

quality results and products and 

promote knowledge sharing, government 

standards, and strategic solutions; and

 Provide modern integrated tools and 

systems in a secure, collaborative, and 

mobile environment. 

These objectives, along with the 

performance goals and key efforts that 

support them, are discussed fully in our 

strategic plan, which is available on our 

website at https://www.gao.gov/about/

stratplanning.html. The work supporting 

these objectives is performed under the 

direction of the CAO through the following 

offices: the Controller and Financial 

Management and Business Operations, 

Human Capital, Information Systems and 

Technology Services, Infrastructure 

Operations, the Learning Center, the 

Professional Development Program, and 

Field Operations. Assistance on specific key 

efforts is provided by ARM and other 

offices, including SPEL Congressional 

Relations, OO&I, Continuous Process 

Improvement, APQA, Public Affairs, and 

OGC. To accomplish our work under these 

four objectives, we performed internal 

studies and completed projects that further 

Strategic Goal 4

Maximize the Value of GAO by Enabling Quality, 

Timely Service to the Congress and by Being a 

Leading Practices Federal Agency

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

90 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

the strategic goal. As shown in table 11 on 

page 44, our internal operations for 

services and functions that help employees 

get their jobs done, improve the quality of 

their work life, and the IT tools they use to 

accomplish their work were rated by our 

staff with scores of 82 percent, 82 percent, 

and 56 percent, respectively. Table 24

provides examples of Goal 4 

accomplishments and contributions.

Examples of Work under Goal 4

COVID-19 Response. On March 13, 2020, the agency pivoted to maximum telework to ensure the health 

and safety of our employees, which required seamless coordination across all operational units to provide 

employees the policies, procedures, and equipment necessary to continue our mission remotely. Examples of 

this effort are included in this section, and are also discussed in Part I (Internal Management Challenges).

Table 24: Goal 4 Accomplishments and Contributions

Empower GAO’s Workforce to Excel through Strategic Talent Management

Hiring, 

developing, 

and retaining 

our workforce

 To enhance the diversity of our applicant pipeline and expand the network of 

colleges and universities our interns hailed from, we undertook a variety of 

activities, including requiring recruitment teams to develop annual diversity 

recruitment strategies, identifying and reaching out to additional schools with 

under-represented student populations, and creating training to deliver to 

students on how to navigate the federal application process.

 We hired 121 new permanent staff, and onboarded 96 of these employees 

completely virtually for the first time in our history during the global 

pandemic.

 We managed a year-round program for 151 analyst and operations interns, 

providing GAO with a robust pipeline of vetted, well-trained staff to support 

workforce needs, and implemented new support structures such as mentors 

and buddies to ensure our interns felt connected, valued, and able to thrive. 

 We converted in-person core curriculum courses to virtual delivery within 4 

months of GAO moving to nearly 100 percent telework, helping ensure that 

employees at all levels received the training they needed to continue their 

professional development.

 In the area of project management, we have completed training for the 

12 pilot engagement teams on new tools and techniques for our initiative 

to integrate industry-standard project management practices into our 

engagement process.

Enhancing and 

sustaining a 

fair, diverse, 

and inclusive 

culture

 To implement actions included in the 2019-2023 DE&I strategic implementation 

plan, we engaged employee organizations and teams on their involvement in 

strategies for hiring underrepresented demographic groups and identifying any 

challenges related to workplace equity.

 To reaffirm our commitment to equal employment opportunity, DE&I in the 

workplace, we updated our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement, 

issued a new Sexual Misconduct Policy, and conducted a confidential survey 

regarding sexual misconduct in the workplace. 

 To support and enhance broad perspectives in and approaches to our work, we 

hosted events on a range of topics such as demonstrating management support 

for DE&I efforts, choosing courage over comfort in the workplace, masculine 

norms, Caribbean-China relations, how stereotypes shape the experiences of 

Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Historical Perspectives on Latino Identity 

and Assimilation, and more.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 91 Performance Information

Maintaining 

effective 

relationships 

with GAO’s 

internal 

employee 

organizations

 In fiscal year 2020, the agency worked with the GAO Employees Organization, 

International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 1921 to 

negotiate on a variety of initiatives, including the following: 

◦ Completion of Headquarters space consolidation

◦ New Sexual Misconduct Policy with hotline and portal reporting features

◦ Rollout of multiple technology solutions, including Virtual Desktop Initiative 

(VDI) 2.0 and Skype 

◦ Implementation of all COVID-19 working conditions

◦ Multiple field office renovations and relocations

Streamline GAO’s Processes to Deliver Quality Products and Promote Knowledge 

Sharing

Enhancing 

outreach to 

the Congress 

and access to 

our work

 We launched an effort to gather feedback from 22 Senate and House 

committees to better understand how they use our products and services and 

how we can meet their needs, and participated in a briefing for House interns 

to ensure they are aware of our role.

 We redesigned the internal class we use to prepare our senior executive 

staff to give testimony before Congress, emphasizing the internal working of 

congressional hearings.

 We launched a new coronavirus oversight page on GAO’s public website that 

provides information on GAO’s oversight role, a live feed of reports, and a 

record of past related reports by category; established a coronavirus oversight 

RSS feed and e-mail subscription; and posted a number of WatchBlog posts 

and podcasts, all to keep the Congress and American public apprised of our 

coronavirus-related work and activities. 

 We launched the Deep Dig podcasts, a series of special editions of our 

Watchdog Report podcast series that take an in-depth look at an area of 

national concern and give our audiences additional context to understand 

GAO’s work. Deep Dig episodes have looked at challenges in administering 

the 2020 Census, pandemic preparedness, Navy shipbuilding, and critical 

infrastructure cybersecurity, among others. Episodes have averaged more than 

1,000 downloads.

 In June 2020, we launched a GAO Instagram account to continue our social 

media outreach efforts, with a focus on giving users a more personal look at 

behind-the-scenes fieldwork, featuring staff who work for the agency.

Enhancing 

GAO’s 

foresight 

and strategic 

planning 

capacity

 We led the development of an INTOSAI pandemic lessons learned document 

to engage external parties such as the World Health Organization, the United 

Nations, and the International Civil Aviation Organization Council on how 

audit institutions can help inform decisions that could (1) improve government 

efforts to prepare for and respond to future pandemics, and (2) provide 

insights on oversight of pandemic response efforts. 

 We helped lead efforts to assist audit offices around the world share best 

practices and understand the implications of remote audits during the 

COVID-19 pandemic in our capacity as vice-chair to INTOSAI’s Supervisory 

Committee on Emerging Issues.

 We developed a multi-day virtual training for our executive candidates on 

foresight tools and best practices as a leadership competency.

 We held a Comptroller General Forum on Artificial Intelligence Oversight 

to enhance understanding of audit and governance principles for providing 

oversight of algorithms and automated systems.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

92 Performance Information GAO-21-4SP

Continually 

improving 

government 

auditing 

standards

 We addressed the strategic goals outlined in the National Intergovernmental 

Audit Forum Strategic Plan through implementation of an increased digital 

presence, advancing audit standards, and sharing best practices.

 We significantly contributed to improving government audits by participating 

on the Auditing Standards Board, providing technical assistance on government 

auditing standards and the use of Standards for Internal Control in the federal 

government, issuing comments on proposed revisions to auditing standards, 

and publishing professional standards updates. 

Enhancing 

information 

sharing for the 

domestic and 

international 

accountability 

community

 We led coordination with the Pandemic Response and Accountability 

Committee, federal inspectors general, national associations, academia, and 

state and local auditors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in support of 

the continuity of operations of GAO audits. 

 We led the INTOSAI response to the COVID-19 pandemic by rapidly deploying 

a website for the global accountability community with resources to help our 

international colleagues with maintaining continuity of operations.

Enhancing 

GAO’s 

products, 

processes, and 

programs

 We established a new pre-employment suitability process to support more 

efficient onboarding of newly hired staff.

 We increased the timeliness of our leave audits by 15 percent due in part to 

the new leave audit database we implemented in the prior fiscal year.

 We made a number of improvements in our Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) 

program, including increased integration between ERM and internal control, 

issuance of a Risk Appetite Statement, and increasing the number of fraud 

risk assessments.

Provide Modern Integrated Tools and Systems in a Secure Environment

Empowering 

staff with 

integrated 

tools to 

enhance 

business 

processes 

and increase 

efficiency

 In early fiscal year 2020, we launched the agency-wide rollout of iGEL, VDI 2.0, 

Windows 10, Skype, Office 2016, and DM10, all critical to our ability to support 

the agency’s move to maximum telework in response to the global pandemic.

 We purchased a talent management system (TMS) to replace several legacy 

systems; the new TMS will enable employees to manage both their annual 

performance appraisal milestones and ongoing professional development 

training in one place, and managers to have a global view of these activities 

for those they supervise.

 We completed initial development on New Blue, GAO’s web-based publishing 

platform program, and will continue to pilot it and user supports needed for 

agency-wide rollout in fiscal year 2021. 

 We improved GAO’s ability to produce video content by transitioning from an 

existing AVID-based legacy system with outdated and limited accessibility into 

a mobile production capability that leverages new technologies and cloudbased workflows. The new capability can be used anywhere; permits GAO’s 

video producers to create a wider variety of high-quality video products, from 

report-related videos to internal training, with faster turnaround times; and 

allows contributions from staff from across the agency.

Enhancing tools 

that integrate 

enterprise data 

to facilitate 

decisionmaking

 We launched a simplified, shortened, and refined Employee Engagement 

Survey (formerly the Employee Feedback Survey), which was the culmination 

of diverse agency-wide stakeholder collaboration and effort. 

 We created a COVID-19 operations dashboard to help senior leaders monitor 

critical functions and inform decision-making through the pandemic.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 93 Performance Information

Enabling 

a mobile, 

collaborative 

environment

 In addition to the rollout of VDI 2.0, Skype, and other technologies that 

enabled us to seamlessly transition to nearly 100 percent telework, we 

procured and distributed additional Adobe Connect licenses to support the 

need to collaborate and communicate, and provide critical trainings, virtually.

 We developed a secure IT solution that allows employees to remotely access 

computer towers needed for engagement data analysis, including COVID-19 

pandemic reporting.

Ensuring a 

secure, costeffective 

physical and 

technological 

infrastructure

 We initiated, developed, and fully instituted an insider threat program to 

educate employees about insider threat risks, provide resources, and to 

coordinate efforts to deter, mitigate, and respond to insider threat incidents.

 We began to install new secure networks (IntelDirect and Department of 

Energy) to increase classified work capabilities.

 We built a new secure room for the Seattle Field Office in federally owned 

space to provide classified work capabilities.

 We completed a number of capital investment projects in our Headquarters 

building, including creating a new refreshment and gathering space to 

facilitate employee collaboration and conversation, and replaced carpet, paint, 

and wallpaper throughout the building. 

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
94 GAO-21-4SP From the Chief Financial Officer

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP

November 16, 2020

Fiscal year 2020 has been one of the most unusual on record, requiring us to navigate many 

challenges. But despite the unprecedented situation, I am pleased to report the U.S. Government 

Accountability Office (GAO) continued to set the standard for excellence in government 

financial management. Once again, GAO’s financial statements, which are an integral part of 

our Performance and Accountability Report (PAR), received an unmodified “clean” opinion. Our 

independent auditors found that GAO maintained, in all material aspects, effective internal 

control over financial reporting, and our financial management systems substantially complied 

with the applicable requirements of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 

(FFMIA). Although not required, GAO considers the independent auditor’s opinion on internal 

controls and on the system’s compliance with FFMIA to be a leading practice. 

In addition to our own self-assessment, obtaining an independent, objective assessment of 

our internal control over financial reporting and on our system’s compliance with FFMIA helps 

demonstrate our sound stewardship of the taxpayers’ dollars that have been entrusted to us. 

Further, I’m proud to report that our fiscal year 2019 PAR received an award from the Association 

of Government Accountants. We received the Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting 

(CEAR) award, our 19th consecutive award since we first applied in fiscal year 2001. 

The funding enacted for fiscal year 2020 allowed GAO to continue hiring through the year, 

achieving 3,178 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, and support priority investments in our 

information technology and building infrastructure. Additionally, GAO received $20 million in 

funding as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which 

requires GAO to: “conduct monitoring, oversight, and audits of the authorities and funding 

provided to address the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic and the effect of the pandemic on the health, 

economy, and public and private institutions of the United States.” Although the pandemic 

presented challenges to GAO’s operating conditions, our longstanding commitment to telework 

and working virtually allowed us to continue our mission of supporting Congress and improving 

government unimpeded. 

From the Chief Financial Officer

Part III

Financial Information
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 95 From the Chief Financial Officer

GAO has primarily been operating in a maximum telework posture since mid-March of this year. 

To enhance our ability to operate in a maximum telework posture, GAO reallocated primarily 

travel funds which could not be used due to the pandemic to higher priority needs, such as 

obtaining additional technology collaboration tools, adding bandwidth to the network, and 

ordering hardware needed to operate in the pandemic. Going forward, GAO will continue to 

focus on building staffing levels toward the goal of 3,250 FTEs, maintaining and investing in IT 

and building facilities infrastructure, and continuing to explore new cost reduction measures. 

In the area of internal control, the Office of Internal Control (OIC) conducted an entity-wide 

assessment of risk and key controls for the agency’s internal control system, consistent with the 

Federal Manager’s Financial Integrity Act and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular 

No. A-123, Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control, 

and all appendices. 

To validate compliance, effectiveness, efficiency and the integrity of data, OIC reviewed 

and tested key business cycles such as acquisitions, human capital/payroll, disbursements, 

information technology, and financial reporting. Additionally, we reviewed the independent 

auditors’ reports of our shared service providers so we could proactively address any issues with 

the appropriate compensating controls.

The assessment found GAO in compliance with the five components and 17 principles of the 

Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government (Green Book) and provided reasonable 

assurance that internal control over reporting, operations, and compliance were operating 

effectively and efficiently for fiscal year 2020. No material weaknesses or significant deficiencies 

were found in the design or implementation of the internal control system. 

GAO utilizes a maturity model approach to incorporate Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and 

fraud risk assessment activities into our existing governance structure. Under the direction 

of the Chief Risk Officers (CROs), we (1) prepared and updated the agency-wide risk profile 

for 2020; (2) assessed the internal control over operations, reporting, and compliance; and 

(3) collaborated with internal stakeholders to facilitate several fraud risk assessments of 

identified high-risk program areas, consistent with GAO’s A Framework for Managing Fraud Risks 

in Federal Programs (Fraud Risk Framework). 

The pandemic required GAO offices to adapt new procedures to operate in a maximum telework 

environment, and our staff met the challenge. We reacted quickly to first assess business 

processes to identify any risks associated with managing these processes in a maximum telework 

environment, and then identified cost-effective solutions to address them. These solutions 

ranged from new procedures for ordering and shipping office supplies and telework equipment 

to alternative processes for conducting our GAO financial audit remotely. The flexibility and 

creativity that enabled us to pivot to a maximum virtual operating environment with minimal 

disruption will continue to serve us well to thrive in whatever new challenging environment we 

face in 2021.

Karl J. Maschino

Chief Administrative Officer/

Chief Financial Officer
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

96 GAO-21-4SP Audit Advisory Committee’s Report

Audit Advisory Committee’s Report

November 16, 2020

The Audit Advisory Committee (the Committee) assists the Comptroller General in 

overseeing the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) financial operations. 

As part of that responsibility, the Committee meets with agency management, 

its Inspector General, and its external auditors to review and discuss GAO’s 

external financial audit coverage, the effectiveness of GAO’s internal control over 

its financial reporting, and its compliance with certain laws and regulations that 

could materially impact GAO’s financial statements. GAO’s external auditors are 

responsible for expressing an opinion on the conformity of GAO’s audited financial 

statements with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States 

of America. The Committee reviews the findings of the Inspector General and 

external auditors, and GAO’s responses to those findings, to assure itself that GAO’s 

plan for corrective action includes appropriate and timely follow-up measures. In 

addition, the Committee reviews the draft Performance and Accountability Report, 

including its financial statements, and provides comments to management who have 

responsibility for the Performance and Accountability Report. The Committee met 

three times with respect to its responsibilities as described above. During these 

sessions, the Committee met with the Inspector General and external auditors 

without GAO management being present and discussed with the external auditors 

the matters that are required to be discussed by generally accepted auditing 

standards. Based on procedures performed as outlined above, the Committee 

recommends that GAO’s audited statements and footnotes be included in the 2020 

Performance and Accountability Report.

Robert H. Attmore

Chair

Audit Advisory Committee
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 97 Financial Information

Independent Auditors’ Report

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

Comptroller General of the United States

Government Accountability Office

In our audits of the fiscal years 2020 and 2019 financial statements of the United States 

Government Accountability Office (GAO), we found:

• GAO’s financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, and 

2019, are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with United States of 

America (U.S.) generally accepted accounting principles;

• GAO maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as 

of September 30, 2020;

• GAO’s financial management systems substantially complied with the applicable 

requirements of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) as of 

September 30, 2020; and

• No reportable noncompliance with provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and 

grant agreements we tested for fiscal year 2020 and no other matters.

The following sections discuss in more detail (1) our report on the financial statements and on 

internal control over financial reporting, which includes the required supplementary information 

(RSI)1 and other information2 included with the financial statements;(2) our report on the system’s 

compliance with FFMIA; and (3) our report on compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and 

grant agreements.

Report on the Financial Statements and on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited GAO’s financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted auditing 

standards; the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing 

Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; and Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 19-03, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements

(OMB Bulletin 19-03). GAO’s financial statements comprise the balance sheets as of September 

30, 2020 and 2019, and the related statements of net cost, changes in net position, and budgetary 

resources for the years then ended, and the related notes to the financial statements. We also 

have audited GAO’s internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2020, based on 

criteria established under 31 U.S.C. § 3512(c), (d), commonly known as the Federal Managers’ 

Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA).

 1The RSI consists of the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis” on pages 26 to 66 of GAO’s 

Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) and subsection titled “Deferred Maintenance and Repairs for Fiscal Year 

2020” on pages 120 to 121, which is included with the financial statements. 2Other information consists of all the other information included in GAO’s PAR, except for the financial statements, the 

auditors’ report, and the RSI. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

98 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT (Continued)

We believe that the audit evidence we obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for 

our audit opinions.

Management’s Responsibility 

GAO management is responsible for (1) the preparation and fair presentation of these financial 

statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (2) preparing, 

measuring, and presenting the RSI in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting 

principles; (3) preparing and presenting other information included in documents containing the 

audited financial statements and auditors’ report, and ensuring the consistency of that information 

with the audited financial statements and the RSI; (4) maintaining effective internal control over 

financial reporting, including the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control 

relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material 

misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; (5) evaluating the effectiveness of internal control 

over financial reporting based on the criteria established under FMFIA; and (6) providing 

assurance on the overall effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of September 

30, 2020, included in the accompanying management’s Assurance Statements on Internal 

Control over Operations, Reporting, and Compliance in the Introduction section of GAO’s

Performance and Accountability Report (PAR).

Auditors’ Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and an opinion on GAO’s

internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. Government Auditing Standards

require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the 

financial statements are free from material misstatement, and whether effective internal control 

over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. We are also responsible for 

applying certain limited procedures to RSI and other information included with the financial 

statements. 

An audit of financial statements involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about 

the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the 

auditors’ judgment, including the auditors’ assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the 

financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, auditors

consider internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial 

statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances. An audit 

of financial statements also involves evaluating the appropriateness of the accounting policies 

used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well 

as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.

An audit of internal control over financial reporting involves performing procedures to obtain 

evidence about whether a material weakness exists.3 The procedures selected depend on the 

auditors’ judgment, including the assessment of the risk that a material weakness exists. An audit 

of internal control over financial reporting also involves obtaining an understanding of internal 

control over financial reporting and evaluating and testing the design and operating effectiveness 

of internal control over financial reporting based on the assessed risk. Our audit of internal control 

also considered GAO’s process for evaluating and reporting on internal control over financial

 3A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such 

that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity’s financial statements will not be 

prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis. A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or 

operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned 

functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 99 Financial Information

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT (Continued)

reporting based on criteria established under FMFIA. Our audit also included performing such 

other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.

We did not evaluate all internal controls relevant to operating objectives as broadly established 

under FMFIA, such as those controls relevant to preparing performance information and ensuring 

efficient operations. We limited our internal control testing to testing controls over financial 

reporting. Our internal control testing was for the purpose of expressing an opinion on whether 

effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained, in all material respects. 

Consequently, our audit may not identify all deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting 

that are less severe than a material weakness.

Definition and Inherent Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting 

An entity’s internal control over financial reporting is a process effected by those charged with 

governance, management, and other personnel, the objectives of which are to provide reasonable 

assurance that (1) transactions are properly recorded, processed, and summarized to permit the 

preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting 

principles, and assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized acquisition, use, or 

disposition, and (2) transactions are executed in accordance with provisions of applicable laws, 

including those governing the use of budget authority, regulations, contracts, and grant 

agreements, noncompliance with which could have a material effect on the financial statements. 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent, or 

detect and correct, misstatements due to fraud or error. We also caution that projecting any 

evaluation of effectiveness to future periods is subject to the risk that controls may become 

inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies 

or procedures may deteriorate.

Opinion on Financial Statements

In our opinion, the Government Accountability Office’s financial statements present fairly, in all 

material respects, the Government Accountability Office’s financial position as of September 30, 

2020 and 2019, and its net cost of operations, changes in net position, and budgetary resources 

for the fiscal years then ended in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. 

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

In our opinion, GAO maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial 

reporting as of September 30, 2020, based on criteria established under FMFIA.

However, we identified certain deficiencies in GAO’s internal control over financial reporting that 

we do not consider to be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies4. Nonetheless, these 

deficiencies warrant GAO management’s attention. We have communicated these matters to 

GAO management and, where appropriate, will report on them separately.

Other Matters

Required Supplementary Information

U.S. generally accepted accounting principles issued by the Federal Accounting Standards 

Advisory Board (FASAB) require that the RSI be presented to supplement the financial 

statements. Although the RSI is not a part of the financial statements, FASAB considers this 

information to be an essential part of financial reporting for placing the financial statements in 

 

4 A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting that 

is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

100 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT (Continued)

appropriate operational, economic, or historical context. We have applied certain limited 

procedures to the RSI in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, which consisted of 

inquiries of management about the methods of preparing the RSI and comparing the information 

for consistency with management’s responses to the auditors’ inquiries, the financial statements, 

and other knowledge we obtained during the audits of the financial statements, in order to report 

omissions or material departures from FASAB guidelines, if any, identified by these limited 

procedures. We did not audit and we do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the 

RSI because the limited procedures we applied do not provide sufficient evidence to express an 

opinion or provide any assurance.

Other Information

GAO’s other information contains a wide range of information, some of which is not directly related 

to the financial statements. This information is presented for purposes of additional analysis and 

is not a required part of the financial statements or the RSI. In addition, management has included

references to information on websites or other data outside of the PAR. We read the other 

information included with the financial statements in order to identify material inconsistencies, if 

any, with the audited financial statements. Our audits were conducted for the purpose of forming 

an opinion on GAO’s financial statements. We did not audit and do not express an opinion or 

provide any assurance on the other information.

Report on Systems’ Compliance with FFMIA Requirements

We have audited GAO’s financial management systems’ compliance with certain requirements 

as prescribed in the FFMIA as of September 30, 2020. The objective of our audit was to express 

an opinion on whether GAO’s financial management systems substantially complied with the 

requirements in Section 803(a) of the FFMIA as outlined in the following areas: (1) federal financial 

management system requirements, (2) applicable federal accounting standards, and (3) the 

United States Government Standard General Ledger (USSGL) at the transaction level.

Management’s Responsibility

Management is responsible for implementing and maintaining financial management systems that 

are in substantial compliance with FFMIA requirements.

Auditors’ Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on GAO’s financial management systems’ compliance 

with the three FFMIA requirements based on our audit. We conducted our audit of GAO’s 

compliance with FFMIA requirements in accordance with attestation standards contained in 

Government Auditing Standards. Under those standards, we planned and performed the audit to 

obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial management systems substantially 

complied with the three requirements in Section 803(a) of the FFMIA. A compliance audit includes 

examining, on a test basis, evidence about the entity’s compliance with those requirements and 

performing such other procedures as we consider necessary in the circumstance. Our audit does 

not provide a legal determination of GAO’s compliance. We believe that our audit provides a 

reasonable basis for our opinion.

Opinion on Systems’ Compliance with FFMIA

In our opinion, GAO’s financial management systems substantially complied with the applicable

requirements in Section 803(a) of the FFMIA as of September 30, 2020 based on criteria 

established under FFMIA for federal financial management systems.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 101 Financial Information

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT (Continued)

Other Reporting Required by Government Auditing Standards

Report on Compliance with Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and Grant Agreements and 

Other Matters

In connection with our audits of GAO’s financial statements, we tested compliance with selected 

provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements consistent with our 

auditors’ responsibility discussed below. We caution that noncompliance may occur and not be 

detected by these tests. We performed our tests of compliance in accordance with Government 

Auditing Standards.

Management’s Responsibility

GAO management is responsible for complying with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant 

agreements applicable to GAO.

Auditors’ Responsibility

Our responsibility is to test compliance with selected provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, 

and grant agreements applicable to GAO that have a direct effect on the determination of material 

amounts and disclosures in GAO’s financial statements, and perform certain other limited 

procedures. Accordingly, we did not test compliance with all laws, regulations, contracts, and 

grant agreements applicable to GAO. 

Results of Our Tests for Compliance with Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and Grant 

Agreements and Other Matters

Our tests of compliance with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and 

grant agreements disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters for fiscal year 2020

that would be reportable under Government Auditing Standards. However, the objective of our 

tests was not to provide an opinion on compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant 

agreements applicable to GAO. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. 

Intended Purpose of Report on Compliance with Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and Grant 

Agreements and Other Matters

The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of compliance with selected 

provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, and the results of 

that testing, and not to provide an opinion on compliance. This report is an integral part of an audit 

performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering compliance. 

Accordingly, this report on compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements is 

not suitable for any other purpose.

CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Greenbelt, Maryland

November 13, 2020
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

102 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Purpose of Each Financial Statement

The financial statements on the following pages are the:

 Balance sheets which present the amounts we had available to use (assets) versus the 

amounts we owed (liabilities) and the residual amounts after liabilities were subtracted 

from assets (net position).

 Statements of net cost which present the annual cost of our operations. The gross costs, 

less any offsetting revenue earned from our activities, is used to arrive at the net cost of 

work performed under our four strategic goals and other costs in support of the Congress.

 Statements of changes in net position which present the accounting items that caused the 

net position section of the balance sheets to change from the beginning to the end of the 

fiscal years displayed.

 Statements of budgetary resources which present how budgetary resources were made 

available to us during the fiscal year and the status of those resources at the end of the 

fiscal year.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 103 Financial Information

Financial Statements

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Balance Sheets

As of September 30, 2020 and 2019

(Dollars in thousands)

2020 2019

Assets

Intragovernmental

Fund balance with Treasury (Note 2) $165,663 $136,554 

Accounts receivable 4,029 5,346 

Total Intragovernmental 169,692 141,900 

Property and equipment, net (Note 3) 18,897 19,270 

Other 483 485 

Total Assets $189,072 $161,655 

Liabilities (Note 4)

Intragovernmental

Accounts payable and other $640 $3,286 

Federal employee benefits (Note 5) 5,900 4,464 

Federal Employees’ Compensation Act

(FECA) liability (Note 6) 1,876 1,959 

Total Intragovernmental 8,416 9,709 

Accounts payable and other 12,072 12,441 

Salaries and benefits 24,395 20,702 

Accrued annual leave (Note 4) 42,655 33,823 

Actuarial FECA liability (Note 6) 11,632 13,099 

Total Liabilities $99,170 $89,774 

Net Position

Unexpended appropriations $69,319 $69,440 

Cumulative results of operations 20,583 2,441 

Total Net Position (Note 12) $ 89,902 $71,881 

Total Liabilities and Net Position $189,072 $161,655 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

104 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Financial Statements

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Statements of Net Cost

For the Fiscal Years Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

(Dollars in thousands)

2020 2019

Net Costs by Goal

Goal 1: Well-being / Financial Security of American People

Gross Costs $258,043 $230,929 

Less: reimbursable services (549) (591)

Net goal costs 257,494 230,338 

Goal 2: Changing Security Threats / Challenges of Global 

Interdependence

Gross Costs 173,527 196,306 

Less: reimbursable services - - 

Net goal costs 173,527 196,306 

Goal 3: Transforming the Federal Government’s Role

Gross Costs 177,998 163,278 

Less: reimbursable services (17,302) (14,629)

 Net goal costs 160,696 148,649 

Goal 4: Maximize the Value of GAO

Gross Costs 12,565 13,968 

Less: reimbursable services - - 

Net goal costs 12,565 13,968 

Other Costs in Support of the Congress

Gross Costs 66,641 64,015 

Less: reimbursable services (1,945) (2,059)

Net costs 64,696 61,956 

Less: Reimbursable services not attributable to above 

cost categories (Note 7) (12,973) (13,075)

 Net Cost of Operations (Note 9) $656,005 $ 638,142 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 105 Financial Information

Financial Statements

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Statements of Changes in Net Position

For the Fiscal Years Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

(Dollars in thousands)

2020 2019

Unexpended Appropriations, beginning of fiscal year $69,440 $74,617 

Budgetary Financing Sources and Uses

Appropriations received 650,000 599,750 

Appropriations permanently not available (71) - 

Appropriations used (650,050) (604,927)

Total Budgetary Financing Sources and Uses (121) (5,177)

Total Unexpended Appropriations, end of fiscal year $69,319 $69,440 

Cumulative Results of Operations, beginning of fiscal year $2,441 $4,623 

Budgetary Financing Sources - appropriations used 650,050 604,927 

Other Financing Sources

Federal employee retirement benefit costs paid by OPM and 

imputed to GAO (Note 5) 24,097 31,033

Total Financing Sources 674,147 635,960 

Net Cost of Operations 656,005 638,142 

Net Change 18,142 (2,182)

Cumulative Results of Operations, end of fiscal year $20,583 $2,441 

Net Position $89,902 $71,881 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

106 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Financial Statements

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Statements of Budgetary Resources

For the Fiscal Years Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

(Dollars in thousands)

2020 2019

Budgetary Resources (Note 10)

Unobligated balance from prior year budget authority, net $70,260 $67,352 

Appropriations 650,000 599,750 

Spending authority from offsetting collections 30,237 35,188 

Total budgetary resources $750,497 $702,290 

Status of Budgetary Resources

New obligations and upward adjustments $663,424 $642,243 

Unobligated balance, end of year:

Apportioned, unexpired account 17 129 

Unapportioned, unexpired accounts 84,490 57,368 

Unexpired unobligated balance, end of year 84,507 57,497 

Expired unobligated balance, end of year 2,566 2,550 

Total unobligated balance, end of year 87,073 60,047 

Total budgetary resources $750,497 $702,290 

Outlays, Net

Outlays, net $620,820 $598,411 

Distributed offsetting receipts (147) (16)

Agency outlays, net $620,673 $598,395 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 107 Financial Information

Notes to Financial Statements

Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Reporting Entity

GAO, an agency in the legislative branch of the federal government, supports the Congress 

in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities. GAO carries out its mission primarily 

by conducting audits, evaluations, analyses, research, and investigations and providing 

the information from that work to the Congress and the public in a variety of forms. The 

financial activity presented relates primarily to the execution of GAO’s statutorily enacted 

budget. GAO’s budget consists of an annual appropriation covering salaries and expenses 

as well as revenue from reimbursable audit services and rental income. The revenue from 

audit services and rental income is presented as “reimbursable services” on the statements 

of net cost and included as part of “spending authority from offsetting collections” on the 

statements of budgetary resources. Goods and services are received from other federal 

entities at no cost or at a cost less than the full cost to the providing federal entity. 

Consistent with accounting standards, certain costs of the providing entity that are not 

fully reimbursed by the component reporting entity are recognized as imputed cost in the 

statements of net cost, and as imputed financing sources in the statements of changes 

in net position. Such imputed costs and financing sources relate to employee benefits. 

However, unreimbursed costs of goods and services other than those identified above are 

not included in our financial statements. 

The reporting entity is a component of the U.S. Government. By accounting convention, 

intragovernmental asset and liabilities are eliminated in the consolidation process for the 

U.S. Government’s consolidated financial statements. These financial statements should be 

read with the realization that they are for a component of the U.S. Government, a sovereign 

entity.

Basis of Accounting and Reporting 

GAO’s financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis and the budgetary 

basis of accounting in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles for the 

federal government. Accordingly, revenues are recognized when earned and expenses 

are recognized when incurred, without regard to the receipt or payment of cash. These 

principles differ from budgetary reporting principles used to prepare the statements of 

budgetary resources. The differences relate primarily to the capitalization and depreciation 

of property and equipment, as well as the recognition of other long-term assets and 

liabilities. The statements were also prepared in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-136, 

Financial Reporting Requirements (rev. August 27, 2020). 

Intragovernmental Assets

Intragovernmental assets are those assets that arise from transactions with other federal 

entities. Funds which are held and managed by the U.S Department of the Treasury 

(Treasury Department) comprise the majority of intragovernmental assets on GAO’s balance 

sheets.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

108 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Fund Balance with Treasury

The Treasury Department processes GAO’s receipts and disbursements. Fund balance with 

Treasury represents appropriated funds from which GAO is authorized to pay liabilities and 

make other expenditures.

Accounts Receivable

GAO’s accounts receivable are due principally from federal entities for reimbursable services. 

GAO does not recognize any allowance for loss on intragovernmental accounts receivable as 

they are considered fully collectible. 

Property and Equipment, Net

The GAO headquarters building qualifies as a multi-use heritage asset, is GAO’s only heritage 

asset, and is reported as part of property and equipment on the balance sheets. The 

building’s designation as a multi-use heritage asset is a result of both being listed in the 

National Register of Historic Places and being used in general government operations.

Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) No. 29 requires accounting for 

multi-use heritage assets as general property and equipment to be included in the balance 

sheet and depreciated. The building was depreciated on a straight-line basis over 25 years 

and is fully depreciated.

Generally, property and equipment individually costing more than $15,000, and a minimum 

expected life of two years, are capitalized at cost. Building improvements and leasehold 

improvements are capitalized when the cost is $25,000 or greater. Bulk purchases of 

lesser-value items that aggregate more than $150,000 are also capitalized at cost. Assets 

are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the property as 

follows: building improvements, 10 years; computer equipment, software, and capital lease 

assets, ranging from 3 to 6 years; leasehold improvements, 5 years; and other equipment, 

ranging from 5 to 20 years. GAO’s property and equipment have no restrictions as to use 

or convertibility except for the restrictions related to the GAO headquarters building being 

registered in the National Register of Historic Places.

Liabilities

Liabilities represent amounts that will be paid by GAO as a result of transactions that 

have already occurred. Intragovernmental liabilities are those liabilities that arise from 

transactions with other federal entities.

Accounts Payable

Accounts payable consists of amounts owed to federal entities and commercial vendors for 

goods and services received. The balance presented includes accounts payable recorded 

through normal business activities, as well as an estimate of unbilled payables based on 

historical data. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 109 Financial Information

Federal Employee Benefits 

GAO recognizes its share of the cost of providing future pension benefits to eligible 

employees over the period of time that they render services to GAO. The pension expense 

recognized in the financial statements equals the current service cost for GAO’s employees 

for the accounting period, less the amount contributed by the employees. The U.S. Office 

of Personnel Management (OPM), the administrator of the plan, supplies GAO with factors to 

apply in the calculation of the service cost. These factors are derived through actuarial cost 

methods and assumptions.

The excess of the recognized pension expense over the amount contributed by GAO and 

employees represents the amount being financed directly through the governmentwide Civil 

Service Retirement and Disability Fund administered by OPM. This amount is considered 

imputed financing to GAO (see Note 5).

The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) provides income and medical cost 

protection to covered federal civilian employees injured on the job, employees who have 

incurred a work-related occupational disease, and beneficiaries of employees whose deaths 

are attributable to job-related injury or occupational disease. Claims incurred for benefits for 

GAO employees under FECA are administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and are 

paid, ultimately, by GAO (see Note 6).

GAO recognizes a current-period expense for the future cost of post-employment health 

benefits and life insurance for its employees while they are still working. GAO accounts for 

and reports this expense in its financial statements in a manner similar to that used for 

pensions, with the exception that employees and GAO do not make current contributions to 

fund these future benefits.

Federal employee benefit costs paid by OPM and imputed to GAO are reported as a financing 

source on the statements of changes in net position and are also included as a component of 

net cost by goal on the statements of net cost.

Annual, Sick, and Other Leave

Annual leave is recognized as an expense and a liability as it is earned; the liability is 

reduced as leave is taken. The accrued leave liability is principally long-term in nature. Sick 

leave and other types of leave are expensed as leave is taken. All leave is funded when 

taken. 

Contingencies

GAO has certain claims and litigation pending against it. GAO’s policy is to recognize a 

contingent liability in the financial statements for any losses considered probable and 

estimable. Management believes that the likelihood of losses from such claims and litigation 

is remote and, therefore, no provision for losses is included in the financial statements. 

Estimates

Management has made certain estimates and assumptions when reporting assets, liabilities, 

revenue, expenses, and note disclosures. Actual results could differ from these estimates. 

Estimates used include certain liability balances such as actuarial estimates for FECA 

liabilities. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

110 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Reclassifications

Certain prior year amounts in the financial statements and notes have been reclassified to 

conform to the current year presentation.

Classified Activities

Accounting standards require all reporting entities to disclose that accounting standards allow 

certain presentations and disclosures to be modified, if needed, to prevent the disclosure of 

classified information. 

Note 2. Fund Balance with Treasury 

GAO’s funds with the Treasury consist of only appropriated funds. The status of these funds 

as of September 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, is as follows:

Dollars in thousands

2020 2019

Fund Balance with Treasury $165,663 $136,554

Status of Fund Balance with Treasury

Unobligated Balance

Available $68,007 $37,124

Unavailable 2,566 2,550

Obligated balance not yet disbursed 95,090 96,880

Total status of Fund Balance with Treasury $165,663 $136,554

Note 3. Property and Equipment, Net

The composition of property and equipment as of September 30, 2020, is as follows:

Dollars in thousands

Classes of property and equipment Acquisition value Accumulated depreciation Book value

Land $1,191 – $1,191

Building and improvements 134,700 $127,653 7,047

Computer and other equipment and software 60,597 50,504 10,093

Leasehold improvements 2,798 2,232 566 

Total property and equipment $199,286 $180,389 $18,897

Depreciation expense for property and equipment for fiscal year 2020 is $7,277,000.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 111 Financial Information

The composition of property and equipment as of September 30, 2019 is as follows:

Dollars in thousands

Classes of property and equipment Acquisition value Accumulated depreciation Book value

Land $1,191 – $1,191

Building and improvements 132,710 $125,053 7,657

Computer and other equipment and software 58,441 48,481 9,960

Leasehold improvements 2,516 2,054 462

Total property and equipment $194,858 $175,588 $19,270

Depreciation expense for property and equipment for fiscal year 2019 is $7,053,000.

Note 4. Liabilities Not Covered by Budgetary Resources

The liabilities on GAO’s balance sheets include liabilities not covered by budgetary resources. 

Although future appropriations to fund these liabilities are likely and anticipated, it is not 

certain that appropriations will be enacted to fund these liabilities. The composition of 

liabilities not covered by budgetary resources as of September 30, 2020 and September 30, 

2019 is as follows:

Dollars in thousands

2020 2019

Intragovernmental liabilities—FECA liability** $1,876 $1,959

Salaries and benefits—Comptrollers’ General retirement plan* 1,042 1,150

Accrued annual leave 42,655 33,823

Actuarial FECA liability** 11,632 13,099

Liabilities not covered by budgetary resources 57,205 50,031

Liabilities not requiring budgetary resources 109 113 

Liabilities covered by budgetary resources 41,856 39,360

Total liabilities $99,170 $89,774

* See Note 5 for further discussion of the Comptrollers’ General retirement plan.

** See Note 6 for further discussion of FECA liabilities.

The increase in accrued annual leave balance for fiscal year 2020 was primarily driven by the 

COVID-19 pandemic as employees put their vacations on hold. Agency-wide over 92,000 fewer 

annual leave hours were taken in fiscal year 2020 than in fiscal year 2019.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

112 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Note 5. Federal Employee Benefits

All permanent employees participate in either the contributory Civil Service Retirement 

System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). Temporary employees 

and employees participating in FERS are covered under the Federal Insurance Contributions 

Act (FICA). To the extent that employees are covered by FICA, the taxes they pay to the 

program and the benefits they will eventually receive are not recognized in GAO’s financial 

statements. GAO makes contributions to CSRS, FERS, and FICA and matches certain 

employee contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan component of FERS. All of these payments 

are recognized as operating expenses.

In addition, all permanent employees are eligible to participate in the contributory Federal 

Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance 

(FEGLI) Program and may continue to participate after retirement. GAO makes contributions 

through OPM to FEHBP and FEGLI for active employees to pay for their current benefits. 

GAO’s contributions for active employees are recognized as operating expenses. Using the 

cost factors supplied by OPM, GAO has also recognized an expense in its financial statements 

for the estimated future cost of post-employment health benefits and life insurance for its 

employees. These costs are financed by OPM and imputed to GAO.

Amounts owed to OPM and Treasury as of September 30, 2020, and September 30, 2019, 

are $5,900,000 and $4,464,000, respectively, for FEHBP, FEGLI, FICA, FERS, and CSRS 

contributions and are shown on the balance sheets as Federal employee benefits.

Details of the major components of GAO’s federal employee benefit costs for the fiscal years 

ended September 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019 are as follows:

Dollars in thousands

Federal employee benefits costs 2020 2019

Federal employee retirement benefit costs paid by OPM and imputed to GAO:

Estimated future pension costs (CSRS/FERS)* $2,384 $11,572 

Estimated future post-employment health and life insurance (FEHBP/FEGLI) 21,713 19,461

Total $24,097 $31,033

Pension expenses (CSRS/FERS) not including imputed benefit costs* $61,043 $49,706

Health and life insurance expenses (FEHBP/FEGLI) not including imputed 

benefit costs $27,814 $26,592

FICA and Medicare payments made by GAO $27,890 $26,918

Thrift Savings Plan – matching contribution by GAO $18,103 $16,948

*As a result of increased agency contribution rates for FERS implemented in fiscal year 2020 the estimated future pension cost 

decreased and the pension expense increased in fiscal year 2020.

Comptrollers General and their surviving beneficiaries who qualify and elect to participate 

are paid retirement benefits by GAO under a separate retirement plan. These benefits are 

paid from current year appropriations. Because GAO is responsible for future payments 

under this plan, the estimated present value of accumulated plan benefits of $1,042,000 as 

of September 30, 2020, and $1,150,000 as of September 30, 2019, is included as a component 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 113 Financial Information

of salary and benefit liabilities on GAO’s balance sheets. The following summarizes the 

changes in the actuarial liability for the current plan year: 

Dollars in thousands

Actuarial liability as of September 30, 2019 $1,150

Expense: 

Interest on the liability balance 25

Actuarial loss:

From experience 47

From assumption changes (6) 

Total expense 66

Less benefits paid (174)

Actuarial liability as of September 30, 2020 $1,042

Note 6. FECA Liabilities

GAO recorded a liability for amounts paid to claimants by DOL as of September 30, 2020, 

and September 30, 2019, of $1,876,000 and $1,959,000, respectively, but not yet reimbursed 

to DOL by GAO. The amount owed to DOL is reported on GAO’s balance sheets as an 

intragovernmental liability titled FECA liability. Additionally, GAO utilizes the services 

of an independent actuarial firm to calculate its actuarial FECA liability. GAO recorded 

an estimated liability for claims incurred but not reported as of September 30, 2020, 

and September 30, 2019, which is expected to be paid in future periods. This estimated 

liability of $11,632,000 and $13,099,000 as of September 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, 

respectively, is reported on GAO’s balance sheets as Actuarial FECA liability.

Note 7. Building Lease Revenue

In fiscal year 2011, GAO entered into a lease agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(USACE) to lease the entire third floor, and part of the sixth floor, of the GAO headquarters 

building. The period of this agreement began in fiscal year 2011 with an option to renew each 

year through fiscal year 2020. We have executed a new lease (signed October 7, 2020) for fiscal 

year 2021 with USACE which includes annual options to renew through fiscal year 2030. Total 

rental revenue to GAO includes a fixed base rent plus operating expense reimbursements, with 

escalation clauses each year, if the option years are exercised by USACE.

In fiscal year 2012, GAO entered into a lease agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice 

(DOJ) to lease part of the first and sixth floors of the GAO headquarters building. The period 

of this lease began in fiscal year 2012 with an option to renew each year through fiscal year 

2022. In fiscal year 2019 additional space on the sixth floor was leased to the DOJ. This lease 

began in September 2019 and DOJ has an option to renew annually through fiscal year 2029. 

In addition to these agreements with federal entities for office space, GAO has existing 

contracts with private entities to host antennae on the headquarters building. These leases 

are for five-year terms, with options to renew for additional five-year terms, and current 

contracts extend into fiscal year 2039.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

114 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Rental revenue from space leased at the GAO headquarters building for fiscal year 2020 was 

$12,535,000 ($12,367,000 federal and $168,000 non-federal) and fiscal year 2019 $11,568,000 

($11,409,000 federal and $159,000 non-federal). These amounts are included on the 

statements of net cost as a major component of “Reimbursable services not attributable to 

above cost categories”. Total projected rental revenue for the future periods is as follows: 

Dollars in thousands

Fiscal year ending September 30 Federal Non-federal Total projected rental revenue*

2021 $15,827 $146 $15,973

2022 16,200 150 16,350

2023 14,274 155 14,429

2024 14,649 109 14,758

2025 15,032 112 15,144

2026 and thereafter 78,233 1,037 79,270

Total $154,215 $1,709 $155,924

*If options to renew are exercised.

Note 8. Leases

Operating Leases

GAO leases office space, predominately for field offices, from the U.S. General Services 

Administration (GSA) and has entered into various other operating leases for office 

communication and computer equipment. Leases in buildings owned by the federal 

government are cancelable annually. Lease costs for office space for fiscal years 2020 

and 2019 amounted to approximately $6,611,000 and $6,043,000, respectively. Leases for 

equipment under operating leases are generally for less than 1 year; therefore, there are 

no associated future minimum lease payments. Annual lease costs under the operating 

leases are included as components of net cost in the statements of net cost. These leases 

are considered federal leases, as they are with GSA, and they range from 1 to 16 years. 

Estimated future minimum lease payments are presented in the table below. 

Dollars in thousands

Fiscal year ending September 30 Total

2021 $5,354

2022 5,281

2023 4,746

2024 4,263

2025 3,733

2026 and thereafter 11,739 

Total estimated future lease payments $35,116
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 115 Financial Information

Note 9. Net Cost of Operations

GAO’s total cost of operations for fiscal year 2020 and 2019 amounted to $688,774,000 and 

$668,496,000, respectively. The statements of net cost show revenues from reimbursable 

services of $32,769,000 in fiscal year 2020 and $30,354,000 in fiscal year 2019 as an offset 

against the total cost by goal to arrive at net costs of $656,005,000 and $638,142,000 for 

fiscal years 2020 and 2019, respectively. Earned revenues that cannot be associated with 

a major goal or other cost category are shown in total as “Reimbursable services not 

attributable to above cost categories,” the largest component of which is rental revenue 

from the lease of space in the GAO headquarters building.

The largest cost item for GAO is salary and benefits expense. This expense includes postemployment benefit costs paid by OPM and imputed to GAO. The salary and benefits expense 

funding breakout for fiscal years ending September 30, 2020 and 2019 is as follows: 

Dollars in thousands

Salary and benefits expense funding 2020 % of total 

costs of 

operations

2019 % of total 

costs of 

operations

GAO paid salary and benefits $554,602 80.5% $514,150 76.9%

Benefits paid by OPM 24,097 3.5% 31,033 4.6%

Total salary and benefits expense $578,699 84.0% $545,183 81.5%

“Other costs in support of the Congress” represents costs of work that directly supports 

Congress and represents GAO’s fulfillment of its statutory responsibilities but is not 

engagement specific. Examples of this work include support of the Federal Accounting 

Standards Advisory Board, General Counsel statutory bid protest decision writing function, 

recommendation follow-up work, and other direct support to Congress.

The net cost of operations represents GAO’s operating costs that must be funded by 

financing sources other than revenues earned from reimbursable services. These financing 

sources are presented in the statements of changes in net position. 

Note 10. Budgetary Resources

Budgetary resources available to GAO during fiscal years 2020 and 2019 include current year 

appropriations, prior years’ unobligated balances, reimbursements earned by GAO from 

providing goods and services to other federal entities for a price (reimbursable services), and 

cost-sharing arrangements with other federal entities.

Reimbursements earned consist primarily of rent collected from USACE and DOJ for lease 

of space and related services in the GAO headquarters building, fees collected for training 

and technical assistance services provided by the Center for Audit Excellence, as well as 

certain program and financial audits of federal entities, including components of the U.S. 

Department of the Treasury, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Federal Housing Finance 

Agency. Reimbursements earned from rent are available indefinitely, subject to annual 

obligation ceilings, and must be used to offset the cost of operating and maintaining the 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

116 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

GAO headquarters building. Reimbursements from program and financial audits are available 

without limitations on their use and may be subject to annual obligation ceilings. GAO’s 

pricing policy for reimbursable services is to seek reimbursement for actual costs incurred, 

including overhead costs where allowed by law.

A comparison of GAO’s fiscal year 2019 statement of budgetary resources with the 

corresponding information presented in the 2021 President’s Budget, is as follows: 

Dollars in thousands

Budgetary 

resources

Obligations 

incurred Net Outlays

Fiscal year 2019 Statement of Budgetary Resources $702,290 $642,243 $598,411

Obligations and adjustments, expired accounts - (4,494) -

Unobligated balances, beginning of year – (funds activity, 

expired accounts) (3,116) - -

Recovery of prior year unpaid obligations (831) - -

Recoveries of prior year paid obligations (expired accounts) (3,092) - -

Other – rounding in President’s Budget 749 251 (411)

2021 President’s Budget – fiscal year 2019, actual $696,000 $638,000 $598,000

As the fiscal year 2022 President’s Budget will not be published until February 2021, a 

comparison between the fiscal year 2020 data reflected on the statement of budgetary 

resources and fiscal year 2020 data in the President’s Budget cannot be performed; however, 

we expect similar differences will exist. The fiscal year 2021 President’s Budget will be 

available on the OMB’s website and directly from the U.S. Government Publishing Office.

Budgetary resources obligated for undelivered orders at the end of fiscal year 2020 and fiscal 

year 2019 totaled $53,234,000 and $57,246,000, respectively. For fiscal year 2020 undelivered 

orders were comprised of $6,743,000 with federal trading partners and $46,491,000 with the 

public. For fiscal year 2019 undelivered orders were comprised of $6,711,000 with federal 

trading partners and $50,535,000 with the public.

The statements of budgetary resources ending unobligated balance for the prior year is 

adjusted for recoveries to arrive at the beginning unobligated balance for the current year. 

This is shown in the current year column of the table below:

Dollars in thousands

 2020 2019

Unobligated balance from prior year budget authority, net $70,260 $67,352

Adjustments to budgetary resources made during current year:

Downward adjustments of prior year undelivered orders (3,535) (2,626)

Downward adjustments of prior year delivered orders and other (6,678) (5,845)

Total unobligated balance, end of (prior) year $60,047 $58,881
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 117 Financial Information

Note 11. Reconciliation of Net Operating Costs and Net Outlays

Budgetary and financial accounting information differ. Budgetary accounting is used for 

planning and control purposes and relates to both the receipt and use of cash, as well as 

reporting the federal deficit. Financial accounting is intended to provide a picture of the 

federal government’s financial operations and financial position, so it presents information 

on an accrual basis. The accrual basis includes information about costs arising from the 

consumption of assets and the incurrence of liabilities. The reconciliation of net outlays, 

presented on a budgetary basis, and the net cost, presented on an accrual basis, provides an 

explanation of the relationship between budgetary and financial accounting information. The 

reconciliation serves not only to identify costs paid for in the past and those that will be paid 

in the future, but also to assure integrity between budgetary and financial accounting. The 

analysis below illustrates this reconciliation by listing the key differences between net cost 

and net outlays. Details of the relationship between net costs of operations and net outlays 

for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019 are as follows: 

Dollars in thousands

2020 2019

Net Operating Cost $656,005 $638,142

Components of Net Operating Cost Not Part of the Net Outlays

Property and Equipment Depreciation, Disposal and Revaluation (7,294) (5,915)

Increase/(decrease) in assets: 

Accounts Receivable (1,513) 1,427

(Increase)/decrease in liabilities not affecting Net Outlays:

Accounts Payable 3,015 (3,365)

Salaries and benefits (5,129) (3,505)

Other liabilities (Unfunded leave, FECA, actuarial FECA) (7,282) (1,182)

Other financing sources:

Federal employee retirement benefit costs paid by OPM and imputed to GAO* (24,098) (31,033)

Total Components of Net Operating Cost Not Part of Net Outlays (42,301) (43,573)

Components of the Net Outlays That Are Not Part of Net Operating Cost

Acquisition of capital assets 6,927 3,952

Other/ Inventory 189 (110)

Distributed offsetting receipts (147) (16)

Total Components of the Net Outlays That Are Not Part of Net Operating Cost 6,969 3,826

Agency, outlays net $620,673 $598,395

*See table in Note 5 for breakdown.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

118 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Note 12. Net Position

Net position on the balance sheets comprises unexpended appropriations and cumulative 

results of operations. Unexpended appropriations are the sum of the total unobligated 

appropriations and undelivered goods and services for funds directly appropriated to 

GAO. Cumulative results of operations represent the difference between financing sources 

and expenses since inception. Details of the components of GAO’s cumulative results of 

operations for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, and 2019, are as follows:

Dollars in thousands

2020 2019

Investment in property and equipment, net $18,897 $19,270

Net reimbursable funds activity 58,517 32,830

Other (supplies inventory and accounts receivable from public) 483 485

Liabilities not covered by, nor requiring, budgetary resources* (57,314) (50,144)

Cumulative results of operations $20,583 $2,441

*See Note 4 for components.

Note 13. COVID-19 Activity

During fiscal year 2020 GAO used resources to prepare for, and respond to, COVID-19. Part of 

these resources are covered by a COVID-19 supplemental appropriation. Enacted on March 

27, 2020, H.R. 748 “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act) included 

mandates for GAO to carry out oversight of the federal government’s response to COVID-19 

and an appropriation of $20 million for GAO to perform this work. Other audits that touched 

on COVID-19 related issues but were started prior to or did not fall under the CARES Act 

were completed using GAO’s annual appropriation. For example, ongoing audits that were 

expanded to include the impact of COVID-19 were funded out of GAO’s annual appropriation. 

Furthermore, the resources used to support our maximum telework stance and sanitationrelated enhancements are considered COVID-19 related. 

Section 19009 of the CARES Act also provides for salary reimbursements of employees 

of the Tiny Findings Child Care Center in the GAO building. Tiny Findings is a non-profit 

organization providing child care services to GAO headquarters employees and other 

interested parents. This section authorized up to $600,000 of the $20 million supplemental 

appropriation to be used for salary reimbursements between April 1, 2020 and September 

30, 2020. 

In addition, Public Law No: 116-159, the “Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other 

Extensions Act” enacted on October 1, 2020, extended the provisions of section 19009 of 

the CARES Act, authorizing GAO to reimburse the salaries incurred by Tiny Findings until the 

termination of the public health emergency declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public 

Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) resulting from the COVID–19 pandemic. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 119 Financial Information

The table below details the composition of our COVID-19 related budgetary resources and 

obligations incurred for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020 as well as budgetary 

resources remaining available beyond September 30, 2020:

Dollars in thousands

CARES ACT Appropriation GAO Annual Appropriation

Budgetary resources: $20,000 N/A

Obligations incurred:

Salaries and benefits $11,444 $1,488

Tiny Findings Child Care Center 541 -

Other 126 1,278

Obligations incurred* $12,111 $2,766

Budgetary resources remaining available 

beyond September 30, 2020 $7,889 N/A

*Generally, given the nature of these transactions, COVID-19 related costs recorded in the statements of net cost would be 

similar in amount to obligations incurred and budgetary resources used. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

120 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information

Required Supplementary Information

Deferred Maintenance and Repairs for Fiscal Year 2020

Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) 42, Deferred Maintenance 

and Repairs: Amending SFFAS 6,14, 29, and 32, defines deferred maintenance and repairs 

(DM&R) as maintenance and repairs that were not performed when they should have been or 

were scheduled to be and are put off or delayed for a future period. SFFAS No. 42 requires 

disclosure of deferred maintenance details as required supplementary information for all 

general property and equipment.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) operates and maintains an approximately two 

million square foot headquarters facility and approximately six acres of associated grounds 

in downtown Washington, DC. The headquarters facility is predominantly used for office 

space. GAO is responsible for ensuring the facilities entrusted to its care remain in a safe and 

suitable condition for the current and future needs of the agency and tenant organizations. 

GAO defines its acceptable level of condition of property and equipment to be “fair to 

good” based on the Facility Condition Index (FCI). The FCI is based on GAO facility condition 

assessments, which are updated every three to five years and identify deferred maintenance. 

Property and equipment in less than “fair” condition increases risk to continuity of 

operations and often requires significantly more maintenance than that in better condition.

For information technology (IT) assets, GAO has a fully funded technology maintenance 

contract and manages the maintenance requirements annually through the budget process, 

reviewing all maintenance requirements to ensure all assets are covered for the new fiscal 

year. For IT assets, an acceptable asset condition is met by a vendor-supported version which 

is no more than two versions behind.

GAO’s deferred maintenance and repairs relate to capitalized, non-capitalized, and fully 

depreciated general property and equipment. Maintenance and repair needs are first 

prioritized based on health, safety, and regulatory considerations. Once this is accomplished, 

needs are then ranked based on the condition ratings and condition category ratings 

obtained during the condition assessment site survey. Rankings are generally adjusted to 

take into account current capital improvement efforts underway, future capital improvement 

plans, asset disposal plans, and budgetary funding outlook.

GAO’s most recent contracted Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) was limited to mechanical, 

electrical, and plumbing assets (over $25,000) for the GAO headquarters building and was 

completed in 2016. In addition, GAO facilities staff and their contractors assess the building 

on a continuous basis. In 2017, an internal facilities assessment was performed on areas 

not covered in 2016 and GAO determined an additional deferred maintenance amount was 

needed for several areas including interior finishes and HVAC upgrades.

In fiscal year 2019 GAO reviewed the 2016 Asset Management Plan and updated costs. It is 

anticipated that GAO will conduct a full asset management study—to include architectural, 

structural, and landscape items, along with all infrastructure elements—in fiscal year 2021.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 121 Financial Information

GAO’s updated estimate of the amount of accumulated deferred maintenance and repair 

work required to bring facilities to a “fair” condition, based on the FCA and in-house 

assessments, is approximately $82.3 million as of the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 

2020.

Dollars in thousands

Deferred Maintenance and Repair Costs September 30, 2020 September 30, 2019

General property and equipment $82,271 $80,052
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

122 GAO-21-4SP Financial Information
Part IV

Inspector General’s View 

of GAO’s Management 

Challenges 

SERVING CONGRESS AND THE NATION

Source: Comstock (columns, eagle, and flag). | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

124 GAO-21-4SP Inspector General’s View of GAO’s Management Challenges

Inspector General’s Statement 

United States Government Accountability Office

Memorandum

Date: October 27, 2020

To: Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro

From: Inspector General Adam R. Trzeciak 

Subject: GAO Management Challenges

With the onset of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) GAO has added responding to the 

pandemic as a key challenge, followed by the challenges to maintain its operations and improve the 

efficiency of its engagements. I agree that responding to the difficult circumstances presented with the 

spread of COVID-19 this year is an important area of focus for GAO. I also note that GAO has been 

proactive in this area by transitioning to a maximum telework posture in March that remains in effect, 

demonstrating its attention to the health and safety of its workforce as it continues to fulfill its mission.

GAO’s reported challenge to maintain its operations is comprised of challenges identified in prior 

years including maintaining a quality workforce and a reliable, secure information technology (IT) 

framework. I believe that GAO has made, and continues to make, significant progress in these areas 

to the extent that they represent successes rather than challenges, as demonstrated by its ability to 

virtually onboard staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, completion of various IT initiatives, 

including an upgrade to its virtual desktop interface, coupled with reallocation of travel funds to bolster 

network connectivity and other IT enhancements related to expanded telework have been effective 

during the past fiscal year.

The third challenge, engagement efficiency, has been reported as a challenge for several years and, 

while essential to the agency’s mission, could also be viewed more as an area of continuous 

improvement, rather than a challenge area. GAO issued a total of 691 products during the fiscal year, 

which is noteworthy in the context of the pandemic, compared to the 678 total products issued in the 

prior fiscal year.

In commenting on GAO management challenges for fiscal year 2019, I identified infrastructure 

management as a potential challenge area, highlighting space, occupancy and other issues that 

coincide with leasing arrangements particular to GAO in Washington, D.C. at its headquarters 

building. GAO rents space to several Department of Justice entities, and the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers. In fact, GAO headquarters has remained open throughout the pandemic, in large part due 

to the needs of the Army Corps of Engineers and its support of the federal government’s response to 

COVID-19. The agency added ensuring workplace safety at GAO headquarters as another element to 

the challenge of maintaining its operations, which seems reasonable in this current environment, but 

may be more appropriately classified under the umbrella of infrastructure management as the agency 

continues to navigate its operating posture both at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and across 

its 11 field offices.
Part V

Appendixes 

SERVING CONGRESS AND THE NATION

Source: Comstock (columns, eagle, and flag). | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

126 GAO-21-4SP Abbreviations

APQA Audit Policy and Quality Assurance

ARM Applied Research and Methods

BI Business Intelligence Analytics

CAO	 Chief Administrative Officer

CBP U.S. Customs and Border Protection

CBSP Consular Border Security Programs

CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CEAR	 Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting

[the] Center	 Center for Audit Excellence

CFO	 Chief Financial Officer

CGI CGI Federal, Inc.

CMS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CPA	 Certified Public Accountant

CR Congressional Relations

CRA Congressional Review Act

CRO	 Chief Risk Officer

CSAT Customer Satisfaction Survey

CSRS Civil Service Retirement System

DATA Act	 Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014

DE&I Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DHS Department of Homeland Security

DM&R Deferred Maintenance and Repairs

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

DOJ Department of Justice

DOL	 Department of Labor

DOT Department of Transportation

DP Diplomatic Programs

DPM designated performance manager

Education Department of Education

EAP Educator’s Advisory Panel

EES	 Employee Experience Survey

EHRI Enterprise Human Resources Integration

EIDL Economic Injury Disaster Loans

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

ERM Enterprise Risk Management

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FAIS Forensic Audits and Investigative Service

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation

FASAB Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

FCA Facility Condition Assessment

FCC Federal Communications Commission

FCI	 Facility Condition Index

FDA Food and Drug Administration

FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FECA Federal Employees’ Compensation Act

FedRAMP Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program

FEGLI Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program

FEHBP	 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

Appendix I: Abbreviations 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 127 Abbreviations

FERS Federal Employees Retirement System

FEVS Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey

FFMIA	 Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996

FICA	 Federal Insurance Contributions Act

FISMA Federal Information Security Management Act

FITARA Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act

FLC	 Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

FMFIA Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act

FPDS-NG Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation

FRDAA Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act

FTE full-time equivalent

FVRA Federal Vacancies Reform Act

G-Invoicing Government Invoicing

GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

GAO	 Government Accountability Office

GAO-IG Act	 Good Accounting Obligation in Government Act

GPRA Government Performance and Results Act

GPRAMA	 GPRA Modernization Act of 2010

GSA General Services Administration 

GTAS Governmentwide TAS ATB System

HHS Department of Health and Human Services 

HUD	 Department of Housing and Urban Development

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning

IAFP International Auditor Fellowship Program

IC Intelligence Community

ICA	 Impoundment Control Act of 1974

ICD Intelligence Community Directive 

IDC INTOSAI Donor Cooperation

IG Inspector General 

IGT Intragovernmental Transactions

INTOSAI International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions 

IPERA Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2012

IPP Invoice Processing Platform

IRS Internal Revenue Service 

IT Information Technology

ITC	 Information Technology and Cybersecurity

LBFMS Legislative Branch Financial Management System

LLP	 Limited Liability Partnership

MOX Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility

NIAF The National Intergovernmental Audit Forums

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

NFC National Finance Center

NFIP National Flood Insurance Program

NIA National Interest Action

NSF National Science Foundation

ODNI	 Office of the Director of National Intelligence

OGC	 Office of General Counsel

OHS Office of Head Start

OIC Office of Internal Control

OIG	 Office of Inspector General

OMB	 Office of Management and Budget

O&M Operations and Maintenance

OO&I	 Office of Opportunity and Inclusiveness

OPM	 Office of Personnel Management
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

128 GAO-21-4SP Abbreviations

PAB Personnel Appeals Board

PAR	 Performance and Accountability Report

PPOD Procurement Policy and Oversight Division

PPP Paycheck Protection Program

PRAC	 Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

RPS-AM Results Phase System--Accomplishments Module

RSI Required Supplementary Information

SAI Supreme Audit Institution 

SEC	 Securities and Exchange Commission

SCEI Supervisory Committee on Emerging Issues

SES	 Senior Executive Service

SFFAS Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards

SBA Small Business Administration

SOP Standard Operating Procedure

SPEL	 Strategic Planning and External Liaison

SSA Social Security Administration

STAA Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics

STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

TMS talent management system

Treasury U.S. Department of the Treasury

UAS unmanned aircraft systems

U.S. United States

U.S.C. United States Code 

USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development 

USPS United States Postal Service

USPTO	 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

USSGL United States Government Standard General Ledger

VA Department of Veterans Affairs 

VDI Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

VHA Veterans Health Administration 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 129 Appendix on Data Quality

Verifying and Validating Performance Data

Each year, we measure our performance with indicators of the results of our work, client 

service, people management, and internal operations. To assess our performance, we use 

actual, rather than projected, data for almost all of our performance measures. We believe

the data are complete and reliable based on our verification and validation procedures

to ensure quality. The specific sources of the data for our annual performance measures,

procedures for independently verifying and validating these data, and the limitations of these 

data are described in table 25. See Setting Performance Targets for related information.

Table 25: How We Ensure Data Quality for Our Annual Performance Measures

Results measures

Financial benefits

Definition 

and 

background 

Our work—including our findings and recommendations—may produce benefits to the federal 

government that can be estimated in dollar terms. These benefits can result in better services 

to the public, changes to statutes or regulations, or improved government business operations. 

A financial benefit is an estimate of the federal cost reduction of agency or congressional 

actions. These financial benefits generally result from work that we completed over the past 

several years. The estimated benefit is based on actions taken in response to our work, such 

as reducing government expenditures, increasing revenues, or reallocating funds to other 

areas. Financial benefits included in our performance measures are net benefits—that is, 

estimates of financial benefits that have been reduced by the costs associated with taking the 

action that we recommended. We convert all estimates involving past and future years to their 

net present value and use actual dollars to represent estimates involving only the current year. 

In some cases, we can claim financial benefits over multiple years based on a single agency or 

congressional action. 

Financial benefits are linked to specific recommendations or other work. To claim that financial 

benefits have been achieved, our staff must file an accomplishment report documenting 

that (1) the actions taken as a result of our work have been completed or substantially 

completed, (2) the actions generally were taken within 2 fiscal years prior to the filing of 

the accomplishment report, (3) a cause-and-effect relationship exists between the benefits 

reported and our recommendation or work performed, and (4) estimates of financial benefits 

were based on information obtained from non-GAO sources. To help ensure conservative 

estimates of net financial benefits, reductions in operating costs are typically limited to 2 

years of accrued reductions, but up to 5 fiscal years of financial benefits can be claimed if 

the reductions are sustained over a period longer than 2 years. Multiyear reductions in longterm projects, changes in tax laws, program terminations, or sales of government assets are 

limited to 5 years. Financial benefits can be claimed for past or future years. For financial 

benefits involving events that occur on a regular but infrequent basis—such as the decennial 

census—we may extend the measurement period until the event occurs in order to compute 

the associated financial benefits using our present value calculator. 

Managing directors decide when their staff can claim financial benefits. A managing director 

may choose to claim a financial benefit all in 1 year or over several years, if the benefit spans 

future years and the managing director wants greater precision as to the amount of the benefit.

Data sources Our Results Phase System-Accomplishments Module (RPS-AM) provides the data for 

this measure. Teams use this web-based data system to prepare, review, and approve 

accomplishments and forward them to our APQA office for review. Once accomplishment 

reports are approved, they are loaded into our data warehouse, which feeds official reports in 

our Business Intelligence Analytics (BI). 

Appendix II: Data Quality
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

130 GAO-21-4SP Appendix on Data Quality

Verification 

and 

Validation

Our policies and procedures require us to use RPS-AM to record the financial benefits that 

result from our work. They also provide guidance on estimating those financial benefits. 

The team identifies when a financial benefit has occurred as a result of our work. The team 

develops estimates based on non-GAO sources, such as the agency that acted on our work, 

a congressional committee, or the Congressional Budget Office, and files accomplishment 

reports based on those estimates. When non-GAO estimates are not readily available, GAO 

estimates—developed in consultation with our experts, such as the Chief Economist, Chief 

Actuary, or Director for the Center for Economics—are corroborated with a knowledgeable 

program official from the executive agency involved. The estimates are reduced by significant 

identifiable offsetting costs. The team develops documentation to support accomplishments 

with evidence that meets our evidence standard, supervisors review the documentation, 

and an independent person within GAO reviews the accomplishment report. For all financial 

accomplishment reports, the managing director prepares a memorandum addressed to 

the Chief Quality Officer attesting that the accomplishment report meets our standards for 

accomplishment reporting. The memorandum specifically (1) addresses how linkage to GAO 

is established, and (2) attests that the financial benefits are claimed in accordance with our 

procedures. Beginning in fiscal year 2010, teams are also required to consult with our Center 

for Economics on the calculation for financial benefits of $500 million or more. For each of 

the financial accomplishment reports, an economist reviews and approves the methodology 

for calculating the proposed financial benefit. The assessment results are documented in the 

accomplishment’s supporting documentation and provided to the second reviewers.

The team’s managing director is authorized to approve financial accomplishment reports with 

benefits of less than $100 million. The team forwards the report to APQA, which reviews all 

accomplishment reports and approves accomplishment reports claiming benefits of about $100 

million or more. In fiscal year 2020, APQA approved accomplishment reports covering about 

99 percent of the dollar value of financial benefits we reported.

In fiscal year 2020, accomplishments of $500 million or more were also reviewed by 

independent second and third reviewers (reemployed GAO annuitants), who have substantial 

experience and knowledge of our accomplishment reporting policies and procedures. Our total 

for fiscal year 2020 reported financial benefits reflect the views of the independent reviewers.

Data 

limitations

Not every financial benefit from our work can be readily estimated or documented as 

attributable to our work. As a result, the amount of financial benefits is a conservative 

estimate. Estimates are based on information from non-GAO sources and are based on both 

objective and subjective data, and as a result, professional judgment is required in reviewing 

accomplishment reports. We believe that the verification and validation steps that we take 

minimize any adverse impact from this limitation.

Other Benefits

Definition 

and 

background

Our work—including our findings and recommendations—may produce benefits to the 

government that cannot be estimated in dollar terms. These other benefits can result in 

better services to the public, changes to statutes or regulations, or improved government 

business operations. 

Other benefits generally result from past work that we completed. Other benefits are linked to 

specific recommendations or other work that we completed over several years. To claim that 

other benefits have been achieved, staff must file an accomplishment report that documents 

that (1) the actions taken as a result of our work have been completed or substantially 

completed, (2) the actions generally were taken within the past 2 fiscal years of filing the 

accomplishment report, and (3) a cause-and-effect relationship exists between the benefits 

reported and our recommendation or work performed.

Data sources Our RPS-AM provides the data for this measure. Teams use this automated system to prepare, 

review, and approve accomplishments and forward them to APQA for its review. Once 

accomplishment reports are approved, they are loaded into our data warehouse, which feeds 

official reports in Business Intelligence Analytics (BI).
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 131 Appendix on Data Quality

Verification 

and 

validation

We use RPS-AM to record the other benefits that result from our findings and 

recommendations. Staff in the team file accomplishment reports to claim benefits resulting 

from our work. The team develops documentation to support accomplishments with evidence 

that meets our standards. Supervisors review the documentation; an independent staff 

person checks the facts of the accomplishment report; and the team’s managing director, 

director, or both approve the accomplishment report to ensure its appropriateness, including 

attribution to our work.

The team forwards the report to APQA, where it is reviewed for appropriateness. APQA provides 

summary data on other benefits to team managers, who check the data on a regular basis to 

make sure that approved accomplishments from their staff have been accurately recorded.

Data 

limitations 

The data may be underreported because we cannot always document a direct cause-andeffect relationship between our work and the resulting benefits. Therefore, the data represent a 

conservative measure of our overall contribution toward improving government.

Percentage of products with recommendations

Definition 

and 

background

We measure the percentage of our written reports and numbered correspondence issued 

in the fiscal year that included at least one recommendation. We make recommendations 

that specify actions that can be taken to improve federal operations or programs. We strive 

to ensure that recommendations are directed at resolving the cause of identified problems; 

that they are addressed to parties who have the authority to act; and that they are specific, 

feasible, and cost effective. Some of our products are informational and do not contain 

recommendations.

We track the percentage of our written products that are issued during the fiscal year 

and contain recommendations. This indicator recognizes that our products do not always 

include recommendations. Beginning in fiscal year 2015, GAO’s Performance and 

Accountability Report (PAR) no longer includes in its calculation of percentage of products 

with recommendations those products that include Matters for Congressional Consideration 

(Matters), but no recommendations to federal agencies. We did not recalculate the percentage 

of products with recommendations to exclude Matters for years prior to fiscal year 2015, 

because such products account for a very small number of the products we issue annually and, 

therefore, would not have substantively changed the results for those years. 

Data sources Our Publications Database incorporates recommendations from products as they are issued. 

The database is updated daily. 

Verification 

and 

validation

Our Information Management team enters data on recommendations into a “staging” system 

where they are reviewed for accuracy and completeness. Once reviewed, the data are posted 

to the Publications Database. We provide our managers with reports on the recommendations 

being tracked to help ensure that all recommendations have been captured and that each 

recommendation has been completely and accurately stated.

Data 

limitations

This measure is a conservative estimate of the extent to which we assist the Congress and 

federal agencies because not all products and services we provide lead to recommendations. 

For example, the Congress may request information on federal programs that is purely 

descriptive or analytical and does not lend itself to recommendations.

Past recommendations implemented 

Definition 

and 

background

We make recommendations designed to improve the operations of the federal government. 

For our work to produce financial or other benefits, federal agencies must implement these 

recommendations. As part of our audit responsibilities under generally accepted government 

auditing standards, we follow up on recommendations we have made and report to the 

Congress on their status. Experience has shown that it takes time for some recommendations 

to be implemented. For this reason, this measure is the percentage rate of implementation 

of recommendations made 4 years prior to a given fiscal year (e.g., the fiscal year 2020 

implementation rate is the percentage of recommendations made in fiscal year 2016 products 

that were implemented by the end of fiscal year 2020). Our experience has shown that if a 

recommendation has not been implemented within 4 years, it is not likely to be implemented.

Beginning in fiscal year 2015, GAO’s PAR no longer includes actions taken by the Congress 

based on GAO’s Matters in calculating past recommendations implemented. We did not 

recalculate the percentage of recommendations implemented to exclude Matters for years 

prior to fiscal year 2015 because such products account for a very small number of the 

products we issue annually and, therefore, would not have substantively changed the results 

for those years.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

132 GAO-21-4SP Appendix on Data Quality

Data sources Our Publications Database incorporates recommendations as products are issued. The 

database is updated daily. As our staff monitor implementation of recommendations, they 

submit updated information to the database.

Verification 

and 

validation

Our policies and procedures specify that our staff must verify and document that an 

agency’s reported actions are adequately being implemented. Staff update the status of the 

recommendations at least once a year by September 30th. To accomplish this, our staff may 

interview agency officials, obtain agency documents, access agency databases, or obtain 

information from an agency’s IG. Recommendations that are reported as implemented are 

reviewed by a senior executive in the team and by APQA.

Summary data are provided to the teams that issued the recommendations. The teams check 

the data regularly to make sure that the recommendations they have reported as implemented 

have been accurately recorded. We also provide the Congress and general public with access 

to a database with the status of open recommendations, which is updated daily. 

Data 

limitations

The data may be underreported because, in some cases, a recommendation may require 

more than 4 years to implement. We also may not count cases in which a recommendation 

is partially implemented. Therefore, the data represent a conservative measure of our overall 

contribution toward improving government.

Client measures

Testimonies

Definition 

and 

background

The Congress asks GAO’s senior executives to provide expert testimony at hearings on various 

issues, and these testimonies are the basis for this measure. For purposes of this performance 

measure, we define senior executives as those above the GS-15 or equivalent level. Delivering 

testimonies is one of our most important forms of communication with the Congress, and 

the number of testimonies that we are asked to deliver reflect the importance and value of 

our institutional knowledge in assisting congressional decision-making. Historically, when we 

have had multiple witnesses deliver separate testimony statements at a single hearing, we 

have counted these as a “single” testimony—effectively equating the number of hearings at 

which GAO testified with the number of testimonies we have delivered. In 2016, we modified 

this methodology to more fully account for the number of discrete testimonies that GAO’s 

senior executives are asked to deliver in a given fiscal year. Specifically, when multiple senior 

executives are asked to testify on different aspects of GAO’s work and deliver their own 

separate written testimony statements at a single hearing, we will count each testimony in the 

total count for the fiscal year. We did not recalculate the number of testimonies we delivered 

prior to 2016, because this situation occurs infrequently. However, we want to be positioned 

to fully report our testimony performance when it does occur. We will continue our practice 

of (1) not counting statements as separate when two GAO teams provide a joint statement, and 

(2) not counting statements for the record when our witness does not appear.

Data sources The data on testimonies are compiled in our Congressional Hearing System managed by staff 

in our Office of Congressional Relations (CR).

Verification 

and 

validation

The teams responding to requests for testimony are responsible for entering data into the 

Congressional Hearing System. After we have testified at a hearing, CR verifies that the data 

in the system are correct and records that the hearing took place and that the testimony was 

delivered. CR provides weekly status reports to unit managers, who check to make sure that 

the data are complete and accurate.

Data 

limitations

This measure does not include statements for the record that we prepare for congressional 

hearings. Also, this measure may be influenced by factors other than the quality of our 

performance in any specific year. The number of times that our senior executives are asked 

to testify at congressional hearings each year depends on the Congress’s agenda, and the 

number of times we are asked to testify may reflect congressional interest in work in progress 

as well as work completed that year or the previous year. To mitigate this limitation, we try to 

adjust our target to reflect cyclical changes in the congressional schedule. We also reach out 

to our clients on a continuing basis to increase their awareness of our readiness to testify at 

congressional hearings. 
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 133 Appendix on Data Quality

Timeliness

Definition 

and 

background

The likelihood that our products will be used is enhanced if they are delivered when needed 

to support congressional and agency decision-making. To determine whether our products 

are timely, we solicit feedback from the client using an electronic form. We compute the 

proportion of favorable responses to a question related to timeliness. Because our products 

often have multiple congressional clients, we often reach out to more than one congressional 

staff person per product. We send a form to key staff working for requesters of our testimony 

statements and to clients of our more significant written products—specifically, engagements 

assigned an interest level of “high” by our senior management and those requiring an 

expected investment of 500 staff days or more. One question asks the respondent whether 

the product was delivered on time. When a product that meets our criteria is released to the 

public, we electronically send relevant congressional staff an e-mail message containing 

a link to the form. When this link is accessed, the form recipient is asked to respond to the 

timeliness question using a five-point scale—”strongly agree,” “generally agree,” “neither agree 

nor disagree,” “generally disagree,” or “strongly disagree”—or to choose “not applicable/no 

answer.” For this measure, favorable responses are “strongly agree” and “generally agree.”

Data sources To identify the products that meet our criteria (testimonies and other products that are high 

interest or expected to reach 500 staff days or more), we run a query against our Publications 

Database, which is maintained by a contractor. To identify appropriate recipients of the form 

for products meeting our criteria, we ask the engagement teams to provide in our Product 

Numbering Database e-mail addresses for congressional staff serving as contacts on a 

product. Relevant information from both of these databases is fed into another database that 

is managed by CR staff. This database then combines product, form recipient, and data from 

our CR staff and creates an e-mail message with a web link to the form. CR staff serve as the 

contacts for form recipients. The e-mail message also contains an embedded client password 

and unique client identifier to ensure that a recipient is linked with the appropriate form. Our 

Client Feedback Database creates a record with the product title and number and captures the 

responses to every form sent back to us electronically.

Verification 

and 

validation

CR staff review released GAO products to check the accuracy of the addressee information in 

the Product Numbering Database. They also check the congressional staff directory to ensure 

that form recipients listed in this database appear there. In addition, our CR staff review the 

list of form recipients entered by the engagement teams and identify the most appropriate 

congressional staff person to receive a form for each client. E-mail messages that are 

inadvertently sent with incorrect e-mail addresses automatically reappear in the form approval 

system. When this happens, CR staff correct the errors and resend the e-mail message. 

Data 

limitations

Testimonies and written products that met our criteria for this measure were sent a client 

survey form, representing about 51 percent of the congressionally requested written products 

we issued during fiscal year 2020. We exclude from our timeliness measure low and mediuminterest reports expected to take fewer than 500 staff days when completed, reports addressed 

to agency heads or commissions, some reports mandated by the Congress, classified reports, 

and reports completed under the Comptroller General’s authority. Also, if a requester indicates 

that he or she does not want to complete a form, we will not send one to this person again, 

even though a product subsequently requested meets our criteria. The response rate for the 

form is 14 percent, and 97 percent of those who responded answered the timeliness question. 

We received responses from one or more people for about 41 percent of the products for which 

we sent a form in fiscal year 2020.

People measures

New hire rate

Definition 

and 

background

This performance measure is the ratio of the number of people hired to the number we 

planned to hire. Annually, we develop a workforce plan that takes into account our strategic 

goals; projected workload changes; and other changes such as retirements, other attrition, 

promotions, and skill gaps. The workforce plan for the upcoming year specifies the number of 

planned hires. The Chief Operating Officer, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Deputy Chief 

Administrative Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer, and Controller meet monthly to monitor 

progress toward achieving the workforce plan. Adjustments to the workforce plan are made 

throughout the year, if necessary, to reflect changing needs and conditions.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

134 GAO-21-4SP Appendix on Data Quality

Data sources The Executive Committee approves the workforce plan. The workforce plan is coordinated and 

maintained by CAO. Data on accessions—that is, new hires coming on board—is taken from 

a database that contains employee data from the Department of Agriculture’s National Finance 

Center (NFC) database, which handles payroll and personnel data for us and other agencies.

Verification 

and 

validation

The CAO maintains a database that monitors and tracks all our hiring offers, declinations, and 

accessions. In coordination with our Human Capital Office, our CAO staff enter workforce 

information supporting this measure into the CAO database. While the database is updated 

on a daily basis, CAO staff provide monthly reports to the Chief Operating Officer and CAO, 

which allows them to monitor progress by unit in achieving workforce plan hiring targets. The 

CAO continually monitors and reviews accessions maintained in the NFC database against its 

database to ensure consistency and to resolve discrepancies.

Data 

limitations

There is a lag of one to two pay periods (up to 4 weeks) before the NFC database reflects 

actual data. We generally allow sufficient time before requesting data for this measure to 

ensure that we get accurate results.

Retention rate

Definition 

and 

background

We continuously strive to make GAO a place where people want to work. Once we have made 

an investment in hiring and training people, we would like to retain them. This measure is one 

indicator that we are attaining that objective and is the complement of attrition. We calculate 

this measure by taking 100 percent minus the attrition rate, where attrition rate is defined as 

the number of separations divided by the average onboard strength. We calculate this measure 

with and without retirements.

Data sources Data on retention—that is, people who are on board at the beginning of the fiscal year and people 

on board at the end of the fiscal year—are taken from a CAO database that contains some data 

from the NFC database, which handles payroll and personnel data for us and other agencies.

Verification 

and 

validation

CAO staff continually monitor and review accessions and attritions against their database that 

contains NFC data and follow up on any discrepancies. In fiscal year 2009, we developed 

standard operating procedures, which are still in effect, to document how we calculate and 

ensure quality control over data relevant to this measure.

Data 

limitations

See New hire rate, Data limitations.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 135 Appendix on Data Quality

Staff development

Definition 

and 

background

Our annual employee survey is an important tool we use for assessing employees’ work 

experiences and informing strategic talent management and organizational development 

solutions. In FY 2020, we designed an enhanced instrument, our Employee Experience Survey 

(EES) (formerly, Employee Feedback Survey), to further improve our understanding of staff’s 

experiences and, in turn, help contribute to the agency’s goal to attract, retain, and develop 

exceptional talent to fulfill our mission. 

The new EES includes approximately 70 core questions, a series of demographic items, and 

an opportunity to provide written narrative feedback. The EES 2020 was web-based and 

administered to all permanent employees on board for about one month or longer. Staff were 

instructed to respond to survey questions by considering their experience over the last 12 

months. A Section 508-compliant version of the instrument was designed and provided as 

an option to all staff receiving the survey. Under Section 508, federal agencies are required 

to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. 

To ensure respondents’ confidentiality, an external contractor administered the survey and 

analyzed the data as instructed by GAO.

The EES 2020 retains key issue areas previously reported as our People Measures—Staff 

Development, Staff Utilization, Experience with Supervisors (formerly, Effective Leadership 

by Supervisors), and Organizational Climate. Organizational behavior research suggests 

that many of the issues covered across these areas are important drivers of employee 

engagement, and that such engagement can in turn have positive effects on customer service, 

teamwork, and operational performance. However, some of the specific questions within 

these sections have been enhanced, changed, or re-organized. For example, questions 

included on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey’s 

(FEVS) Employee Engagement Index that are related to our People Measures concepts were 

integrated into the relevant People Measure index. Further, in streamlining the survey, we 

developed a more holistic measurement of each of the People Measures. 

The Staff Development metric assesses level of access to and usefulness of various types of 

staff training, including both informal and formal opportunities.

Data sources The Staff Development index score is based on staff’s favorable responses to six EES 

items about staff development. Staff are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree or 

disagree with various statements about staff development on a 5-point scale, ranging from 

strongly agree to strongly disagree. Staff are also provided an option to indicate “no basis to 

judge.” Favorable responses include the two most positive response categories—strongly 

agree and agree.

The staff development items include the following: (1) I have access to the training I need to 

do my job well; (2) I am able to take advantage of formal or informal professional development 

opportunities so that I am prepared to take on new tasks on the job; (3) The on-the-job training 

that I received helps me to do my job well; (4) The external training or conferences I attended 

help me to do my job well; (5) The internal (Learning Center) courses I took help me to do my 

job well; and (6) The team-led training and knowledge sharing events I participated in help me 

to do my job well. 

To determine the index score, we calculated the percentage of staff selecting a favorable 

response across all six questions among those who selected a response on the 5-point scale. 

“No basis to judge” responses were excluded from the calculation. While including “no basis to 

judge” in the index calculation would result in a different index score, our method of calculation 

is an acceptable survey practice, and we believe it produces a more valid measure because it 

represents the experience of only those employees who have a basis to judge the issue.

Verification 

and 

validation

The EES gathers staff’s opinions on a variety of workplace topics. Staff are provided with a 

unique survey link and access code, to which only the external contractor has access. The 

revised EES 2020 instrument—including all questions and instructions, as well as the webbased design and navigation—was pre-tested with staff across the agency to help ensure that 

the survey was clear, logical, effective, and provided a positive user experience. Questions, 

instructions, and design were refined through an iterative process to improve the survey quality. 

In FY 2020, the EES response rate was about 77 percent, which indicates that results are 

largely representative of the GAO population. In addition, work units receive their respective 

results, enabling them to understand or further analyze unit experiences and outcomes.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

136 GAO-21-4SP Appendix on Data Quality

Data 

limitations

The results obtained from the survey reflect staff’s self-reported opinions under conditions of 

confidentiality. Accordingly, there is no way to further validate those expressions of opinion.

The practical difficulties of conducting any survey may introduce errors, commonly referred 

to as nonsampling errors. For example, these errors could result from respondents 

misinterpreting a question or data entry staff incorrectly entering data into a database used to 

analyze the survey responses. Such errors can introduce unwanted variability into the survey 

results. We took steps in survey development to minimize nonsampling errors. Specifically, 

we conducted multiple rounds of pre-testing for both the survey content and survey webdesign to reduce the likelihood of respondents misinterpreting questions or erroneously 

navigating the survey. We also created a web-based survey for which respondents entered 

their answers directly into an electronic questionnaire, eliminating the possibility for potential 

errors in staff data entry.

Staff utilization

Definition 

and 

background

The Staff Utilization metric assesses how well employees understand the purpose and value of 

their work, as well as how their work engages their talents. 

For background about the EES 2020, see Staff Development, Definition and background.

Data sources The Staff Utilization index score is based on staff’s favorable responses to five EES items 

about staff utilization. Staff are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree 

with various statements about staff utilization on a 5-point scale, ranging from strongly agree 

to strongly disagree. Staff are also provided an option to indicate “do not know.” Favorable 

responses include the two most positive response categories—strongly agree and agree.

The Staff Utilization items include the following: (1) My talents are used well in the workplace; 

(2) I know how my work relates to the agency’s goals; (3) The work I do is important; (4) My 

workload is reasonable; and (5) In general, I am utilized effectively.

To determine the index score, we calculated the percentage of staff selecting a favorable 

response across all five questions among those who selected a response on the 5-point scale. 

“Do not know” responses were excluded from the calculation. While including “do not know” 

in the index calculation would result in a different index score, our method of calculation is 

an acceptable survey practice, and we believe it produces a more valid measure because it 

represents the experience of only those employees who believe they have the knowledge to 

provide an opinion on the issue.

Verification 

and 

validation

See Staff development, Verification and validation.

Data 

limitations

See Staff development, Data limitations.

Experience with supervisors

Definition 

and 

background

The Experience with Supervisors metric focuses specifically on staff’s official supervisor, 

referred to as the designated performance manager (DPM). This role applies to staff across 

the agency at all levels, and enables us to elicit consistent feedback on our key supervisor role. 

Our Experience with Supervisors index is therefore comprised of the core DPM questions. 

One additional question asking staff to evaluate their DPMs overall was included on the 

survey. However, the overall question was excluded from the index because it uses a different 

scale and the items comprising the index collectively provide a robust evaluation of DPMs. 

The EES additionally provides staff who may have another person directing their day-to-day 

work an opportunity to respond about their additional supervisor. As these questions were not 

applicable for all staff, they are excluded from the index. 

For background about the EES 2020, see Staff Development, Definition and background.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 137 Appendix on Data Quality

Data sources The Experience with Supervisors index score is based on staff’s favorable responses to 13 

EES items about staff’s DPM. Staff are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree or 

disagree with various statements about their DPM on a 5-point scale, ranging from strongly 

agree to strongly disagree. Favorable responses include the two most positive response 

categories—strongly agree and agree.

The Experience with Supervisors items include the following: (1) My DPM treats me fairly; (2) 

My DPM gives me actionable feedback on a regular basis; (3) My DPM acts with honesty and 

integrity toward me; (4) My DPM makes sufficient effort to seek out and value my perspective; 

(5) My DPM gives me the sense that my work contributions are valued; (6) My DPM makes 

decisions in a timely manner; (7) My DPM sets clear goals and priorities for me; (8) My DPM 

demonstrates GAO’s core values of accountability, integrity, and reliability; (9) My DPM 

supports my need to balance work and other life issues; (10) My DPM respects and values 

differences among individuals (e.g., sex, race, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, 

cultural background, disability); (11) My DPM listens to what I have to say; (12) My DPM treats 

me with respect; and (13) I have trust and confidence in my DPM. 

To determine the index score, we calculated the percentage of staff selecting a favorable 

response across all 13 questions among those who responded to the questions.

Verification 

and 

validation

See Staff development, Verification and validation.

Data 

limitations

See Staff development, Data limitations.

Organizational climate

Definition 

and 

background

The Organizational Climate metric assesses important interpersonal and communication 

dynamics, and staff’s general experience and connection to their work. In assessing these 

issues, this metric includes items aligned with GAO’s people core values, which include 

valuing, respecting, and treating staff fairly.

For background about the EES 2020, see Staff Development, Definition and background.

Data sources The Organizational Climate index score is based on staff’s favorable responses to nine EES 

items about the organizational climate within their work unit and at GAO more generally. Staff 

are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with various statements 

about organizational climate on a 5-point scale, ranging from strongly agree to strongly 

disagree. Favorable responses include the two most positive response categories—strongly 

agree and agree.

The Organizational Climate items include the following: (1) I feel respected by the people I work 

with in my work unit; (2) Others in my work unit treat me fairly; (3) Sufficient effort is made to 

seek out and value each person’s perspectives in my work unit; (4) It is easy to collaborate with 

others in my work unit; (5) Communication in my work unit is effective; (6) I know what I need 

to do to be successful in my role; (7) I feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of 

doing things; (8) My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment; and (9) I know what 

is expected of me on the job.

To determine the index score, we calculated the percentage of staff selecting a favorable 

response across all nine questions among those who responded to the questions.

Verification 

and 

validation

See Staff development, Verification and validation.

Data 

limitations

See Staff development, Data limitations.
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

138 GAO-21-4SP Appendix on Data Quality

Internal operations measures

Help get job done, improve quality of work life, and IT tools

Definition 

and 

background

To measure how well we are delivering internal administrative services to our employees 

and identify areas for improvement, we conduct a web-based CSAT survey. The survey asks 

employees to indicate how satisfied they are with services that help them get their jobs done, 

services that affect their quality of work life, and IT tools. We administered the survey for 2 

weeks in June 2020. We excluded anyone hired after May 9, 2020, since they had limited 

GAO experience. This year, we extended the survey to those in the Personnel Appeals Board 

(PAB) and the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) as they rely on our 

administrative services to do their jobs. 

Data sources These data come from our employees’ responses to a web-based survey. To determine how 

satisfied our employees are with internal administrative services, we calculate composite 

scores for three measures. No weighting or other adjustments were made. The composite 

score calculation is made by adding all of the generally and very satisfied ratings across 

all of the relevant services and dividing it by the number of respondents who provided any 

satisfaction rating. Of the three composite scores that we calculate, one measure reflects 

satisfaction with the services that help employees get their jobs done, such as records 

management, information technology customer support, mail services, and travel support 

services. The second measure reflects satisfaction with services that affect quality of work life. 

These services include assistance related to pay and leave, building maintenance and security, 

and transit benefits. The third measure is for IT tools, such as our engagement management 

system, tools for working remotely, and the intranet. Some minor wording adjustments were 

made on a few service areas to better reflect how those services are currently delivered. As in 

prior years, staff were also able to provide written comments about each service. 

Verification 

and 

validation

The survey was administered by GAO’s Web Product Development Group in the ARM team. 

While the two managers of this unit can access individual responses, they complied with the 

privacy statement that was posted on the website to only provide aggregated data to GAO 

management that could not be used to identify responses of any individual. To accomplish 

this for staff who were in the field, we reported on their field location and did not include their 

team. For staff in headquarters, we included only their team. This year, we added a question on 

whether employees recommend GAO as a good place to work. We did this in order to assess 

the relationship of this question to other surveys. Each unit responsible for administrative 

services will conduct follow-on work, including analyzing written comments to gain a better 

understanding of the information from the survey and developing action plans to address 

problem areas. 

Data 

limitations

The information contained in the survey is the self-reported opinions of staff expressed under 

conditions of confidentiality. We do not plan any actions to remedy this limitation because 

we feel it would violate the pledge of confidentiality that we make to our staff regarding the 

survey responses.

The practical difficulties of conducting any survey may introduce errors, commonly referred 

to as nonsampling errors. These errors could result, for example, from respondents 

misinterpreting a question or entering their data incorrectly. Such errors can introduce 

unwanted variability into the survey results. We limit the chances of introducing nonsampling 

errors by using a web-based survey for which respondents enter their answers directly into an 

electronic questionnaire. This eliminates the need to have the data entered into a database by 

someone other than the respondent, thus minimizing a potential source of error.

Source: GAO. | GAO-21-4SP
GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020

GAO-21-4SP 139

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listed adjacent to the image or graphic. 

Front cover: Comstock (eagle and flag).

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