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Employment Opportunities

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GAO at aGlance

Agency Head 

Gene L. Dodaro

Comptroller General

of the United States

Staff 

Approximately 3,510 employees

Budget Authority

$842.3 million in FY23

Financial Benefits 

from GAO Work

$55.6 billion in FY 2022 

(About a $74 return per 

dollars invested in GAO)

GAO Headquarters

Washington, D.C. 

Other Locations 

Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL;

Dallas, TX; Dayton, OH; Denver, CO;

Huntsville, AL; Los Angeles, CA;

Norfolk, VA; Oakland, CA;

and Seattle, WA

For more information, go to GAO’s

website at www.gao.gov

MAKING a DIFFERENCE for CONGRESS and the NATION

Rev. 08/23

Image sources: all images GAO.
Agency History

Concerned by the mounting national debt from World War I,

Congress sought better information on and greater control over 

government spending. 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 its early years, GAO mainly did voucher auditing. Audit 

clerks reviewed stacks of paperwork documenting agency 

payments and purchases. After World War II, GAO began 

to do more comprehensive financial audits that examined 

the economy and efficiency of government operations. In the 

1960s, the agency began to get into the type of work it is known 

for today—performance audits—which examine whether 

government programs are meeting their objectives.

GAO’s senior officials regularly testify before Congress on an array of issues affecting 

virtually every federal program and activity.

Recent GAO reports have looked at a wide range of issues, 

including food safety, cybersecurity, the nation’s retirement 

system, higher education, postal operations, the security of 

election infrastructure, diversity and inclusion, the federal 

prison system, major weapons programs, space exploration, 

veterans’ health care, and the fiscal challenges facing the federal 

government. GAO’s Science, Technology Assessment, and 

Analytics Team is providing policymakers with key insights on 

cutting-edge topics such as artificial intelligence, braincomputer interface, deep-sea mining, vaccine development, 

blockchain, and persistent chemicals. GAO has also continued to 

play a key role in monitoring spending of the over $4 trillion 

coronavirus federal response.

GAO’s Mission

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an 

independent agency in the legislative branch of the federal 

government. Commonly known as the “investigative arm of 

Congress” or the “congressional watchdog,” GAO examines how 

taxpayer dollars are spent and advises lawmakers and agency 

heads on ways to make government work better. 

GAO exists to support 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. It provides Congress with 

timely information that is objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, 

nonideological, fair, and balanced. GAO is unique among 

legislative branch support agencies in that its reports often 

present original data and professional analyses drawn from 

extensive fieldwork. 

Every GAO report reflects the agency’s core values. The 

mission values of accountability, integrity, and reliability 

require strict professional standards of review and referencing; 

all facts and analyses in GAO work are thoroughly checked 

for accuracy. The people values of valuing, respecting, and 

treating staff fairly are equally essential to GAO’s success.

Most GAO work is done at the request of congressional 

committees or subcommittees or is mandated by public laws 

or committee reports. GAO also undertakes research under 

the authority of the Comptroller General. GAO supports 

congressional oversight by

z auditing agency operations to determine whether federal 

funds are being spent efficiently and effectively;

z investigating allegations of illegal and improper 

activities;

z reporting on how well government programs and policies 

are meeting their objectives;

z performing policy analyses and outlining options for 

congressional consideration; and 

z issuing legal decisions and opinions, such as bid protest 

rulings and reports on agency rules.

GAO firmly believes in transparency and keeping the American 

people as informed as possible about their government’s 

performance. To that end, GAO publicly reports what it 

finds. Almost every GAO report and testimony is available on 

the agency’s website on the day it is made public. GAO also 

continues to expand its presence on digital and social media.

GAO’s Workforce

GAO is headed by the Comptroller General of the United 

States, who is appointed to a 15-year term—one of the 

longest in government. Gene L. Dodaro became the eighth 

Comptroller General of the United States on December 22, 

2010, when he was confirmed by the Senate after having been 

chosen by the President from a bipartisan, bicameral list 

of candidates proposed by Congress. A career civil servant, 

Mr. Dodaro previously held a number of key executive posts 

at GAO.

GAO’s independence is further safeguarded by the fact that 

its workforce consists of career employees hired on the basis 

of their knowledge, skills, and abilities. GAO’s diverse staff 

includes economists, social scientists, accountants, public 

policy analysts, attorneys, and information technology 

experts, as well as specialists in such fields as foreign policy, 

health care, computer security, and science and technology.

Oversight, Insight, and Foresight

GAO provides Congress with oversight of federal programs, 

insight into ways to improve government, and foresight into 

long-term trends. Although much of its work reviews the 

effectiveness of day-to-day government operations, GAO 

also stays alert to emerging issues that warrant lawmakers’ 

attention. For example, GAO has analyzed the challenges 

posed by new security threats and globalization and has 

raised concerns about the nation’s growing fiscal imbalance 

and the problems plaguing the health care and retirement 

systems. Designed to help guide future audit work, GAO’s 

strategic plan for fiscal years 2022-2027 identifies a number 

of key trends that are expected to have a major impact on the 

federal government and society as a whole. 

Agency Performance Measures

Financial benefits from GAO work in fiscal year 2022 totaled 

$55.6 billion—a return of about $74 dollars per dollars 

invested in GAO. GAO’s average return on investment for the 

past 5 years is $145 to $1. GAO also identified 1,262 other 

benefits that shaped legislation and improved services in such 

key areas as public safety and security. 

In fiscal year 2022, GAO issued nearly 535 reports, many 

suggesting ways to strengthen government programs and 

policies. The agency tracks the status of its recommendations. 

The implementation rate for recommendations made 

four-years ago is 77 percent. Last year, GAO witnesses 

testified 72 times before 43 separate congressional 

committees and subcommittees.