Page 1 of 2

Executive Summary

The Good Accounting Obligation in Government Act (GAO-IG Act) requires each agency to 

include, in its annual budget justification, a report that identifies each public recommendation 

issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the agency's inspectors general 

(IGs) which has remained unimplemented for one year or more from the annual budget 

justification submission date. In addition, the Act requires a reconciliation between the agency 

records and the IGs' Semiannual Report to Congress (SAR) report. In compliance with the 

GAO-IG Act, Treasury has included a report listing each public recommendation from GAO, 

Treasury's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and Treasury Inspector General for Tax 

Administration (TIGTA). Information used to create this report was obtained from the 

Treasury's audit management system, GAO website, and Treasury IGs' SARs. 

For recommendations Treasury agreed with, this report provides timelines for full 

implementation of the planned corrective actions. For implemented recommendations, this 

report indicates their status as "Implemented. Pending auditor validation." For 

recommendations Treasury disagreed with or did not implement due to budgetary constraints or 

other factors, this report indicates their status as either "Rejected" or "On Hold," respectively. 

For recommendations where Treasury did not formally respond or take action, this report 

indicates “No Action Taken.” 

Reporting Methodology and Report Structure

This report includes GAO, OIG, and TIGTA reports issued from 4/1/2011 – 3/31/2018 (7 years 

per Treasury’s record retention policy) that remained open for a year or more before the Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2020 Congressional Justification date (April 2019). 

The report has six (6) parts: 

Appendix 1: A report listing GAO recommendations and their implementation status. 

Appendix 2: A report listing OIG recommendations and their implementation status.

Appendix 2a: A reconciliation of agency's records to the OIG SAR (FY 2018 Fall issue).

Appendix 3: A report listing TIGTA recommendations and their implementation status.

Appendix 3a: A reconciliation of agency's records to the TIGTA SAR (FY 2018 Fall issue).

Appendix A: A listing of acronyms used throughout this report.

***Disclaimer***: The current reporting methodology and structure are subject to change as 

OMB has yet to issue guidance on how agencies shall implement the GAO-IG Act. The current 

report includes reconciliation with Treasury IGs’ SARs as required by the Act, and may or may 

not include GAO’s High Risk list, GAO’s Priority Recommendations list, and Treasury IGs 

Management Challenges.
Page 2 of 2

Implementation Status of Open Recommendations

Out of a total of 290 recommendations, 145 have been implemented and are awaiting auditor 

verification, 108 have corrective actions in progress, and 37 are in rejected, on hold or no actions 

taken status. 

Open Recommendations By Audit Area

Out of a total of 290 recommendations, the top four audit areas of Tax Administration and 

Compliance, Program Operations, Financial Statements, and Information Technology account for 

89% of all open recommendations.

* 14 out of 47 open recommendations in the Financial Statements audit area are related to the process of 

preparing the Consolidated Financial Statements of the U.S. Government. Treasury requires government-wide 

coordination and assistance from other agencies in order to fully implement these recommendations.

51

32

25

142

3

23

14

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

GAO OIG TIGTA

Corrective Actions in Progress

Implemented and Awaiting

Auditor Verification

Rejected, On Hold, or No Action

Taken

2

5

11

14

47

54

60

97

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Acquisition and Procurement

Administration of Program Operations

Improper Payments

Banking and Lending

Financial Statements

Information Technology

Administration of Program Operations

Tax Administration and Compliance

*

*