GAO Update

Prepared for The Auditor’s Report, Summer 2008

By Jeanette Franzel and Maxine Hattery**

GAO Bids Farewell to Former CG Walker, Welcomes Acting CG Dodaro
Comptroller General David M. Walker resigned March 12, 2008, in order to accept the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the newly established Peter G. Peterson Foundation. During more than 9 years as Comptroller General, Mr. Walker led a major transformation effort at the GAO and worked domestically and internationally to modernize the accountability profession. He has been an outspoken, nonpartisan advocate for taking action to meet the nation’s major fiscal sustainability challenge, and he plans to continue with that mission in his new position.

Taking over the leadership as Acting Comptroller General is Gene Dodaro, who served in the number two leadership position in the agency for the last 9 years. As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Dodaro led the development of GAO’s strategic plans for serving the Congress and improving government in the 21st century. He also directed GAO’s high-risk program, which focuses attention on and proposes solutions for major management challenges across the federal government. Mr. Dodaro likewise played a key role in guiding the agency’s efforts to highlight current and emerging issues that warrant attention from policymakers. His management efforts ensured that GAO met the Congress’s need for reliable, timely, and relevant information on government operations. Mr. Dodaro also oversaw the development and issuance of hundreds of reports and testimonies to the Congress annually.

Mr. Dodaro joined GAO in June 1973 and held executive positions in its General Government and Accounting and Financial Management Divisions. In 1993, he was named Assistant Comptroller General for Accounting and Information Management, the post he held until 1999, when he became GAO's second in command. Throughout his career, Mr. Dodaro has been involved with key government accountability and management issues, including leading the first-ever audit of comprehensive financial statements covering all federal departments and agencies for fiscal year 1997—one of the largest and most complex audits in history. He helped conceive GAO’s strategy for improving computer security throughout government and led the updating of standards for internal control in the federal government. And he has played an important role in representing the agency in the accountability community and at conferences and meetings, both in United States and abroad.

Mr. Dodaro has testified many times before the Congress and has worked closely with the Congress and various administrations on major management reform initiatives, including the 1994 Government Management Reform Act, which expanded the Chief Financial Officers Act; the revised 1995 Paperwork Reduction Act and the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, which require agencies to implement modern management practices for information technology management; and the 1996 refinements to the Single Audit Act, which outlines requirements for audits of federal assistance to state and local governments.

GAO Plans for Presidential Transition 2009

1. The first change in presidential administrations in eight years is less than a year away. The transfer of power will bring with it a new cohort of presidential appointees and others new to the ways and intricacies of the federal government. To make this transition as smooth as possible for all involved, federal agencies will help guide the newcomers and GAO will play an important role. Already, GAO has begun to plan for fulfilling its legislative mandate to advise to the incoming administration, and to help orient new members of Congress as well.
   
   
2. Formal provision for the orderly transfer of executive power from one presidential administration to the next was enacted in the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, which provides for federal funding and requires financial disclosures by presidential appointees. In 2000, as transition grew more complex, the act was amended with provisions for the training of presidential appointees. This orientation process carries particular significance for an incoming administration that, for the first time since 1952, will be the administration of a President who was not the incumbent President or Vice President.

As the investigative arm of Congress and charged with helping to improve the performance and accountability of the federal government, GAO will reach out to new cabinet members and their staff with an objective view of what is working, areas of biggest risk, and recommendations that need to be implemented. GAO is preparing reports, transition Web sites, and other materials that will highlight the government’s major management challenges at individual agencies and governmentwide. This effort includes an update of the high-risk list, with the addition of the 2010 Census. Given the security concerns entailed by the first post-9/11 presidential transition, GAO will review agency plans, with a particular focus on homeland security. Finally, GAO will monitor the transition to capture and highlight lessons learned for possible future revisions to the Presidential Transition Act.

GAO’s transition reports will be available, as they are completed, at http://www.gao.gov/pas.html.

GAO Hosts Mini-Fellowship for Iraqi Auditors
Six professionals from Iraq’s Bureau of Supreme Audit (BSA) spent six weeks at GAO in February and March learning the basics of performance auditing. The objective of the program was to help further develop the capacity of Iraq’s BSA as it strives to fulfill its role in ensuring proper oversight and accountability for the expenditure of funds in Iraq.

The program was developed in response to a request for help from BSA president Abdulbasit Turki Saeed. GAO provided the training under a memorandum of understanding with the State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Designed especially for the Iraqi visitors, the program was an abbreviated version of the course of study offered to auditors from around the world through the International Auditor Fellowship Program.

In addition to classes on GAO’s approach to performance auditing, the visitors received briefings from and attended meetings with officials from other organizations, including the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction (SIGIR), Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance, and the Office of Government Ethics. The USDA Graduate School also provided training to supplement GAO’s curriculum. Aiding the students throughout the training was a new, Arabic translation of the latest edition of the Yellow Book and related forms and templates. To help them spread the wealth of their knowledge on their return to BSA, the students also took a course in basic instructional skills.

Selected Reports and Testimonies

DOD Health Care: Mental Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Screening Efforts Implemented, but Consistent Pre-Deployment Medical Record Review Policies Needed GAO-08-615, May 30, 2008

Combating Terrorism: U.S. Efforts to Address the Terrorist Threat in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas Require a Comprehensive Plan and Continued Oversight GAO-08-820T, May 20, 2008

The Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: April 2008 Update GAO-08-783R, May 16, 2008

Workforce Development: Community Colleges and One-Stop Centers Collaborate to Meet 21st Century Workforce Needs GAO-08-547, May 15, 2008

Higher Education: Multiple Higher Education Tax Incentives Create Opportunities for Taxpayers to Make Costly Mistakes GAO-08-717T, May 1, 2008

Highlights of a Forum Convened by the Comptroller General of the United States: Improving the Federal Government's Financial Management Systems GAO-08-447SP, April 16, 2008

Highlights of a Forum Convened by the Comptroller General of the United States: Strengthening the Use of Risk Management Principles in Homeland Security GAO-08-627SP, April 15, 2008

Stabilizing and Rebuilding Iraq: Actions Needed to Address Inadequate Accountability over U.S. Efforts and Investments GAO-08-568T, March 11, 2008

Housing Government-Sponsored Enterprises: A Single Regulator Will Better Ensure Safety and Soundness and Mission Achievement GAO-08-563T, March 6, 2008

Hedge Funds: Regulators and Market Participants Are Taking Steps to Strengthen Market Discipline, but Continued Attention Is Needed GAO-08-200, January 24, 2008

State and Local Governments: Growing Fiscal Challenges Will Emerge during the Next 10 Years GAO-08-317, January 22, 2008

Audits of Public Companies: Continued Concentration in Audit Market for Large Public Companies Does Not Call for Immediate Action GAO-08-163, January 9, 2008

Audits of Public Companies: Survey of Public Accounting Firms and Public Companies (GAO-08-164SP, January 2008), an E-supplement to GAO-08-163 GAO-08-164SP, January 9, 2008

Energy Markets: Increasing Globalization of Petroleum Products Markets, Tightening Refining Demand and Supply Balance, and Other Trends Have Implications for U.S. Energy Supply, Prices, and Price Volatility GAO-08-14, December 20, 2007

**Jeanette Franzel, Director, Financial Management and Assurance; Maxine Hattery, Financial Management and Assurance; U.S. Government Accountability Office.

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