GAO Updateby Jeanette Franzel and Maxine Hattery**GAO Hosts INTOSAI Global Task Force Meeting In establishing the task force the board explained: “The current financial crisis presents many challenges to countries around the world, including supreme audit institutions (SAI). It demands even greater efforts by SAIs to help provide accountability and lessons learned for their governments. Although SAIs differ in their legal authorities and mandates, SAIs are generally well positioned to provide independent and objective analysis of these events and can contribute much to efforts to address them.” The purpose of the first in-person meeting of the task force (the first meeting, a teleconference, was held in February) is to build members’ knowledge of financial and economic matters related to the crisis and encourage a sharing of knowledge among SAIs to help governments and the global community respond to the crisis. Members met to exchange views and hear from experts in the fields of finance, economics, public policy, international development, and public sector audit and accounting. Guest speakers included representatives of the National Economic Council, the World Bank, and other bodies. Former Comptroller General Charles Bowsher moderated a panel discussion on reforms, transparency, and accountability. Delegates representing 24 of the task force’s 25 members—Austria, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela—gave presentations on and discussed a range of issues related to the globalization of mortgage finance; causes of the global downturn; attempts to avert and actions taken to minimize the current crisis; financial reforms, transparency, and accountability; the impact of accounting standards on financial statements and international standard-setting; economic recovery; challenges to SAIs; and SAI international engagement. GAO Adds Postal Service’s Financial Condition to “High-Risk” List With challenging economic conditions and a changing business environment, GAO told Congress in a committee hearing, mail volume is dropping substantially and revenues are declining. USPS projects a net loss of $7 billion this fiscal year, with outstanding debt increasing to over $10 billion, and a cash shortfall of about $1 billion. USPS also expects that its projected losses will continue in fiscal year 2010. USPS has relied on growth in mail volume to help sustain its operations. During the past decade, however, businesses and consumers have increasingly turned from traditional mail delivery to electronic communication alternatives. GAO recommended that USPS consider consolidating operations, closing unneeded facilities, and reducing its workforce. The long-term challenge is to restructure USPS operations, networks, and workforce to reflect changes in mail volume, revenue, and use of mail. Keep in Touch with GAO YouTube. On the video-sharing service, YouTube, GAO has so far posted 30 videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/usgao) covering such topics as the Recovery Act, GAO’s High Risk Series, and the presidential transition. The most-viewed to date is a recruitment video, “More Than Numbers,” based on news coverage of GAO’s work. It ends with Sen. Joseph Lieberman calling GAO “the closest thing we have to Paul Revere.” A June 2009 CNN report, “Inside the GAO,” gives a journalist’s view. Other videos are extracted from GAO Web pages or online versions of GAO reports. One video illustrates a GAO investigation of security measures at federal-government buildings. It begins with a covert investigator being let through and continues, in actual time and slow motion, with explosions of the IEDs that could be put together from materials like those the investigators carried through security gates. Twitter. Through the networking and microblogging service, Twitter, GAO alerts subscribers when a GAO product is issued. There are currently two Twitter feeds, one for reports and testimony (https://twitter.com/usgao) and another for legal products (https://twitter.com/usgaolegal). To follow GAO work, users can go to one of these links, set up their own Twitter account, and then automatically receive notices whenever GAO releases a product. Homeland Security: Preliminary Results Show Federal Protective Service’s Ability to Protect Federal Facilities Is Hampered By Weaknesses in Its Contract Security Guard Program, GAO-09-859T, July 8, 2009; http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-859T. Dacey Named Outstanding CPA in Government “He has taken on some of the most daunting challenges in federal government accounting and auditing and has led the way to better and more accountable government,” Acting Comptroller General Dodaro said in nominating Mr. Dacey for the award. “He has the ability to target, among the myriad financial management challenges that government faces, those where action can produce results that make a real difference in the effectiveness of our government”. The award specifically recognizes Mr. Dacey for his role in leading the first financial audits of the consolidated financial statements of the United States. His work on the governmentwide audit led to the development of the Citizens Guide, first issued in 2007, to provide Congress and the public with easy-to-understand summary financial information about the government. Mr. Dacey developed financial and information security audit methodologies used throughout the government audit community. His efforts have also contributed to the passage of key management improvement legislation. Dacey has also played a key role in enhancing accounting and auditing standards both domestically and internationally. Assessing the Reliability of Computer-Processed Data San Francisco Office Gives Students Lessons on What It’s Like to Work for GAO On their day at GAO, the students got a brief overview of the engagement process before breaking into small workshop groups facilitated by analysts and beginning with a mock request letter based on an actual GAO report. The day ended with a panel on GAO’s Professional Development Program for new auditors and analysts joining GAO. Similar PPIA programs are sponsored by the University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton, and the University of Maryland. The goal of the program is to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in public service. GAO is looking at extending opportunities like the one in San Francisco to other university PPIA programs. And for PPIA graduates from Berkeley, GAO internship opportunities will be posted on a Berkeley electronic bulletin board. For more information, consult Becky Cash at cashr@gao.gov or 202-512-5607. **Jeanette Franzel, Managing Director, Financial Management and Assurance; |