U.S. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE PROGRAM AND PERFORMANCE The fiscal year 1983 budget request allows for no growth in staff levels above that approved by the Congress for fiscal years 1981 and 1982. This request supports compensation for an average position level of 5,100 and overall provides for a six percent increase in appropriation above the level that would be available to GAO in FY 1982. The six percent increase is necessary to provide for the cost of inflation and other mandatory costs without reducing current operating levels. About 60 percent of the increase is related to mandatory costs that must be paid in response to either a requirement of law or necessary employee compensation. Of the balance of the increase 23 percent is related to the cost of inflation anticipated to result from vendor cost increases and 17 percent is associated with either increased service from vendors or restoration of funding to the minimum necessary to assure that GAO can provide useful, timely information to the Congress. This budget request is the minimum necessary to maintain current services. Barring any unforeseen significant change in mission or workload, the Comptroller General believes the curent level of 5,100 average positions to be satisfactory for an effective GAO and will seek to maintain that level. Maximizing GAO's Effectiveness GAO is aggressively seeking to achieve the maximization of its effectiveness with the resources available to it. One action GAO has taken in recent years to achieve this goal is placing special emphasis on those reviews which are explicitly oriented toward the identification of potential savings. Effectiveness of this emphasis is evidenced in the actions taken by the Congress and the executive branch in fiscal year 1981 on GAO's recommendations, thereby saving the federal government $8.5 billion--about $7.6 billion in savings resulting from Congressional action on GAO recommendations and $890 million in executive branch implementation of GAO recommendations. These savings equal 40 times the amount appropriated to GAO in fiscal year 1981. As large as these savings are, they are very conservatively computed. They include one-time savings and, where multi-year savings result from GAO recommendations, include only savings realized during the first year of implementation. Moreover, these savings are only those that are quantifiable and do not include the extensive financial savings of GAO recommendations which cannot be readily or adequately measured. Many savings resulting from management improvements cannot be measured nor can improvements which make programs more effective, but not necessarily at less cost. For example, as a result of one GAO report, the Food and Drug Administration initiated a concerted effort to prevent the marketing of raw meat and poultry containing potentially harmful residues. In another, GAO recommended that the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior take immediate action to correct health and safety problems in national forests and parks, respectively. The concerns of the Congress and the American public for efficiency and effectiveness of government can scarcely be overstated. These savings, both quantifiable and non-quantifiable, demonstrate the significant way in which GAO supports the the Congress in addressing these concerns. Another effort undertaken by GAO in the past year to maximize its effectiveness is the reemphasis of a longstanding policy that responds to concerns expressed by the House Committee on Appropriations in its report on the Supplemental Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1981. For many years the principal focus of GAO work has been on improving the operations and effectiveness of government agencies and programs, and on eliminating waste wherever it is found. To reemphasize the importance of this focus, a policy statement was issued that requires an assessment of all jobs to assure that they are properly oriented. Specifically, this policy requires that GAO work should (1) have a direct bearing on improved management or more effective redistribution of existing Federal funds for Federal programs or activities, or (2) make a direct and important contribution to the debate on major issues expected to be before the Congress within the next 2 or 3 years. Audit and Evaluative Structure GAO's purpose is to provide the Congress with reports that are specifically tailored to fulfill Congressional needs. GAO continues to stress the provision of direct assistance to the Congress to meet its need for timely and relevant information. GAO's audit and evaluation work is performed by twelve divisions (the Human Resources Division, the Community and Economic Development Division, the General Government Division, the Energy and Minerals Division, the Program Analysis Division, and the International Division) which have responsibility for the audit and evaluation of substantive Federal programs. These programs include, for example, those related to health, income security, law enforcement, energy, food, materials, environment, water, etc. These GAO divisions perform work directed toward improving the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the programs assigned to them are carried out. Another four divisions (the Mission Analysis and Systems Acquisition Division, the Procurement, Logistics and Readiness Division, the Accounting and Financial Management Division, and the Federal Personnel and Compensation Division) are responsible for auditing and evaluating key management processes. These divisions determine how well the Federal Government is acquiring, managing, utilizing, controlling and, where necessary, disposing of the resources provided to it. For example, these divisions evaluate and strive to improve the Federal procurement, management, utilization and disposal of goods, services, and major systems; the effectiveness and the efficiency of the Federal work force; and the manner in which Federal resources are controlled, accounted for, and managed. The Institute for Program Evalutation (IPE) is responsible for helping to assure that evaluations of programs performed by all GAO divisions utilize the best, most modern techniques available. IPE is also responsible for assisting Congress in the development of improved methods of evaluating programs, and for carrying out certain program evaluations. GAO's Field Operations Division includes staff located in regional offices throughout the country to perform work planned and programmed by GAO's Washington divisions. Assignments of particular agencies and programs or functions are made so that the responsibility for audits and evaluations of related functions are made to the same GAO division. Changing Emphasis Maintenance of GAO staff resources at 5,100 will require an adjustment of resources from some areas of less concern to those that will support the most pressing concerns of Congress. For example: Defense work - GAO believes that it is critical to assist Congress in the At the beginning of FY 1982, staffing levels in GAO were adjusted to reflect the reduction in the GAO appropriation from the amount requested to maintain a current services budget. In assessing the reduction, the Comptroller General preserved MASAD and PLRD at their FY 1981 staffing levels to enphasize the importance of Defense issue areas work. Fraud prevention Improving accounting and financial management in the executive branch is certainly important. GAO will continue to pay special attention toward bringing about needed improvements. During FY 1981, GAO issued in three volumes its review of the extent of fraud in 21 Federal agencies, the results of which concluded that agencies should be doing more to prevent fraud. This review points out that top agency managers must establish an environment where the internal controls needed to help prevent fraud are understood, encouraged, and enforced. Managers need to be more concerned with insuring that effective internal controls are in place and operating. Top management must insist that middle management make sure that all operations for which they are responsible contain controls to minimize fraud, waste, and abuse and tasks to ensure effective performance. When middle management and employees sense the concern for strong controls, they will be more likely to make sure that effective controls are followed. Automatic data processing The computer is an essential tool for effective program management within the executive branch; it is also essential for effective GAO audits of agency operations that use computers. GAO must have enhanced capabilities to effectively audit the computer-assisted operations of executive branch agencies. The potential for inefficient and ineffective use of computers is great within the executive branch. GAO must have the capability to identify problem areas early and induce the agencies to take corrective action before millions of dollars are sunk into systems that are not adequate. GAO also needs to improve its own capacity to do work through the use of computers. Financial Management Top managers often have not given sufficient attention to the benefits that can accrue from having sound financial management systems. GAO must do a better job of alerting them to these benefits and of working with the agencies to approve and implement, on a more timely basis, sound financial management reporting systems. Block grants - The enactment of several new block grants will require a significant shift in GAO's work. GAO's first priority will be to assure that Congress is kept informed of the progress of the transition, particularly with respect to any problems the States encounter in assuming responsibility for adminsitration of the programs. GAO also has a basic responsibility to help the States build and maintain the capacity to comply with statutory audit requirements. Once the block grant programs are fully operational under State administration, GAO expects to undertake a series of reviews of the programs. GAO anticipates that these reviews will concentrate on such issues as how the funds are being used, who is receiving the benefits, and what effect the change to block grants has had. Despite more emphasis being placed on these high concern issues, GAO must continue to give adequate coverage to all operations of the executive branch so that it can respond quickly and effectively to congressional needs for information about the programs and activities in all areas of government. Focus of GAO Work The fundamental strength of GAO as an important agency of government lies in its credibility as an objective, non-partisan analyst and reporter of conditions surrounding government program administration and design. It is important for the GAO to effectively assist the Congress in its oversight of the management of government operations while maintaining the public's confidence and respect in the non-partisan, objective nature of the analyses provided. For GAO to effectively assist the Congress, it must provide timely information. One objective of GAO during the next year is to assure that information it has on how efficiently and effectively programs work is provided to the Congress when it needs it and in the form most useful to it. |