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Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
EconomyGovernment and Policy

What Is the Government Accountability Office (GAO)?

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent and legislative agency that monitors and audits government spending and operations. The agency looks at how taxpayer dollars are spent and gives proposals on the most proficient method to set aside the government cash or operate all the more financially capably. Laid out in 1921, GAO is additionally frequently called the congressional guard dog. A non-sectarian agency assists the government with finding efficiencies in spending, which is the reason it is said to work for Congress.

Figuring out the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

The Government Accountability Office is an independent government agency that is entrusted with tracking the utilization of taxpayer dollars by the legislative and executive parts of government, and giving the outcomes straightforwardly to Congress. Put just, GAO fills in as a congressional guard dog over government spending. It monitors the operating outcomes, financial positions, and accounting systems utilized by the different governmental agencies and conducts routine reviews on all parts of government.

The primary objectives and objectives of GAO are to:

  • Conduct reviews of federal government agencies to guarantee that funds are appropriately allocated and not misappropriated, like reviews and audits of the Pentagon, including U.S. military spending on work force and weapons systems
  • Survey government programs and policies to determine if the (laid out) objectives are appropriately lined up with their original purpose and are being fulfilled
  • Investigate charges of illegal activity inside the government and issue legal determinations on proposed rules with respect to other government agencies

One more set of legislative duties incorporates laying out standards or the Yellow Book. Additionally alluded to as the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards, these principles are utilized to streamline the cycle during government reviews and giving reports.

The agency is run by the comptroller general who serves a 15-year term. The position is named by the president from a bipartisan rundown of congressional proposals.

Quality L. Dodaro was named as acting comptroller general in 2008 when David Walker surrendered. Dodaro was authoritatively confirmed by the Senate for his 15-year term in 2010.

Special Considerations

The GAO has broad authority to audit the function and operations of the Federal Reserve — the central bank of the United States.

Accordingly, it conducts audits of the emergency lending programs that were enacted following the collapse of the housing market and the 2007-2008 financial crisis, which prompted the Great Recession. Regardless of this, it doesn't have the authority to audit individual gatherings and monetary policy choices made by the Fed.

As of May 2021, five out of eight priority proposals made by the Government Accountability Office were executed by the Federal Reserve.

History of the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

U.S. government spending and debt rose forcefully during World War I. This reality provoked demand for a proper system to survey, monitor, and control government expenditures. Subsequently, the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 laid out the General Accounting Office, which assumed budget, accounting, and auditing obligations from the U.S. Treasury.

The act likewise required the president to prepare a annual budget for the federal government. In 2004, the agency's name was changed to the Government Accountability Office after the death of the GAO Human Capital Reform Act.

Government programs and expenditures expanded strongly during the 1930s because of President Roosevelt's New Deal social policies, which were made in response to the Great Depression. The GAO's job, which originally centered around guaranteeing payments were made appropriately, filled in significance. By 1945, toward the finish of World War II, government spending again soared, and the GAO started auditing government agencies to guarantee they operated by their purpose.

By the 1970s, the GAO's work expanded to incorporate surveys of agency work on consumer protection, the environment, and social welfare. Agency work force comprised of just accountants. In any case, that before long expanded to incorporate researchers, care experts, and computer researchers.

The agency keeps on assessing government spending programs, including how it appropriated funds connected with the COVID-19 pandemic, which added up to $4.8 trillion.

Features

  • The Government Accountability Office is an independent, non-hardliner agency that monitors and audits government spending.
  • GAO is likewise responsible for laying out standards to streamline the interaction during government reviews and surveys.
  • The GAO monitors how the government utilizes taxpayer dollars and gives reports and suggestions to the government.
  • The comptroller general fills in as the head of the GAO and is delegated by the president for a 15-year term.
  • It furnishes Congress and federal agencies with objective, solid data to assist the government with setting aside cash and work all the more effectively.