Government Accounting Office

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Government Accounting Office

Also called the GAO. The highest auditing organization within the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for investigating appropriations of funds to ensure they are spent as they ought to be. It also recommends policies that may result in the more efficient use of government money. It was established in 1921 as the General Accounting Office. It is headed by the Comptroller General of the United States.

References in periodicals archive ?

Government Accounting Office, Major Management Challenges and Program Risks: NASA (Washington, DC: U.

The challenges of contracting and accountability across the federal system: from ambulances to space shuttles

Further, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct a study of the effectiveness and implications of audit firm rotation.

Tips for the Sarbanes-Oxley learning curve: the act has brought more complexity to firm management; here's some broad-based help

Congress will ask the Government Accounting Office to conduct a study--to be completed by November 1, 2005--on the effects of the moratorium on state and local government tax revenues.

Internet access taxes--is the end in sight?

A year-long study by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) on OSHA's voluntary compliance programs wrapped up in March with the GAO saying the strategies "have improved employers' safety and health practices" and noted that many participants interviewed said the programs resulted in not only helping to reduce injury and illness rates but also have fostered "better working relationships with OSHA.

GAO report highlights effectiveness of OSHA's voluntary, cooperative programs

Yet in 2001, SPS wasn't exactly the technology darling of the Government Accounting Office (GAO).

Avoid potholes, U-turns, and detours: the road to a successful software program

A Government Accounting Office report found that intellectual property infringement claims against states and state agencies amounted to less than one-half of 1 percent of the total number of all federal infringement claims between 1985 and 2000.

There is a chapter on how bid protests are handled at the agency level, the Government Accounting Office, and the Court of Federal Claims.

Federal Government Construction Contracts

The Government Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to review the state of distance education at Minority Serving Institutions, which are schools that serve high percentages of minority students, including Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians.

Distance Education: More Data Could Improve Education's Ability To Track Technology at Minority Serving Institutions. Report to Congressional Requesters

A Government Accounting Office study of 1999 data found that 86 percent of eligible families with children claimed the EITC, but only 45 percent of workers without children claimed the credit.

Earned income tax credit: maximizing the benefit

Several sources, including the Government Accounting Office, estimate the total cost of HIPAA compliance on all issues to fall in the $17-45,000,000,000 range--a hefty number, but a small percentage of the health care industry's total annual revenues of approximately 1.

Federal legislation to assure confidentiality. (Patient Privacy)

In August 2001, the AICPA offered its own solution, followed by the Government Accounting Office in January 2002.

Get your ducks in a row: how the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has redefined auditor independence

The report released September 19 by the Government Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, said the inspection system set up to ensure the safety of America's meat and poultry is poorly designed and littered with problems.