The Public Administration and Public
Affairs hosted a great session on October 23rd 2015 of J. Christopher Minh,
Managing Director of Strategic Issues in the United States Government
Accountability Office (GAO). He discussed the role of GAO in Governance and
public sector performance improvement.
The GAO is an independent agency
assisting and supporting Congress in meeting its constitutional
responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the
accountability of the federal government. GAO investigates the efficiency and
effectiveness of expenditure by federal government and reports to congress. They
maintain professional standards of review and referencing. All facts and
analysis in their work are thoroughly checked for accuracy and consistency with the
Fundamental Auditing Principles of the
International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions.
Their work is done at the request of congressional committees or
subcommittees or is mandated by public laws or committee reports. They also
undertake research under the authority of the Comptroller General. They support
congressional oversight by1
- auditing agency operations to determine whether federal funds are being spent efficiently and effectively;
- investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities;
- reporting on how well government programs and policies are meeting their objectives;
- performing policy analysis and outlining options for congressional consideration; and
- issuing legal decisions and opinions, such as bid protest rulings and reports on agency rules.
They advise
Congress and the heads of executive agencies about ways to make government more
efficient, effective, ethical, equitable and responsive.
About two
third of reports and recommendations of the GAO has been accepted by the
Government. As a result, a lot of improvements in Government operations have
been experienced in last few years. The GAO has been able save billions of
dollars of taxpayers of America.
1.
http://www.gao.gov/about/index.html
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