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Auditing Government Operations

NCJ Number
70765
Journal
Internal Auditor Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: (July/August 1973) Pages: 10-19
Author(s)
E H Morse
Date Published
1973
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The assistant Comptroller General discusses how internal auditing can promote efficient and judicious use of public funds as demonstrated by several reviews conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO).
Abstract
The wide scope of GAO's audit responsibilities was aptly illustrated by recommendations made by the United States Comptroller General at the 1972 International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions which emphasized fiscal, managerial, and program accountability in audits of Government programs. Several examples of GAO studies illustrate how internal audits can go beyond financial transactions and accounting. GAO examined public housing programs funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and found that significant savings would result from reusing designs for public housing projects instead of each being designed on an individual basis. Inspections of meat and poultry plants by the Department of Agriculture (DOA) were reviewed by GAO and found to be inadequate. In this case, much of the data came from the DOA's own inspectors. Considerable cost savings to Medicare and a Veterans Administration health program were realized when GAO's suggestions derived from program audits were adopted. GAO audits have also analyzed wages paid to workers on federally funded construction project, bank accounts in which money in the custody of the U.S. Court is deposited, and the leasing of foreign equipment in overseas locations. A review of the Office of Education's contracts with outside consultants disclosed that many of the final research reports were useless or did not meet project objectives. Because Federal auditors cannot audit all programs involving Federal assistance to State and local governments, the GAO is developing comprehensive standards for State and local audit systems to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of these projects.

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