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GAO-21-4SP, United States Government Accountability Office SERVING CONGRESS AND THE NATION Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2020 SERVING THE CONGRESS Mission GAO exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. Core Values MISSION VALUES: R PEOPLE VALUES: e d s e untab p Accountability u co ili e Valued l c ty c a A t e Enhance the economy, efficiency, V See out and appreciate d I effectiveness, and credibility of y each person’s perspectives n t t i the federal government e l i g b ri a ty li Integrity Re Respected Conduct professional, objective, Treat everyone with dignity T fact-based, non-partisan, non- re ly ated Fair ideological, fair, and balanced wor Reliability Treated Fairly Produce timely, accurate, useful, oster a wor environment that clear, and candid products provides opportunities for all Source: GAO. | www.gao.gov Scope of Work GAO performs a range of oversight-, insight-, and foresight-related engagements, a vast majority of which are conducted in response to congressional mandates or requests. GAO’s engagements include evaluations of federal programs and performance, financial and management audits, policy analyses, legal opinions, bid protest adjudications, and investigations. Source: Eyewire. | GAO-21-4SP Source: Photodisc. | GAO-21-4SP TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents .................................................... i Strategic Goal 2: Respond to Changing How to Use This Report ................................ ii Security Threats and the Challenges of A Fiscal Year 2020 Performance and Financial Global Interdependence ......................... 75 Snapshot for the American Taxpayer .............iii Financial Benefits ............................ 78 Introduction................................................1 Other Benefits ................................ 78 Testimonies ................................... 78 From the Comptroller General ........................2 Strategic Goal 3: Help Transform the Management Assurance Statements ................ 11 Federal Government to Address National About GAO .............................................. 13 Challenges ......................................... 82 Mission ............................................... 14 Financial Benefits ............................ 84 Core Values .......................................... 14 Other Benefits ................................ 84 Strategic Goals ...................................... 14 Testimonies ................................... 85 Organizational Structure .......................... 14 Strategic Goal 4: Maximize the Value of GAO by Enabling Quality, Timely Service Strategic Planning and Foresight ................. 18 to the Congress and by Being a Leading How We Measure Our Performance .............. 22 Practices Federal Agency ........................ 89 Setting Performance Targets ..................... 24 Part III: Financial Information ........................ 94 Part I: Management’s Discussion and Analysis* ... 26 From the Chief Financial Officer .................... 94 Assisting the Congress and Benefiting the Nation Audit Advisory Committee’s Report ................ 96 During Challenging Times ......................... 26 Independent Auditors’ Report ....................... 97 Overall Performance Toward Our Goals ......... 27 Financial Statements ................................. 103 Financial Benefits ............................ 30 Notes to Financial Statements ......................107 Other Benefits ................................ 33 Other Measures of Our Results ............ 36 Deferred Maintenance and Repairs* ............... 120 Other Ways GAO Served the Congress and the Part IV: Inspector General’s View of GAO’s American People ................................. 45 Management Challenges ...........................123 Strategic Partnerships ............................ 50 Inspector General’s Statement .................... 124 Managing Our Resources ........................... 53 Part V: Appendixes .................................... 125 Management Challenges ........................... 58 Appendix I: Abbreviations .......................... 126 Part II: Performance Information .................... 67 Appendix II: Data Quality ............................ 129 Performance Information by Strategic Goal ...... 67 Verifying and Validating Performance Data .... 129 Strategic Goal 1: Address Current and Image Sources .......................................... 139 Emerging Challenges to the Well-being Providing Comments on This Report ............... 139 and Financial Security of the American Obtaining Copies of GAO Documents .............. 139 People .............................................. 68 Connect with GAO ..................................... 139 Financial Benefits ............................ 70 Other Benefits ................................ 71 Testimonies ................................... 71 *Note: Considered Required Supplementary Information. This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately. GAO-21-4SP Contents i GAO Performance and Accountability Report 2020 How to Use This Report This report describes for the Congress and the American taxpayer the United States (U.S.) Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) performance measures, results, and accountability processes for fiscal year 2020 (October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020). In assessing our performance, we compared actual results against targets and goals that were set in our annual performance plan and performance budget and were developed to help carry out our strategic plan. Our complete set of strategic planning and performance and accountability reports is available on our website at https://www.gao.gov/about/performanceaccountabilityreport/overview. This report has an introduction, four parts, Financial Information and supplementary appendixes as follows: This section includes details on our finances in fiscal year 2020, including Introduction a letter from our Chief Financial This section includes the letter from the Officer, audited financial statements Comptroller General and a statement and notes, and the reports from our attesting to the completeness and external auditor and Audit Advisory reliability of the performance and financial Committee. This section also includes data in this report and the effectiveness an explanation of the information each of our internal control over financial of our financial statements conveys. reporting. This section also includes a summary discussion of our mission, Inspector General’s View strategic planning process, organizational structure, strategies we use to achieve of GAO’s Management our goals, and process for assessing our Challenges performance. This section includes our Inspector General’s perspective of our agency’s Management’s Discussion and management challenges. Analysis This section discusses our agency-wide Appendixes performance results and use of resources This section provides the report’s in fiscal year 2020. It also includes abbreviations and describes how we information on our internal controls and ensure the completeness and reliability the management challenges and external of the data for each of our performance factors that affect our performance. measures. Performance Information This section includes details on our performance results by strategic goal in fiscal year 2020 and the targets we are aiming for in fiscal year 2021. It also includes a summary of our program evaluation for fiscal year 2020. ii How to Use This Report GAO-21-4SP GAO’s Fiscal Year 2020 Snapshot A Fiscal Year 2020 Performance and Financial Snapshot for the American Taxpayer Did you know? In fiscal year 2020: —The Congress used GAO’s work extensively to identify legislative solutions to emerging problems, achieve cost savings, and enhance efficiencies in federal agencies and programs. —GAO’s work yielded about $77.6 billion in financial benefits—a return of about $114 for every dollar invested in GAO. —GAO also identified 1,332 other benefits—those that cannot be measured in dollars, but led to program and operational improvements across the government. Government Accountability Office —GAO reported on 35 areas previously Who We Are: GAO is an independent, designated as high risk due to vulnerabilities nonpartisan professional services agency to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the legislative branch of the federal or because they face economy, efficiency, or government. It was created in 1921 to effectiveness challenges. This work yielded 168 investigate how federal dollars are spent. reports, 26 testimonies, $54.2 billion in financial benefits, and 606 other benefits. What We Do: Commonly known as the investigative arm of the Congress or the —GAO received requests for work from 90 “congressional watchdog,” we examine how percent of the standing committees of the taxpayer dollars are spent and develop Congress. nonpartisan, objective, and reliable information to advise lawmakers and agency —Senior GAO officials were asked to testify 59 heads on ways to make government work times on a wide range of issues that touched
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