The GAO Review Summer 1985 Contents Volume 20 Issue 3 1 From Our Briefcase Federal and State Legislative Issues - 1985 and Beyond Intergovernmental Reference Sources Federal Waste Receding With Effective Detection Critical Thinking Is Career Key Review Is Read ‘Down Under’ New Ideas Sought 4 On Location GAO Awards Ceremony: 1984 Public Management: Strength Through Change GAO’s Second Annual Management Meeting Cincinnati Staff Inspect Houses ,J 8 0350 f4 5’- 1 Can An Auditing Organization Become ‘Sporty?’ 9 Manager’s Corner Executive Leadership 10 Q3WtfG : Topics in Evaluation Secondary Analysis Strategy Carl E. Wisler 12 os3047 -/Government: A Financial Management Control Perspective John R. Cherbini 17 03y3Y- x * ,,,,’Auditingat the FBI: A Unique Experience Michael A. Burnett 1, 20 S83Qyq Motivating Subordinates: Making It Work Sande Lehrer 24 o?’i;oY* Governiltlg and the Media: A Forum With David ergen and Jody Powell Edited by Robert Levin i I I The GAO Review Summer 198& Contents Volume BO Issue 8 27 033 05- I ’ Using the Computer in GAO Analysis: New Insights, New Unoertainties David F. Fiske 29 o’;;%%a Cleaning Out the Nation’s Attic: GAO Helps the Comptroller of the Currency Rachel B. Hathcock 31 S3305-3 Auditing. Long-Range Forecasts: Why Actuarial Assumptions Cannot Be Classified as Right or Wrong Antone Reeder 33 A Week’s Worth Becki Sue Hill 35 os30 $9 Legislative Developments 39 Bookmark ‘ Retirement Security and Tax Policy ’ By Sophie M. Korczyk Reviewed by Robert A. Katcher 40 GAO Staff Changes Senior Staff Changes Additional Staff Changes New Staff Members Attritions Retirements Deaths 45 Professional Activities ii From Our Briefcase Federal and State edition of the newsletter, entitled State chronicling intergovernmental events Legislative Issues Policy Reports, refers to the list and and pointing the way to change. Each - reports on these issues. issue contains articles on current 19S5 and Beyond The fact that education, the environ- issues and views. For example, the ment, and health care may be charac- summer 1984 issue contained articles Although the legislative sessions of terized as “non-fiscal” issues doesn’t on mass transit, financing trends, and 1985 are likely to concentrate on fiscal mean they lack financial ramifications, the state and local tax-limitation move- issues, many other issues will command only that their resolution will typically ment. For more information, call AClR attention. “Briefcase” discusses some take the form of bills not under the jur- at (202) 653-5640. of these issues in the following isdiction of the state legislative com- paragraphs. mittees that handle appropriations. For Government Finance Review example, questions about education Federal View continue to be raised by the educational This bimonthly publication of the quality movement; some states are set- Government Finance Officers Associa- At the federal level, energy, health, ting requirements affecting eligibility tion highlights key issues and statistics the environment, and genetic engineer- to participate in extracurricular activ- on state and local government finances ing served as focal points at a January ities. In many states, the environment and provides an annotated bibliography seminar for newly elected Members of is at issue because major chemical of recent books and journal articles in the Congress. The new Members met facilities pose regional safety dangers. the field. Recent issues covered such with some of the nation’s top scien- In addition, controlling health-care topics as state and local capital- tists to seek improvements in the tech- costs remains a preoccupation of budgeting trends and problems faced nical sophistication that will improve many state legislatures. Developing by states in matching federal highway the writing of laws in non-fiscal areas. adequate cost-containment strategies construction grants. For more informa- According to an article in the January presents difficult choices. Possible ap- tion, call Rebecca Russum at (312) 30, 1985, Washington Post, some new proaches range from using competi- 977-9700. avenues of research will likely affect tion to hold down prices to treating the legislative agenda of the mid-1980’s. health care as a public utility. SIAM Intergovernmental News They include: For more information, write for State Unraveling the biological action of Legislative Interim Study Activities This is a quarterly publication of the parasitic diseases whose causative - 7984 from The Council of State Govern- Section on Intergovernmental Adminis- microbes are major killers in the tropics. ments, Iron Works Pike, P.O. Box 11910, tration and Management of the Ameri- If developing countries can be freed Lexington, KY 40578. For a copy of can Society for Public Administration. from plagues, their prospects for eco- State Policy Reports, contact State In addition to news and notes on recent nomic development could be improved. Policy Research, Inc., 7706 Lookout intergovernmental developments, it Explaining the nature of “quarks” Court, Alexandria, VA 22306, (703) has covered such recent issues as and other subatomic particles in matter. 765-8389. state block grant management and High-energy physics has been a source trends in states’ relationships with of revolutionary practical advances in Intergovernmental local governments. For more informa- i nd us t ry . tion, contact the editor, John Kamen- Evaluating the risks posed by toxic Reference Sources sky, HRD, at (202) 275-6169. substances. Nuclear waste disposal practices could be directly affected. GAO’s Intergovernmental Relations State Policy Reports Assessing the state of current oil Group within the Human Resources reserves. An energy crisis may make it Division (HRD) subscribes to useful This is a biweekly series that dis- reasonable to develop costlier methods reference materials on federallstatel cusses trends in state policies and to force oil reserves out of the ground. local issues. Evaluators needing infor- management. Recent issues included The seminar was sponsored by the mation on, for example, state and local in-depth analyses of state health care National Academy of Sciences, the public interest groups or contacts in cost containment strategies and the American Chemical Society, and sev- state fiscal and program offices can eral other scientific societies and high- effects of court rulings on state budget visit headquarters, room 3350, or call priorities. For more information, con- tech corporations. Paul Posner and his staff at (202) tact State Policy Research, Inc., at 275-0547. The Review thanks Paul for (703) 765-8389. State View providing the following information, which should be helpful on many types At the state level, other studies indi- of assignments. Federal Contracts Report cate that education, the environment, and health care will be the top issues Intergovernmental Perspective This weekly publication of the Bureau for 1985. These issues lead the list of National Affairs details the latest compiled by The Council of State Gov- This is a quarterly magazine pub- congressional and federal agency ac- ernments in its annual tracking of lished by the U.S. Advisory Commission tions pertaining to grants management special studies commissioned by state on Int erg overnment a1 Relations (ACIR) and federal procurement policy. For legislatures. The December 24, 1984, which, in 1984, marked its 25th year of more information, contact Sheila GAO Review/Summer 1985 1 4 Quigley at (202) 452-4200. tions have been obtained in the past Knowlton aimed this good advicy at 3% years, including 2,023 of them in undergraduate students in the Novem- Nation’s Cities Weekly the most recent 6 months. This in- ber 1984 Stanford Observer. Nonethe- crease is due, at least in part, to the less, by liberally substituting the words This weekly paper, published by the growing expertise of IG auditors and “auditing” for “liberal arts degree” and National League of Cities, highlights investigators, who are using more “assignment” for “course” or “class,” federal actions in key programs affect- sophisticated tools and applications readers can well apply his thoughts to ing cities, such as general revenue to broaden the activities surveyed and a career in such settings as GAO, an sharing, community development, and boost the success rate. For example, executive agency or professional asso- transportation. For more information, microcomputer technology, first in- ciation, and state or local government. contact Raymond Dick at (202) 626-3040. troduced 2 years ago, is now being Knowlton says that reading, writing, used by every IG, and more than 2,500 and critical thinking will never be ob- Publius: The Journal IG professionals are trained to make solete. These skills may seem less sub- of Federalism full use of microcomputers. stantive when compared to skills, such Since March 1981, PClE and actions as programming or bridge-building, This is a quarterly academic journal of its member IGs have resulted in $46 that one learns in engineering classes. devoted exclusively to the analysis of billion in federal funds being put to Because of the rapid progress of tech- federalism issues. Articles include dis- better use. Of that, a record $9 billion nology, however, many engineering cussions of federalism theory, analysis was the result of actions in the most skills become obsolete in 7 years. of federal intergovernmental programs recent 6-month period. Beginning in He also offers the following career and policies, and assessments of fis- fiscal year 1986, IG recommendations g u ideli nes. cal and managerial trends at the state will be considered during the reviews ‘Who’s going to pay me to read, and local levels. For more information, of agencies’ budgets. write, and think?’ ‘I need specific contact Ellis Kotz at the Center for the Increasingly, the IGs are concentrat- training to get a job. ’ To be honest, Study of Federalism, Temple Univer- ing their efforts on working as part of few people are going to pay you to sity, at (215) 787-1480. agencies’ management. These efforts read, write, and think about are a key in affecting internal agency whatever you choose.