U.S. Government Financial Statements: Results of GAO's Fiscal Year 1997 Audit

Abstract

Our audit of the federal government's consolidated financial statements and the Inspectors General (IG) audits of agencies' financial statements have resulted in an identification and analysis of deficiencies in the government's recordkeeping and control systems and recommendations to correct them. Fixing these problems represents a significant challenge because of the size and complexity of the federal government and the discipline needed to comply with new accounting and reporting requirements. Several individual agencies that have been audited for a number of years faced serious deficiencies in their initial audits and made good progress in resolving them. The following sections outline (1) our disclaimer of opinion on the government's fiscal year 1997 consolidated financial statements, (2) internal controls weaknesses, and (3) serious difficulties complying with financial systems requirements. They also present information on (1) the Year 2000 computing problem, (2) issues affecting the government's long-term fmancial condition, and (3) actions underway to improve financial reporting across the government.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA341318

Entities

People

  • Eugene Louis Dodaro

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accounting
  • Business Administration
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Environmental Protection
  • Financial Management
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • Information Systems
  • Local Governments
  • Materials
  • Military Operations
  • National Governments
  • Social Security
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Business

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Systems Analysis and Design