GAO Says Bah, Humbug to Federal Government Financial Statements

GAO Says Bah, Humbug to Federal Government Financial Statements

What sort of shape are the
federal government’s finances in? The Government Accountability
Office attempted a review and found that the numbers were such a
mess they couldn’t even complete an audit. From this morning’s
press release:

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) cannot render an
opinion on the 2011 consolidated financial statements of the
federal government, because of widespread material internal control
weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations.

As was the case in 2010, the main obstacles to a GAO opinion on
the accrual- based consolidated financial statements  were:
(1) serious financial management problems at the Department of
Defense (DOD) that made its financial statements unauditable, (2)
the federal government’s inability to adequately account for and
reconcile intragovernmental activity and balances between federal
agencies, and (3) the federal government’s ineffective process for
preparing the consolidated financial statements.